Parties Coalition says it will improve intervention in harassment – Anonymous reporting channel and harassment liaison officers coming

Coalition plans to create new practices to deal with harassment cases in the party MP To Wille Rydman following allegations. Party leadership also sees a need to promote the use of ethical guidance in the party.

Party Secretary Kristiina Kokko tells STT that the Coalition Party has decided to make the harassment liaison officers available for continuous use. In the past, they have been used at major events such as party meetings and cruises.

“The intention is to make this a continuous activity so that there are no blind spots left, who can be contacted or who can be contacted,” Kokko says.

In addition, the party intends to create an anonymous reporting channel for reporting grievances related to party activities.

“The third thing we’re doing is refining the protocol for helping victims.”

Helsingin sanomat newspaper said in an article published on Sundaythat several young women had reported Rydman’s distressing behavior.

In several interviews conducted by HS, it is repeated that Rydman offered plenty of alcohol and patinated for a drink. Some of the women have been minors at the time of the incident.

Rydman denied the allegations on social media and on his blog. He described to HS that he had been the subject of “blackmail”.

Read more: “I have two underage girls involved” – MP Wille Rydman is said to have approached underage girls for years and has been warned

Party Secretary according to it, it is necessary that the new practices that followed the news coverage are also included in the party’s ethical guidelines.

The instructions are almost oven fresh. The Coalition Party began drafting an internal code of ethics in 2020, when the Coalition Women’s Initiative, which called for it, was approved at the Pori Party Conference. The guidelines were approved by the party government in September 2021.

Kokko says that after the approval, the guide has come to the attention of key actors in the parties. It has been reviewed with employees, he said, and sent to “at least some of the key trustees”.

Implementation work must continue, Kokko says.

“We have to make sure that it is available to everyone and that every actor is aware of it.”

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The Coalition Party intends to create an anonymous reporting channel for reporting grievances related to party activities.

Also Chairman of the Coalition Women, Member of Parliament Pihla Keto-Huovinen considers that the guidelines should be more widely implemented.

“The staff has been trained, but I would say that it should be better brought to the attention of the membership, members of parliament and other actors,” Keto-Huovinen tells STT.

The introduction of an anonymous reporting channel and the training of harassment liaison officers are actions required by the Women’s Federation on the party on Sunday following the publication of the HS article. At the same time, the Coalition Women demanded that the ethical guidelines be published on the party’s website.

The model would be taken by the women’s union from the party’s youth organization. The Coalition Youth has published its own guidelines on its website, which also has an anonymous form for harassment cases.

STT received instructions to see from the Coalition. According to it, members of the Coalition Party are encouraged to openly point out possible problems in the party’s activities.

The guide does not specify exactly how to proceed. Illegal activities must be reported to the police and “other conflicts” must be resolved as soon as possible in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. Mediation is mentioned as the primary means.

The guide emphasizes the responsibility of the council and the management of the associations in the midst of disagreements. The guidelines state that chairpersons should address inappropriate behavior, harassment, and other difficult situations at the earliest possible stage.

Party chairman Petteri Orpo mentioned the existence of an ethical code, the Code of Conduct, in its Twitter update on Sunday. However, he did not say how it has been exploited in this case or in any other way.

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The guide emphasizes the responsibility of the council and the management of the associations in the midst of disagreements.

Coalition women the initiative two years ago stated that the guide should clearly set out, for example, who should report irregularities or misconduct and who should be responsible for any consequences.

“Clear rules of the game ensure that all forms of discrimination and bullying, for example, are addressed,” the initiative said.

bonfire says that the current guidelines are primarily intended to deal with disputes arising from the division of responsibilities.

“In them, the principle of subsidiarity is especially important because we are not able to take a position on them at the party or necessarily even at the district level. In this case, we concluded that the party secretary and the district executive director were the right people to go through this matter, ”Kokko refers to Rydman’s case.

Kokko and Orpo said on Sunday that suspicions about Rydman have been resolved in the party between the Helsinki district executive director, Koko and Rydman.