LAST Friday, Milly Johnson wrote an excellent piece about inappropriate sexual behaviour of men, towards women.

In a 30-year career as a Barnsley teacher, very little of this type of behaviour came to my attention as a trade unionist.

But there were some appalling rumours circulating in the local authority, so it definitely existed – it was just difficult to measure how pervasive it was.

Don’t get me wrong, those I worked alongside could never be described as too prim and proper. Staffroom discussions were often serious, but there was always time for a laugh as well.

The teachers and assistants were mostly clever and quick-witted, especially after the important issues had been exhausted. It helped us relax and raise our spirits so that by the next lesson we felt refreshed enough to go again.

However, behaviour that was demeaning to women, or weakened their status, was never tolerated in the well-unionised schools I worked in.

In the mid-1980s, one head teacher had heard that the neighbouring comprehensive had banned female staff from wearing trousers of any type. So, he brought the ‘no-trousers-for-women’ policy into his own school. It was a terrible error of judgement because all his female teachers resented it – even those who never wore trousers.

At a joint union meeting it was decided that, on the following day, all the women would turn up to school in trousers – and they did – and there was nothing the head could do about it. From then on, females wearing trousers was still rare but no big deal.

But, perhaps the most serious incident (but not nearly as depraved as Gregg Wallace displaying his undercarriage) was when a male employee kept making unsolicited sexual advances to a female colleague.

After three incidents, Josey* came to me for advice. “Martyn* keeps making crude comments when we’re alone together in the classroom. I try to ignore them by making an ‘I’m-not-amused’ face but he’s not getting the message. He’s becoming a real nuisance and I want it to stop.”

At first Josey didn’t want me, as her union rep, to intervene but I did seek advice from Pete Bevis, our union secretary.

In the end, Josey agreed that if it happened again she would threaten to report him to the union.

At the end of the following week she told me: “It’s happened twice today, even though I’ve warned him on both occasions. He just said: ‘Report me? Report me for what? What’s wrong with you, anyway? It’s only a bit of fun.’”

That same day, I took Martyn to one side and explained: “We have a trade union policy at this school to stop sexual harassment, and if it happens again, ALL teachers – male and female – will be taking collective action against you. This will include reporting you as a sex-pest to the authorities.”

Martyn rolled over like a beaten dog. “Oh, I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t realise... I was out of order... I can see that now... and it will never happen again.”

Sexism potentially affects 50 per cent of the human race and is, therefore, a terrible plague on society. Its effects are usually far more serious than the examples I’ve given, and its origins are much more sinister than people think.

No man is born a chauvinist – it’s learned from the likes of Rupert Murdoch and co. They have spent a lifetime using their vast power and wealth to convince us that women are mere sex objects, home-makers and mothers, who don’t merit equal rights, equal opportunities and equal pay. In other words, besides being morally wrong, there’s a political source to sexism: it’s called divide and rule.

But I earnestly look forward to a time when these backward ideas are swept aside and all women feel respected as equals in all spheres of modern life.

And if they do report unfair treatment, then it should be taken seriously and acted upon.

Trade unionism is, in my view, the way forward in fighting misogyny. That way, victims will not feel isolated and powerless, and offenders will find it much more difficult to trample over women’s rights.

Chauvinists in positions of power will also have greater difficulty enlisting their equally sexist masters for protection.

A woman’s place is in the union – unity begets strength.

Real names have been altered.