Monday, November 06, 2017

Lib Dems Too set up

A new Tumblr site, Lib Dems Too, has been set up to share accounts of sexism and worse within the Liberal Democrats and useful links for taking action.

It describes its purpose as follows:
Sexism in UK politics is nothing new to those of us involved in it. Following the #metoo discussion and the Westminster allegations, we created this website inspired by the Everyday Sexism Project to detail some of the instances of sexism within our party and to help people find the support they may need. 
Too many brilliant people are driven out of politics through no fault of their own, and we are poorer for it. We must put an end to it now. 
This website is run by volunteers who are members of the party.

2 comments:

  1. "A guy was drunk and tried to kiss me"; "Some old men didn't listen to a woman speak once"; "I was so drunk I can't remember if I slept with someone or not"; "An older man once awkwardly complemented me".

    Really traumatising stuff there....

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  2. I used to be in the Lib Dems and looking back encountered quite a lot of
    sexually inappropriate behaviour towards me. The Liberal Party before it was horribly sexist and women in it were invisible. Even joining the Liberal Party meant jumping through hoops especially for a single woman. You at the mercy of the whims of the membership secretary of the local party who could decide not to sign you up. The whole culture of the party condones and even encourages. Women in the party rarely backed each up and blamed the victims for not being tough enough. The chair of one local party belonged to arranged for a man who I knew a bit to give me a lift home after a social event with a smart but casual dress code. I was wearing a flimsy dress with a jacket. On the way home he kept commenting that I had sexy legs. I didn't respond and I asked to be dropped off in a street near where I lived so he wouldn't know my exact address. I wonder if the chair knew he was like that. I suspect she might have done and didn't care.

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