LONDON, Feb 26 — British actress Helena Bonham Carter called today for women globally to unite against sexual harassment, the latest in a group of UK celebrities and campaigners to join a rally pushing for a global law to end abuse in the workplace.
Bonham Carter, 52, said she would participate in the annual #March4Women rally in central London on Sunday which this year marks 100 years since the passing of a law lifting sanctions barring women from certain professions.
The actress, who has starred in films such as Harry Potter and Les Miserables, said she would be sharing testimonies from women working globally in conditions that leave them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
“Sexual harassment isn’t in anyone’s job description,” Bonham Carter said in a statement released by charity and rally organiser CARE International.
“It’s so important to show solidarity with women and girls not only in the UK but around the world.”
United Nations member states agreed in 2015 to a set of 17 global goals that included ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls by 2030.
UN Women said about 154 countries have laws on sexual harassment but this does not mean they are always compliant with international standards and recommendations or implemented.
Other women taking part in #March4Women include campaigner Gina Martin who successfully headed a movement to ban “upskirting” — or secretly taking photos up women’s skirts — and anti-female genital mutilation campaigner Leyla Hussein.
Hussein said that despite the #MeToo movement the voices of “black women are still not heard” with many battles left in the fight against sexual violence. — Thomson Reuters Foundation
