West Yorkshire Mayor applauds ‘courageous’ women for speaking out against Russell Brand

West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin has paid tribute to the “enormous courage” of the women who’ve made serious allegations against Russell Brand.

The TV personality and former comedian was accused of multiple sexual assaults in coverage by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times over the weekend. He has denied the claims, saying all his relationships have been consensual.

Mayor Brabin was speaking at the launch of her #JustDon’t campaign, which is urging boys and men to end harasssment and inappropriate behaviour towards women, and to call out their friends when they witness something unacceptable.

The campaign is highlighting how catcalling and sexualised comments, that some men might feel to be harmless, can escalate and result in serious harm and violence.

Speaking at the launch, Mayor Brabin praised Brand’s alleged victims for speaking out.

She said: “The courage it takes when you feel you might not be believed and there might not be a good outcome is enormous.

“Certainly when that person is a celebrity and more powerful than you, you need enormous courage, so I do applaud those women.

“It proves this campaign is so important, because there was a culture of inappropriate behaviour not being called out.

“And that’s what we’re saying: it’s not banter, it’s not OK and just don’t.”

Mayor Brabin, who it was confirmed this week is standing for a second term in 2024, recalled her own experience as a younger woman of surviving an attempted rape by a stranger.

Figures produced by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) suggest 86 per cent of young women in the UK have experienced sexual harassment of some kind.

Mayor Brabin called on men to be “allies” of women.

“We live with this rubbish on a day-to-day basis and to be honest we’re sick of it,” she added.

“This is why this campaign is so important because we shouldn’t have to monitor our behaviour, or close down our lives because we’re afraid of men. We need men to help us and be our allies.

“It’s about saying to men and boys that you are part of the solution. You can say to your friends that it’s not acceptable. You can support somebody that is being harassed by intervening, by recording it or by calling the police.

“Don’t be a bystander. Get involved and support us.”