Westminster has a sexual assault problem
It’s time we called out groping for what it really is – sexual assault.
Chris Pincher, the MP for Tamworth, faces an eight-week suspension from the House of Commons after an inquiry found he ‘groped’ two men at a London club last year.
But I believe this doesn’t go far enough. In any other workplace, you could be fired for such an act – and that’s exactly what should happen in this case too.
Based on his punishment, one could be forgiven for thinking that the MP had been accused of an inappropriate touch of the arm on a single occasion.
But no, one witness said Pincher touched his arm and neck, then ‘squeezed’ his bottom, while another witness claimed he ‘groped’ both his bottom and testicles.
As far as I’m concerned, that’s sexual assault. It’s a sexual crime against two individuals and should be treated as such. But instead, Pincher was recommended to receive a slap on the wrist rather than permanent expulsion from the Tory Party.
The eight-week suspension has greater consequences, however, because if the ban is backed by MPs in a Commons vote, it will trigger a recall petition in Tamworth – meaning that a by-election will happen if 10% of registered voters in the constituency sign a petition calling for one. Only then will Pincher lose his job.
It should not be on the constituents of Tamworth to hand down a tougher penalty on Chris Pincher than the Prime Minister – a man who promised us a government of ‘integrity, professionalism and accountability’.
Where’s the integrity in sexually assaulting two men? Where’s the professionalism in causing one of the people involved so much trauma that they struggle to sleep when they recount the incident? Where’s the accountability in an eight-week ban and the potential to return to office?
Meanwhile, Pincher claims that his actions did not cause significant damage to the reputation of the House because he was speaking at the Carlton Club event in his capacity as a former Minister, rather than as a Member of Parliament.
And what of Boris Johnson? The former PM who promoted Pincher after being aware of his inappropriate behaviour and allegations against him, which Downing Street itself confirmed? The man for whom the Pincher scandal was one of the straws that broke the camel’s back that was his premiership?
When asked yesterday during a podcast interview about the Pincher situation, he seemingly mocked the scandal by snoring and pretending to fall asleep.
A moment that perfectly epitomised the culture that Johnson permeated through Parliament. One that shrugged in the face of wrong-doing. One that failed to address multiple Pestminster scandals and left voters’ trust in politicians at an all-time low.
Who snores at something as serious as a sexual assault allegation?
Our Government, our representatives in the House of Commons, people working in the highest offices in the land have a responsibility to call out and appropriately punish the perpetrators of sexual assault – especially when it’s been committed by one of their own.
That punishment should be a swift removal from the Conservative Party and Pincher losing his job.
As for his excuse via his resignation letter that he had drunk ‘far too much’, that doesn’t hold up either. Alcohol doesn’t make you sexually assault people.
It may very well lower your inhibitions, but for most people, it isn’t social inhibitions that stop us from sexually assaulting others, it’s the fact that we have no desire to do so in the first place.
Westminster has a sexual assault problem, there is no denying that. Just last year, almost 60 MPs were said to be accused of sexual misconduct after being referred to parliamentary watchdog.
The Labour Party suspended Geraint Davies last month over claims that allegedly go back years. An unnamed Tory MP – who cannot be named for legal reasons – is also on bail after being accused of rape, sexual assault and other charges, while fellow Tory MP Rob Roberts lost the whip after he was accused of making unwanted sexual advances.
With such a petty recommended suspension for Chris Pincher – who was allegedly known for years as ‘Pincher by name, Pincher by nature’ – we must ask ourselves if Westminster really does take sexual assault as seriously as it should.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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