Labour candidate pledges “zero tolerance” on sexual harassment

Labour’s MP candidate for Cambridge, Daniel Zeichner, today promised a “zero tolerance” policy towards sexual harassment if he is elected.

The MP wannabe’s announcement was made at an event in support of Cambridge’s “Good Night Out” campaign, with speakers from the CUSU, Cambridge 4 Consent, FLY and Cambridge Business.

Courting the student vote

Cambridge Labour Club’s Vice Chair, Olivia Barber, tells the Tab: ’’Sexual harassment continues to be endemic in our bars, clubs and venues; it’s time to take a real stand and Daniel Zeichner’s pledge to support the Good Night Out campaign will help us to do exactly this.

“This pledge shows that he is actually listening to real concerns of students and will fight the fight with us to stamp out sexual harassment in our city.”

Zeichner and CUSU

The pledge forms one of five things Zeichner proposes to do if he is elected MP. The others include supporting the Living Wage, protecting of the NHS, tackling homelessness and making himself accountable to the student body for any of his promises.

This comes as Labour takes the lead in several student polls, and have a strong chance of ousting the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert.

In a response to The Tab, Huppert defended his record, stating he was: “concerned that despite evidence showing that full-time students have an increased risk of experiencing sexual violence and sexual harassment compared to other women, many have found they have no-one to turn to within the universities for help when harassed or assaulted by fellow students.

“I have campaigned to change this and give our students better protection. I worked with the NUS, Rape Crisis and Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism project, writing an open letter to the Telegraph demanding policy change on how universities should respond to complaints.

“I also led the way in banning revenge porn, and locally worked with students and others to improve lighting across our green spaces, so that women are safe and feel safe. I voted in favour of compulsory sex and relationships education, so that everyone at school is taught about what is and is not acceptable; I want similar courses at university as well. I have also pressed the police to take these issues more seriously – too often, we see complaints not taken seriously, and a culture of disbelief or victim blaming. This is unacceptable.

“We have come a long way in protecting women from sexual harassment both in the workplace and in other walks of life but there is still a long way to go.”

The Tab is awaiting comment from the other candidates.