Women generally know that there are very few places where we are safe in public. Just leaving our homes makes us targets for sexual harassment and our work lives are no exception. In the “old boys’ club” known as politics, where women are grossly underrepresented in positions of power, we are particularly at risk. And recent incidents with lawmakers who can’t seem to stop themselves from preying on the women they work with, shows we have good reason to worry.
Sexual harassment isn't uncommon in state legislatures, although the number of complaints has never been compiled. Men hold, on average, more than 75 percent of the seats, along with most of the positions of power, while women compose a high percentage of staff members, office employees, interns and lobbyists.
In the last month, legislators in Oklahoma and South Dakota have resigned after complaints of sexual harassment and other inappropriate contact with female employees. Last year, one lawmaker in Tennessee was expelled after having reportedly made advances toward more than 20 women. And in recent years, there have been sex scandals in at least eight other statehouses. And those are only the ones which are documented.
Yet, there are few procedures in place to address sexual harassment and to keep women safe in state legislatures.
Despite persistent incidents, many legislatures lack formal procedures for dealing with sexual harassment. While corporate America, colleges and government agencies have established processes for investigating complaints, state legislatures remain an often murky domain in which top leaders have broad latitude over how or whether to pursue allegations and can sidetrack them if they choose.
...State legislatures are an ideal environment for covering up sexual improprieties, so women are reluctant to report incidents, said Maya Raghu, a Washington, D.C., attorney specializing in women's issues who has conducted research on workplace sexual harassment.
It’s quite telling that a body whose very job it is to make policy and law can’t be bothered to figure out how to stop this from happening.
Some legislatures have adopted systems for reviewing and investigating complaints, but at least 10, including Oklahoma's, have none at all.
"As I understand it now," said Democratic Rep. Emily Virgin, one of 13 women in the Oklahoma House, "it's completely up to the speaker whether anything happens or not."
This is not only an embarrassment—it’s downright dangerous. It leaves women with almost nowhere that is safe. And with an unabashed misogynist and serial groper in the highest political office in the country, sadly, it seems like men in state legislatures have all the license they need to continue with this disgusting behavior.