Time to stop Our surve revels tht hlf the respondents hve been sexull hrssed t wor – nd the perpetrtors re lmost lws men Isn’t t tme ths cme to stop
T he results of the M&IT Sexual for the sector. Exactly half (50 per cent) of our respondents had personally been subjected to some form of sexual harassment while Harassment Survey are in – and they don’t make for pretty reading
organiser declined to do this as it would be ‘awkward’. e man was eventually removed by security some time later because he was violent towards another man. ere was no record made of the incident and the police were not informed, despite what happened being a criminal o ence.” Time and again, alcohol was cited as a contributing factor to sexual harassment. “At events, people o en drink too much and act out of character,” said one woman, aged 31-40.
Whymight sexual harassment in themeetings and events sector go unchallenged?
working in meetings and events. In 95 per cent of these cases the perpetrator was male. In more
than three quarters of cases (77 per cent) the perpetrator was in a more senior role. One respondent said: “ ere are senior men in the industry who are well known for sexual harassment, but because they are senior no one says anything.” One woman shared that she and another woman, both senior event
“Also the transient nature of travelling to events o en leads to individuals feeling they can take advantage of the novelty and proposition young women especially.” “Alcohol owing, no rules around inappropriate behaviour – it can feel dangerous,” said another woman, aged 41-50. “Many
“Women m be frd to chllene t for fer of ther ob or to become nown s troublem er” Femle, 31-40
If someone is brave enough to report sexual harassment, people are dumbstruck
“It’s not sector specfc - more culturl, busness nd socetl ssue” Femle, 41-50
“It’s prt scene sometmes nd people don’t now how to ct especll when the ren’t sober” Femle, 31-40 “The mount of lcohol consumed t events, creer sprtons, old school mentlt” Mle, 51-60 “Fer We’re femle domnted ndustr, but mn senor postons re flled b men” Femle, 41-50
professionals, were sexually assaulted at an event last year where they knew both the perpetrator and the event organiser team well - and nothing was done. “We reported the incident immediately to a senior member of the organisers team and asked for the man to be removed to protect the other women present,” she said. “ e
women try to stick together for safety.” e survey reveals that 80 per cent of event professionals believe that it could be useful to have a sexual harassment code of conduct for events. “ is sector is behind the times,” said one female respondent. “We know how to deal with a the or say, a ght breaking out,
mitmagazine.co.uk / 2022 9
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