Women who have made sexual harassment complaints against MPs have welcomed a radical new procedure in parliament to deal with the issue.
Westminster will for the first time have a fully independent system for reporting incidents, and a behaviour code that all parliamentary pass holders will be expected to abide by. MPs voted in favour of the proposals put forward by Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons, on Wednesday.
The independent complaints and grievance scheme will allow those working in parliament to report harassment or bullying without fearing repercussions from their own political parties.
Sanctions suggested for MPs and peers who fall foul of the code include suspension or, in extreme cases, being recalled or expelled.
One member of parliamentary staff, who previously spoke to BuzzFeed about sexual harassment in Westminster in October, said she was pleased to see the new measures agreed.
"I'm glad they’ve been decisive, and I hope that the political parties follow suit as soon as possible," said Nadia. (To protect her anonymity, BuzzFeed News is not using her real name.)
"The proof is in the pudding, so I hope it hope it will be well implemented, but it looks bold and responsive to what we all said was needed."
Ava Etemadzadeh, who made a complaint against Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins, told BuzzFeed News she welcomed the independent procedure, but said that it had some shortcomings.
She said that if alleged perpetrators were given anonymity, it might discourage other potential victims from coming forward.
"I would be very worried if MPs remain anonymous," she told BuzzFeed News. "If that would have been the case [Labour MP] Kerry McCarthy would not have known, and she has made a complaint about the same person."
Hopkins has strongly denied all the allegations against him.
Etemadzadeh also said that political parties needed to implement similar independent procedures, as harassment is not limited to those working in Westminster. "Policies introduced by political parties to deal with sexual harassment and bullying are still very politicised," she said, adding that "training should be applied to those who are running for parliament and work outside parliament, like councillors".
A Labour activist who made a complaint about former minister Ivan Lewis said she was pleased to see parliament take decisive action, but said the real test would be in its implementation.
"I think it's a bit basic, but it's definitely better than having nothing in place," she told BuzzFeed News. "It's good they are taking a step forward in the right direction with this. Hopefully it will make a difference – I'm skeptical but hoping to be proven wrong."
While expressing regret for making some women feel uncomfortable by inviting them out, Lewis has strongly denied that any of his behaviour amounted to sexual harassment.
The new proposals stemmed from a report by a cross-party working group set up in November, made up of representatives from the political parties in both Houses of Parliament, a crossbench peer from the Lords, and representatives from unions and
employees' organisations that are active in parliament.
Speaking during Wednesday's debate Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, applauded the work that had been done so far, but said that the policy needed to go further to also cover MPs' constituency work.
In response, Leadsom said: "In the immediate future, we should focus on bedding in a new complaints procedure that will deal with the Palace of Westminster and our work as part of our parliamentary duties, and that once that is bedded down, we should have a review six months into its operation of how we should deal with others who come into contact with MPs, where there is that tricky grey area of where someone’s public life is and where someone’s private life is."
In a survey of parliamentary staff commissioned by the working group, 39% of the 1,377 respondents reported experience of non-sexual harassment or bullying in the last year – 45% of female respondents and 35% of male respondents.
In addition, 19% of the respondents reported experience of sexual harassment, including witnessing sexually inappropriate behaviour, with women reporting twice as much as men.