LabourToo: How Labour is starting to talk about sexual harassment and sexism Amid scandals over the use of sexist language, the party under Corbyn is accused of a gender bias if not misogyny, […]

Amid scandals over the use of sexist language, the party under Corbyn is accused of a gender bias if not misogyny, writes Anoosh Chakelian

Earlier this week, a group of five Labour parliamentary staffers gathered around a computer. They googled: “Who is shadow equalities minister?” Baffled by the wave of sexism scandals engulfing their party, they did not know which of their frontbenchers was supposed to be dealing with the media about the offensive remarks made by two Labour MPs.

“Get on your knees, bitch,” was the ill-advised aside by Clive Lewis MP to a male audience member during a live appearance. He apologised, and Jeremy Corbyn called it “completely wrong”. Then came the misogynist and homophobic bile from Jared O’Mara, the new MP for Sheffield Hallam whom Labour suspended on Wednesday.

Dredged up from internet message boards, his comments about “fatties”, “poofters”, “fudge packers”, “sexy little slags” and “sodomis[ing]” a musician to death with a piano led to his resignation from the Women and Equalities Select Committee too.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

Unconscious bias?

The shadow women and equalities minister, Dawn Butler, announced an investigation into the allegations. Nevertheless, there is a growing feeling in the party that it does not deal with sexism and bullying adequately.

‘I think the Jared stuff has highlighted exactly why there need to be better processes in place’ Sarah Champion, former shadow women and equalities minister

But the former senior policy adviser to Ed Miliband, Sonia Sodha, doesn’t believe sexism is tied to a particular Labour regime. “I think the party, like every organisation in every walk of life, has an issue with unconscious bias,” she says. “When I worked there, there was definitely a gender problem in terms of senior staff, but I think there probably still is a gender problem.”

Labour, too

On 19 October, the day before Lewis’s comments emerged, a website called LabourToo.org.uk was created. Set up by a group of six women who work at all levels in the party, it criticises the party’s complaints procedure, urging it to “better support victims” and bring about a “shift in the culture of the party”.

LabourToo stories – following the global #metoo trend of women recounting their experiences – began to circulate the day after the website was launched. There was some suspicion about the timing of LabourToo coinciding with the Lewis and O’Mara scandals. “I think it was the same day,” says a spokesperson. “But it was completely serendipitous.”

They are lobbying the party to introduce independent, third-party reporting, a new policy on harassment and assault, and safeguarding training for all staff. One of its members describes the party dismissing her assault complaint – “it was like, ‘It’s fine, that person’s not there any more’” – which was only taken seriously when others were also affected.

Sarah Champion, the former shadow women and equalities minister who is supporting the group, tells i she would like to see a “whistleblower policy” and an “anti-bullying policy”. “I think the Jared stuff has highlighted exactly why there need to be better processes in place,” says a source from LabourToo.

‘Brocialists’ and bad behaviour

For others in the party, the response to O’Mara’s comments from some of their colleagues was part of a worrying trend. One female Labour MP highlights “brocialists” on the left who she feels are more enthusiastic about Corbyn’s ideals than gender equality, and explain away bad behaviour by people on their side.

‘Why can’t we just condemn his misogyny, instead of blaming the party for the vetting process?’ A Corbynsceptic insider on Jared O’Mara

Though he is not a Momentum member and the local Momentum wing in Sheffield is frustrated at the association, O’Mara was a pro-Corbyn candidate. Corbyn supporters such as the media commentator Paul Mason are now calling for a member-led selection process to avoid poorly vetted candidates. “Why can’t we just condemn his misogyny, instead of blaming the party for the vetting process?” asks one Corbynsceptic insider. Left-wingers argue that members know more about local figures “and what they get up to in nightclubs”.

There are similar misgivings about “brocialism” on Labour’s left excusing new left-wing viral media outlets like The Canary running hatchet jobs on women such as Jess Phillips MP, chair of the Women’s Parliamentary Labour Party, and the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg.

While there is a broad agreement that the party’s safeguarding processes need updating, the fiercer nature of political debate brought about by Labour’s ideological shift and the EU referendum means calling out misogyny can be harder.

Anoosh Chakelian is a senior writer at the ‘New Statesman’