Actress and activist Emma Watson helped launch a free hotline that will offer legal advice to people in England and Wales that have experienced sexual harassment at work.
The hotline is funded by the Time’s Up UK Justice and Equality fund, which is managed by nonprofit Rosa (the UK Fund for Women and Girls). The actress donated £1 million to the fund in 2018.
Callers will be connected with a member of the nonprofit Rights of Women, that works to educate women of their legal rights and provide legal support to women that have experienced violence.
The hotline will help women learn more about what legally constitutes sexual harassment, how to bring forth a complaint, and how to deal with non-disclosure agreements which might seek to keep them from speaking out, according to the BBC. Legal specialists will advise them of their rights as well as the best course of action, at no cost.
The hotline is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, which Watson said is “completely staggering” if one considers the scale of workplace sexual harassment in the United Kingdom and beyond.
About half of British women said they had been sexually harassed at work or an educational institution, as a 2017 BBC survey reported, and just 37 percent said they reported it.
Sexual harassment at work has been in the spotlight since thousands of women began sharing their personal experiences online using the hashtag #MeToo, after many victims of sexual harassment by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein broke their silence back in October 2017. The #MeToo movement has gained traction globally in recent years, influencing women from Sweden to Japan to Indonesia to speak out.
In spite of the spotlight on this issue, Deeba Syed, senior legal officer at Rights of Women, said that workplace sexual harassment is still an issue that often remains hidden.
We're proud to launch our new free legal advice line for women in England & Wales who have been sexually harassed at work, funded by @TIMESUPUK @RosaForWomen and backed by @EmmaWatson
— Rights of Women (@rightsofwomen) August 5, 2019
The phone number is 02074900152 and opening times are on our website https://t.co/5Vd8rs11x3 pic.twitter.com/RdNOEVCr3X
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