Our aim in this paper is to analyse one specific aspect of the gendered dynamics and practices within the political groups of the European Parliament (EP), namely the persistence of sexual harassment as a form of gendered violence. The international #metoo campaign, which started in 2017, reached the EP too, where the staff, and particularly the accredited parliamentary assistants (APAs), have launched their own #metooep online campaign to cover stories about sexual harassment incidents in particular, and sexism in general, in the parliament and protest against the failure of the procedures to protect the victims and punish perpetrators. Our research data is generated as part of the larger ERC funded research project EUGenDem where we conduct both interviews and ethnography among MEPs and staff in Brussels and Strasbourg. We will be drawing upon this unique data, which goes beyond the recent #metoo campaign. The analysis covers aspects of both the official statutory Advisory Committee on harassment in the parliament and the intensive staff mobilisation around sexual harassment and disillusionment about the parliament’s and committee’s ability to act on it. Our key research questions are: How is sexual harassment constructed in the institution and how does it shape MEPs and staff work? What sort of power dynamics emerge from the interaction of an informal movement with an official entity? How effective can a #metooep campaign be? A distinct contribution of the paper is to focus not just on the European Parliament as a whole but to analyse the findings in relation to women and men MEPs perceptions and experiences of their political groups. Furthermore, we approach gender intersectionally, and study not just the gendered but also the racialised and classed dimensions of sexual harassment.
