Jackie Speier: ‘We Still Have a Serious Problem in Congress’ with Sexual Harassment

EXCERPT:

SPEIER: "We still have a serious problem in Congress, in part because we've never addressed it. There is no requirement, mandatory requirement for sexual harassment training for members and staff. I have a bill to do that this year. It looks like Congress, particularly the House is going to address that. Meanwhile, all the federal employees are required to do so. But more importantly, we have a problem with a system that is really there to protect the accused and to diminish the victim. And to the victims I’ve talked to who have had current cases before the office of compliance, it’s a nightmare what they have gone through. So it's no surprise that three-quarters of those who're sexually harassed don’t even report it. So we've got to change the system so that these nondisclosure agreements are not required, that they have the opportunity to be represented by counsel and that their claims are given serious, uhm, serious attention."