Advice

We’re here to help.

Dealing with sexual harassment is nothing short of unpleasant, it’s not easy for anyone and we all cope differently. We’re here to help however we can, whilst this advice is not to be taken as legal advice, we hope it helps.

If you have any questions, please contact us at ourvoicemattersuk@gmail.com or on Twitter at @OVM_UK.

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FAQ

What if they retaliate?

Often what makes lodging a sexual harassment complaint unpleasant is the behaviour of the accused party(s), this can be taxing on your mental health, so it’s best to put your wellbeing first.

1. Screenshot any abusive messages or posts they make about you, this includes; replies, images/memes, “jokes”, references, content relating to the allegations.
2. Block their account(s), so they are unable to interact with you or view your own content, it may be worth blocking all of their social media accounts as they may attempt to contact you.
3. Ensure your personal information, such as phone number, email address and home address are not publicly exposed. This is a measure worth taking to ensure you are not harassed by the accused party(s).
4. If the accused party(s) attempt to harass you, ensure you document all instances of this behaviour and contact the political party’s safeguarding team. In some instances, they may impose an “administrative suspension” upon the accused party(s), as a measure to protect you.

How do I lodge a complaint?

Every political party has it’s own reporting platform and their own policies, so the process tends to vary between each party. Below we provide a link to each political party’s complaints webpage, where they will direct you through the process of lodging a complaint.

• Labour Party: https://labour.org.uk/resources/making-a-complaint/
• Green Party: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/about-us/our-party/member-whistleblowing.html
• Liberal Democrats: https://www.libdems.org.uk/complaints-procedure
• Conservative Party: https://www.conservatives.com/contact
• Scottish National Party: https://www.snp.org/contact/
• Plaid Cymru: https://www.partyof.wales/contact

How do I collect evidence?

When lodging a complaint of sexual harassment, it isn’t always easy to collate evidence, sometimes it can be difficult to locate or reading through it can be upsetting.

It depends on the platform you’re using or where it happened. If it occurred on a messaging platform, it is best to take screenshots of the messages and save them to a folder.

However, if it took place on Snapchat and the messages are still available, you should use your phone’s built-in screen recorder app, as Snapchat sends notifications when screenshots are taken.

If it took place in person, try to think about the following
– Where it took place
– Who was with you at the time
– When it took place
– What happened

We have produced a dedicated section to collecting evidence on various platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and anonymous messaging apps.

What if I wish to go public?

It is recommended that should you choose to go public, you do so before filing a complaint, as some parties may view this poorly if done so afterwards. To clarify, when you go public with allegations of sexual harassment should not influence the decision they reach.

1. Pick a platform, often the best place to do this is Twitter, as the platform grants much more reach.
2. Make an opening statement, in either in your first post or write a longform message, screenshot it and post it.
3. Discuss how that behaviour affected you, if possible, as your friends and family will know better how to help you.
4. Post as much evidence as you are comfortable with, this can be in the form of screenshots, ensure you set out a timeline of events where possible.

The process is taking too long

Sometimes the process of a sexual harassment complaint can take a while, this is due to a variety of issues, such as administrative issues and issues finding an independent investigator.

1. Contact your political party’s respective safeguarding team,
2. Contact your political party’s safeguarding lead, to see if they can raise it,
3. Contact a Member of Parliament in that political party, as they may be able to help the case get addressed sooner.

Instagram and Twitter

To collect evidence on Instagram/Twitter, in the form of messages, open your messages and try to find the conversation.

Instagram and Twitter do not notify others when you screenshot messages.

If you have pictures, it is easier to screenshot them, however if you need to download videos for evidence you can use free “Instagram/Twitter to MP4” websites.

Snapchat

To collect evidence on Snapchat, in the form of messages, open your messages and try to find the conversation.

Warning: Snapchat does notify others when you screenshot messages.

It is advised you use your phone’s built-in screen recording app, then go through the conversation.

Snapchat messages can disappear once you leave the conversation, or can be automatically deleted, unless saved in chat. Please bear this in mind.

Anonymous messaging applications such as “Tellonym” and “NGL”

To collect evidence on Tellonym or NGL, open your received messages and screenshot them. Both of these apps allow you to access information about the sender, however this information does not include their name, and you are required to pay for them.

If you are using NGL, you can pay £8.99 for the premium version, then follow the below steps:

1. Open the app and navigate to the message you wish to view
2. There should be a button asking if you would like to view more information
3. This information will contain the following: the user ID, the network, the device operating system, the approximate location
4. You should first think about where you posted the link. Do you have any followers in the area in which it was sent? Do you know what devices this person may use? You could ask them if they sent one of the messages, then compare the user IDs of the two messages.

With anonymous messaging apps, it is not easy to establish who sent the messages, as there are a lot of data points involved and it takes some work. However, if you need advice with this matter, please feel free to contact us.