MRW launches sexual harassment survey

With Covid-19 keeping hundreds of millions of people in lockdown in their homes and financial markets crashing, the societal problems of yesterday seem less relevant today. However, while we hold our breath in the wait for the Covid-19 crisis to be under control, we should not lose sight of centuries old issues that will remain even after the pandemic is defeated.

On Monday 16 March, MRW has launched a survey aimed at “shining a light on sexual harassment” to understand how the picture in the resources and waste industry compares with the national average. Section 1 of the survey opens with an astonishing fact: 52% of women, and one in five men in the UK have experienced sexual harassment at work. The survey places sexual harassment as the

“unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature which violates your dignity, makes you feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated and creates a hostile or offensive work environment. It is about how you feel rather than the intention of the harasser.”

You can take the anonymous survey here. In order to gain a reliable picture as many people as possible in the resources and waste sector should complete the survey, even those who did not experience sexual harassment. Please share the survey with colleagues and peers in the sector and help to address this vital issue. Deadline date for submissions is 6 April.

The survey is the first of a series of MRW’s campaigns to encourage diversity and positive behaviour in the industry.