
Until 1985 (and unlike other types of sexual violence) there was no single-issue agency to which women who had experienced sexual harassment could turn for help.
Women Against Sexual Harassment (WASH) was set up in June 1985 to offer practical advice and counselling for all women who needed it, including those were not members of trade unions and thus had no other recourse. It also performed a training and educational function, lobbied and advocated for policy change, and monitored the work of the EOC.
Resulting from the work inaugurated by the NCCL Women’s Rights Unit, WASH was run mainly by volunteers (with radical lawyers, trade unionists and equality experts on its management committee) from an office initially in Kings Cross, London. WASH’s one paid co-ordinator was funded by donations and grants (from bodies such as the Rowntree Charitable Trust and the London Borough Grants Scheme).
It worked across and with other organisations and networks. In 1988 WASH worked with the NUJ, the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (ACTT) and the Broadcasting Entertainments Alliance (Beta) to support women in the television industry.
WASH’s spring 1990 newsletter reported that it had helped some 400 women over the previous year (as well as dealing with thousands more telephone inquiries). In many cases, WASH referred women to the Women’s Legal Defence Fund, a separate initiative launched in 1989 to provide free legal support for tribunal and court cases through its network of barristers, solicitors, law students and trade unionists.
At a policy level, WASH recognised that new UK statute law was unlikely in the 1980s-90s (given, for example, the failure of the 1983 Sex Equality Bill). Instead, it worked closely with similar organisations in European Union member states to campaign successfully for an EU Directive on sexual harassment. In 1991 the European Commission introduced a Code of Practice and Recommendation (which also offered a definition of sexual harassment), and this was followed in 2002 with a Directive that required member states to revise or adopt sexual harassment laws by 2005.
Despite meagre financial resource, WASH developed a substantial reputation not only for its practical support but also for its campaigning, advocacy work and legal strategizing.
Further reading
- Kathrin S. Zippel, The Politics of Sexual Harassment (Cambridge University Press, 2006)