Channel 4 News: Rubbish Survey

Channel 4 News has been investigating sexual harassment in Parliament. We spoke to 70 people hailing from all political parties and sexual orientations, and found that this is something that's really part of the fabric.

Researchers from Firecrest Films discovered that a third had personally experienced sexual harassment which they saw as an abuse of power. A further 21 per cent told us they had witnessed someone else being sexually harassed, or that a friend had confided in them. And less than a half (46 per cent), said they had no first or second-hand knowledge of such behaviour.

The people we spoke to didn't want to talk on camera, because they were too fearful of blighting a nascent political career. But here's what they told us. "At an event for young political activists I was asked to go to the gents by a certain MP who had always been a nice guy. I just brushed it off.

"The MP suggested I go to the toilets with him at about 1am, but then at 3am I saw him going back to his hotel room with a guy who looked about 18," one said.

"He invited the office to a gay bar, and came up to me and put his arm around my shoulder. Then one time he slid his hand right down my back, and I moved it away," said another.

Our investigation revealed that young men are more likely to get harassed than women. Some 40 per cent of men we spoke to had received unwanted sexual advances. One woman watched it happening.

"I watched men coming on to men, and men hiring men that they wanted to sleep with. I saw male MPs and researchers having relationships.

"When I was there, older men would explore their sexuality and be predatory to younger men."

Channel 4 News.

Much quoted, though they only spoke to 70 people - that number again SEVENTY! - presumably a self-selected group who answered an email about sexual harrasment at Westminster, none of whom would talk on camera, so it's about as scientific as the magical powers of kryptonite.

(Have sent various messages to Channel 4 asking how they found the respondents, no reply thus far).

Crystal: More Balls

2014 marks an important anniversary.
It was twenty years ago that the first article in the UK gay press warning about Crystal Meth was published in the short-lived magaine, Phase.
Every year ever since we have been warned by the gay and straight press that the UK gay scene is about to get taken over by Crystal AND WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!
You may have noticed this has not happened.
To mark the 20th anniversary we are being taken over by a new flood of warnings about meth.
Maybe it's been helped cause boring people may have now heard about it from Breaking Bad and the "shamed Crystal Methodist" Paul Flowers
The other week the Independent On Sunday was warning about a "meteroric rise" in "slamming" (injecting at sex parties).
Based on some data that showed this wasn't really happening.

Today Channel 4 News joined in the hysteria with an item; Is Crystal Meth Behind London's Rising HIV Levels?
Viewers learn that some gay men in London take drugs, some take crystal ("a very small proportion"), some like having sex on drugs - and some people even use something called "Grindr" and tell other gay men they take drugs!
It was all shocking stuff.
An expert says there is a "public health nightmare".
Antidote said that at London's two clinics for gay male drug users, 187 men had meth as their main problem in 2010.
[Channel 4 News admitted a recorded rise in meth users at the clinics "must be treated with caution - it may reflect greater awareness of the clinics."]
Crystal can certainly do terrible things to some users - so I wouldn't be surprised if a high proportion of gay men are having problems, even if they are a very small proportion of users - and Antidote are doing a great job helping them, but out of a London gay male population of maybe 200,000-500,000 is this really inidicative of such a big problem?
Or is this just more media gay + sex + drugs = death hysteria?

PS The Daily Mail join in the fun!

Update: An excellent piece by Professor David Nutt on the UK press this week reporting a woman's "Death by cannabis". Last week Anorak did a nice montage of tabloid stories about the EVIL ACID HOUSE MENACE!

Channel 4 News: Reheated Debate

"As Glasgow's Catholic archbishop questions plans in Scotland and the UK to allow full marriage rights to same-sex couples, Channel 4 News debates the issues surrounding gay marriage."
Snore!