Former Welsh Assembly researcher makes harassment claim

Sian Powell: "We didn't tolerate it - we just had to tolerate it"

A former researcher at the Welsh Assembly has spoken of inappropriate behaviour she experienced there.

Sian Powell told BBC Radio Cymru of three times when a male AM she did not work for made her feel uncomfortable - on one occasion trying to kiss her.

Ms Powell said she did not want young people entering politics to experience what she did.

The assembly said it was reviewing its procedures for reporting and investigating inappropriate behaviour.

'I just froze'

Ms Powell made the claims in an interview broadcast on the Taro'r Post programme.

It was recorded before the death of ex-communities minister Carl Sargeant, who had lost his job and been suspended by Welsh Labour days earlier following allegations about his conduct.

However it is understood her claims are not about Mr Sargeant.

She said the first instance was a comment from an AM that it was "nice to have young women work in the assembly".

On another occasion, Ms Powell said the AM "came into the office, held my face, and pulled me towards him, so he could kiss me".

She added: "There was another situation where he has just come out of the chamber, and he asked me to come into his office.

"He told me to 'sit down there, don't do anything, I just want to look at you'.

"I just froze in my seat."

Ms Powell said she knew what had happened was "odd", but she was unsure of what to do, or where to go.

"I mentioned it to a more senior member of staff who raised it with another assembly member, who stepped in and told him [the AM who had made the comments] that he was not to speak to me like that again," she said.

A cross-party meeting on harassment was postponed following the death of Carl Sargeant

Ms Powell called for clarity on where complaints should be directed - to a party, the assembly or an external body.

"It's hard when you work for AMs or MPs - you never know when there will be an election. If a member loses their seat, you lose your job.

"You hope the party will find you work with a new member, but you worry - if you speak out, no member will want to work with you."

Ms Powell said she hoped attitudes to harassment were changing, but said she was disappointed at those who claimed abuse in the past was tolerated, "because it was a different era".

"We didn't tolerate it - we just had to tolerate it, because there was nothing we could do about it", she said.

As someone who had sent young journalists on work experience to the assembly during her time as a university lecturer, Ms Powell said she was keen to speak out for the sake of others.

"It's in the back of your mind - 'gosh I hope they don't come back with the kind of stories I had'.

"I also hope they would be strong enough to deal with something without feeling they were at fault if something did happen."

Presiding Officer Elin Jones has said she wants victims of harassment to feel able to come forward

A spokesman for the Welsh Assembly said it "has policies in place for dealing with the inappropriate behaviour of members and staff, but we do not presume that this culture has always been upheld.

"No one should have to tolerate harassment of any kind whilst going about their daily lives.

"We are currently reviewing our procedures for the reporting and investigating of such complaints, and we will make a further statement on this in due course.

"We must ensure that anyone who feels they are the subject of unwanted or inappropriate behaviour feels confident in reporting their experiences, knowing that any complaints will be investigated thoroughly and fairly."

Last Monday, party leaders at Westminster agreed to set up a new grievance procedure for staff in the wake of a series of allegations of sexual harassment.

A cross-party meeting at the Senedd called by Presiding Officer Elin Jones to discuss harassment was due to be held last Tuesday, but it was postponed following the death of former communities secretary Carl Sargeant.