Thank you to everyone who contacted me in support of the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill.

Whether in work, at home, or elsewhere, the right of women to live their lives free from violence, harassment, and discrimination is one of my highest priorities in parliament. That’s why I’m proud to be backing Labour’s ending violence against women and girls green paper, our blueprint for the action we will take if elected to government, and why I have also been challenging the Attorney General on the government’s appalling failure to take crimes like rape and stalking seriously.

My view is that whether we are talking about sexist ‘banter’ in the workplace or the most serious forms of sexual or domestic violence, what we are talking about is a culture of misogyny that must be stamped out wherever it is found. That often begins with the kinds of sexist behaviour many women will have experienced in the workplace and which sadly many employers, workers, and victims still dismiss as a fact of life, rather than a form of abuse to be challenged.

That’s why I absolutely support this important change in the law that would introduce a preventative duty and third-party liability for employers so that all workers, and women in particular, have the legal protections they need and deserve to work in safe and respectful workplaces.

This Bill has cross-party support, including from the government, which is why I’ve written to the Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch, to urge her to restate her support for the Bill and to ensure that it has sufficient parliamentary time to pass into law.

Please know that I will never stop pushing for the action that is needed to stamp out misogyny and sexism wherever it may be found, including at work.