International Women’s Day
Debate between Chris Clarkson and Sara Britcliffe
Sara Britcliffe (Hyndburn) (Con)
I am pleased to contribute to this debate as the first female MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden.
International Women’s Day is hugely important in recognising women around the world. It is a time to reflect on the work that they do and a day to celebrate all that we have achieved. But women have significant battles to face whenever they try to succeed, progress or do something to make a difference.
“A little girl incapable of thinking for herself”; “A cut-and-paste MP out of her depth”; “A pygmy lower than vermin”—these are just some of the insults I have received since being elected just over a year ago. I have been objectified, patronised and threatened on more occasions than I care to count. My age, my looks and particularly my gender have been used as weapons to try to undermine my confidence and “put me back in my place.”
Sadly, my experiences are not unique or even in the minority. Indeed, I would be surprised if we could find one female Member of Parliament across the whole House who has not had some kind of threat or abuse, or just casual sexism during their time in office.
Chris Clarkson (Heywood and Middleton) (Con)
As my hon. Friend knows, my parents and quite a lot of my family live in her constituency. Their opinion of her is that she is an extremely capable Member of Parliament. She is also the youngest Member on our Benches. Does she agree that it is really important for young women to see strong women in this place?
Sara Britcliffe
I thank my hon. Friend. I absolutely agree.
On a day when we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, I wanted to share my own story and highlight that, even in 2021, the experience of men and women can still be very different. Even by highlighting this problem and making this speech today, I am encouraging the trolls, the incels and the other people who like to see me as a target. I will probably be accused of being a man-hater, or dismissed as overly emotional or seeking attention.
It is not just in politics that we see this. Women in every industry—from journalism to the armed forces, from law to business and those on the factory floor—report similar experiences. Many stayed silent until last night, as we read and heard about Sarah Everard. They opened up because they realise that this happens in everyday society. For the first time, I publicly spoke about being mugged at 12 years old. I spoke about it because of comments that hit home about “not walking down that street at night alone.” This is what we still see today in this day and age.
Through learning from other women and recognising the position I hold, silence is no longer an option. We need to speak about this because we need to break the norm. I am not saying that to suggest I am a unique victim; I am saying it because it is a widespread experience for women. We all need to stand up because it has to stop.
To finish, I would like to end with a quote from Malala Yousafzai:
“I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard…we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”