YOGA teachers have launched a national campaign to tackle “endemic sexual harassment” in the sector. 

Members of the Yoga Teachers Union say that precarious working conditions and lack of regulations and protections create a “perfect storm for abuse to go unchecked and unreported.”

Many fear loss of work and being blacklisted if they do speak out about abuse, the union said.

Since its formation in 2020 as a branch of the the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), the union said it has received 39 reports of sexual harassment.

Yoga Teachers Union secretary Hayley Johns said: “Since coming together in the union, we’ve seen just how widespread and endemic harassment really is — evidenced by the volume of disclosures and active cases we’ve had reported to us. 

“In the yoga industry, teachers often work alone in private settings and without regulation or adequate structures, we have nowhere to turn when we are harassed at work. But when we come together as a union, we are no longer alone.”

The union is calling for a series of demands to end the “culture” of harassment including for every yoga venue to put in place a sexual harassment policy.