I spoke out against People’s Vote CEO because I believe in a world where men can’t get away with harassment ‘The culture of scrambling around for any reason to disbelieve women and their allegations needs to stop’

I’m one of the women who have spoken out against the new CEO of People’s Vote. This is why I did it.

It first happened months ago, at a pub on a Friday night, having after-work drinks. It’s a typical scenario – one of your older, male bosses gets a bit too drunk and is a bit creepy. He objectifies other female members of staff, buys you drinks, and asks you home with him. I’m standing up against this CEO for several reasons.

It is because I discovered that this wasn’t an isolated incident. He’d propositioned several of my colleagues, either asking them back to his flat, flirting with them, or being too tactile. When one of my colleagues suggested we challenge this behaviour, I was only too ready to stand by their side and ensure it couldn’t be brushed off as a one-off drunken mistake.

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It is also because #MeToo happened. Thanks to the amazing work of Alyssa Milano and the thousands of other women using the hashtag back in 2017, men everywhere are waking up to the reality that pretty much every woman they know has been sexually harassed. But it is also because I’m in politics for a reason. I believe that those who can should protect the worst off in our society, and this means championing the voices of the oppressed. And that includes women, and victims of sexual harassment. I believe in a world where people can’t get away with hurting others just because they have more money or more influence. That’s why I spoke up.

The man in question is wealthy, and has friends in high places. I am not, and I do not. I sat in a lawyer’s office for the first time this week – I don’t come from a long line of high-powered people.

‘They won’t intimidate us’

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The chair of Open Britain and his choice of CEO are dragging their feet and dismissing these complaints as smears because they think it will intimidate us into silence. But they underestimated us when they thought that we’d all accept a boardroom coup against our campaign. Instead over 40 of us walked out. Now they’re underestimating me and my other colleagues who have spoken out about their experiences being propositioned by this man, and we aren’t just going to go away.

The CEO and his friends are saying that I’ve made up these allegations, and that they’re “politically motivated”. This culture of scrambling around for any reason to disbelieve women and their allegations needs to stop. Victims must be believed until proven otherwise.

I desperately want to get back to work. This could be the most important election of my lifetime. But instead, I’m having to fight people in our own movement – rich and powerful men who want things to go their way, at the expense of the safety and security of the staff who have worked so hard. I’m asking for the CEO and chair to step down and allow the team to return to work so we can fight for a public vote to end the Brexit chaos.

The writer is a member of the People’s Vote campaign who is involved in bringing claims of sexual harassment. She wishes to remain anonymous.