Faith Colburn, Sam Chavez and Ruth Ferguson of @SHiP. Not pictured, Catie Stewart. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyIt has been over five years since more than 140 women in the California Capitol community signed a letter calling for an end to what they termed a “pervasive” atmosphere of sexual harassment and “dehumanizing behavior by men with power in our workplaces.”
Night view of the California state Capitol, where an effort is underway to allow staffers to unionize.(Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)The clerks, receptionists, and those who get the coffee in the Capitol have historically been “at will” employees – meaning the legislators who employ them can fire them whenever they wish. That may be about to change.
A woman struggling with the aftermath of rape and violence. (Image: DoiDam 10, via Shutterstock)Of all the state’s residents, California’s 265,000 female farm workers are among the most vulnerable when it comes to sexual assault and rape. Farm worker survivors of sexual assault and those who are there to help them, California’s rape crisis centers, face many obstacles: survivors’ lack of English proficiency, immigration status, nature of employment, fear of employer retaliation, and distrust of authorities.
Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, left, chair of an Assembly committee targeting sexual harassment in the Capitol, confers with Assemblywoman Marie Waldron, R-Escondido, at a Nov. 28 hearing. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)Allegations of rampant sexual assault and harassment in the California Capitol have ensnared three lawmakers and brought promises of reform from leadership. But some women who have spoken out say they are also facing consequences for telling their stories.
Assemblymember Melissa Menendez, R-Lake Elsinore, at an August hearing in the Capitol. She has carried anti-sexual harassment legislation four years in a row. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli) OPINION: As a statewide women-led alliance that advocates at the Capitol to create equity-focused policies for healthy, sustainable communities, we rise with the nearly 200 women who have signed a letter denouncing a culture of rampant sexual abuse and violence in and around the Capitol. We condemn both those whom have engaged in such intolerable conduct, as well as the individuals whom over years have enabled such violence by failing to meet their moral and legal obligations to end it.
An image of a man touching the knee of a female colleague at work. (Photo: Shutterstock)In the wake of the sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein, scores of lobbyists, lawmakers and staff members signed an open letter detailing examples of sexual harassment in the political community.