Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images
Emma Watsonhas teamed up withTime’s Upto help fund a legal advice hotline for women in the U.K. experiencing workplace sexual harassment.
The hotline is available free of cost for women living in England and Wales, and is reportedly the only service of its kind, according to Watson.
“It’s completely staggering to think that this is the only service of its type given that research has found that as many as one in two women experience sexual harassment in the workplace. It finally feels like people are realizing the scale of the problem,”she said in a statement.
John Salangsang/REX/Shutterstock
The service’s goal is to help women obtain and understand their legal rights, so that they can hold their employer and harasser accountable in the event of workplace harassment, according to the actress.
“Understanding what your rights are, how you can assert them and the choices you have if you’ve experienced harassment is such a vital part of creating safe workplaces for everyone,” the actress and activist said. “This advice line is such a huge development in ensuring that all women are supported, wherever we work.”
“This advice line’s purpose is to empower women to exercise their legal rights in the workplace,” she said in a statement. “By advising women about their legal options and increasing their understanding of equalities and discrimination law, we will be able to help them make informed choices about next steps, including how to navigate the legal system with confidence.”
This isn’t the first time Watson has worked with Time’s Up and the movement against sexual harassment.
In February 2018, she donated £1 million (approximately $1.4 million) to the Justice and Equality Fund, a U.K.-based initiative that fights against sexual harassment, assault and discrimination.
She also donned afake “Times Up” tattooon her forearm for the 2018Vanity FairOscars afterparty.
source: people.com
