Stop sexual harassment

In December, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, Jess Phillips, announced measures giving victims of stalking more protection.

This follows a suite of legislation launched by the UK government last year giving back power to women and girls who are victims of violence. The CSP welcomes the new proposals which begin to put the power where it should be, in the hands of the women who are victims of stalking and all forms of violence.

The CSP has successfully campaigned alongside other unions to protect workers from sexual harassment and the Worker Protection Act 2023, which came into effect in October last year, placed a long overdue new duty on the employer to prevent sexual harassment from taking place in their workplaces. 

In 2024, the CSP contributed to a study carried out by Queen Mary, University of London and University of Surrey on behalf of the Trades Union Congress. 

The report draws attention to the discrimination, harassment, and sexualised behaviours Black women face at work. Often feeling unable to trust the structures around them to keep them safe when they are part of a minority group of women in the workplace, Black women cannot trust they will be believed and as a result their complaints are often not formalised. 

We want our members to feel safe to report incidents and confident that action will be taken as a result.

This year, the CSP will launch a member campaign centred around the prevention of sexual harassment. It will focus on raising awareness and promoting a safe environment in physiotherapy. 

We want our members to feel safe to report incidents and confident that action will be taken as a result. Our campaign will bring together resources and guidance for members, both victims and witnesses, so that everyone is able to identify harassment and stand together to ensure violence against women and girls is tackled and prevented.