Staffers on Parliament Hill call for closer look at workplace bullying: survey
OTTAWA — The #MeToo movement may have given national prominence to the issue of sexual misconduct on Parliament Hill, but some of the responses to a recent Canadian Press survey suggest bullying and exploitation of those who work for political bosses are largely unexamined problems.
“Sexual harassment happens and is devastating to those that experience it, but it is dwarfed by ‘regular’ harassment that is far more prevalent and just as destructive,” wrote one respondent to the anonymous online survey, which asked political staffers in Ottawa for their views and experiences with sexual assault and sexual harassment.
“Many staffers have broken down, were forced out of their jobs, and many have contemplated suicide over the intense harassment and exploitation of staffers.”
The Canadian Press questionnaire was distributed among those who work in the Hill offices of MPs, senators and cabinet ministers. There is no way to verify the size of the population, so the non-representative results of the survey do not allow for broad conclusions about the prevalence of the problem.