Imagine being a young gay man working in Parliament.
You look up to the MPs. They believe in what you believe in.
That’s why you’re working there. They’re famous.
They can promote you. But then one of them touches you up.
What do you do? You’re probably terrified of lodging a formal complaint.
You might fear that people will ask whether you’re gay – and suggest that things aren’t so ‘straightforward’ if you are.
That’s what the government whip Sarah Dines said to the young man who was allegedly groped by Chris Pincher at the Carlton Club, as if she was suggesting that being gay means you have it coming to you.
Imagine if she had said the same to a young woman, putting the blame on the victim, not the perpetrator.
You’d also be outing yourself and in some cases you would be outing the MP, because it’s a sad fact that despite the dramatic changes in social attitudes over the years, a significant number of MPs are still in the closet.
To them I say, do yourself a favour. Learn to accept yourself. You’ll be less of a danger to yourself – and to others.
The biggest fear for a young researcher, though, might be that the MP will take revenge.
The fear of a ruined career is a terrible blackmail. That’s hardly how you want to start your working life.
Thankfully Parliament has a completely confidential and independent complaints and grievance scheme.
Every allegation will be taken seriously and dealt with confidentially.
But this is part of a much bigger picture.
Some of Boris Johnson’s allies take liberties because they presume that a PM who has broken pretty much every rule going is never going to sack them.
That has to change. Parliament has to be safe for everyone, gay or straight, male or female.
