Sexual assault ‘commonplace’ at Young Farmers socials
Sexual assaults are now “commonplace” at Young Farmers social events, the editor of Farmers Weekly has claimed.
Writing in the latest edition of the industry magazine, Abi Kay said men in farming did not appear to be held accountable for their actions compared with other parts of society.
She said she had asked young women on TikTok, the social media platform: “What happens at Young Farmers?” to which she was told: “Sex, drugs, alcohol.”
Ms Kay wrote: “What I found was that girls attending such events have learned to expect that they will be grabbed and groped. It has become part and parcel of the culture.
“The kind of incidents that were described to me as commonplace are, in fact, classed as sexual assault, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“Worse still, several of the women said while they would have an issue with this behaviour outside young farmers’ events, they did not see it as problematic at these events, because they had a ‘different set of rules’,” she said.
“This is certainly not the image the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs [NFYFC] would want to portray,” she added.
‘Not held to account’
Young Farmers, which has approximately 23,000 members around the UK, promises to support young people in agriculture and the countryside and also helps them “enjoy a dynamic social life”.
Ms Kay said issues around the treatment of women in the industry were first drawn to her attention when she noticed slogan T-shirts being worn at a Young Farmers event held in Blackpool, Lancashire, earlier this month.
The slogans included “I can run faster horny than you can scared” and “For the sporting birds I can tighten the choke”.
She said she also saw photographs of girls at the event with “slut” written on their arms.
She continued in the article: “It is still astonishing that many farming women expect the men in their communities to display a lower standard of behaviour than other men.
“They are not being held accountable in the same way.
“It is hard to believe that this behaviour, at industry entry-level, will not have long-lasting consequences.”
A spokesman for the NFYFC told Farmers Weekly: “NFYFC is deeply saddened to learn that cases of sexual harassment or assault which have occurred at events/activities held by the YFC at a national, county or club level have not been reported.
“Behaviour of this nature is unacceptable in YFC and all reported cases are always treated extremely seriously by NFYFC.
“The safety and safeguarding of our members is paramount and NFYFC is committed to ensuring every member is safe while taking part in those activities.
“NFYFC has robust safeguarding policies, training and procedures in place.
“YFC members who have been affected by an incident at a YFC event should report it to their club or county designated safeguarding officer, or to the NFYFC safeguarding team.”
