Former Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt writes in a post on Instagram that she has “quite a lot of experience with sexual harassment cases”.
She shares the post in light of the recent debate, after 1615 women from the Danish media industry have signed a letter of support to TV host Sofie Linde that a sexist culture exists in the industry.
Thorning-Schmidt describes how she, as a political leader, has encountered sexual harassment several times.
– Two high-profile cases when I was chairman of the Social Democrats, and a case at CEO level from Save the Children UK that still cast long shadows over my watch as director of international Save the Children from 2016.
– Common to my handling was that I was accused of overreacting, which I actually feel very good about today, writes the former prime minister.
She does not go into detail with the three sexual harassment cases, but she writes that “it must come to an end that named women must use more courageous energy to lift the burden of proof”.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt urges media leaders, party leaders, department heads, NGO directors, bureau directors, union leaders and others to do too much rather than too little in cases of sexism.
– Invite dialogue with the women and ask them, do employee surveys, make sure everyone has understood what discrimination and sexual harassment are.
– Make compulsory courses for all employees, make sure that everyone knows the ways to complain, create a culture of solidarity and show with your personal actions and values that there is zero tolerance among the top management, she encourages.
Source: The Nordic Page
