For several years, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, has been on the forefront of trying to prevent sexual assault in the military through her work on the House Armed Services Committee. Whether it be seeking to audit effectiveness of sexual assault hotlines or overhauling how the military handles cases of rape and sexual assault, Speier has been fighting for victims in our nation’s armed forces for years. She has also been leading the charge on eliminating sexual assault on college campuses. It has been a relatively quiet quest but her dogged determination over the years has provided some traction.
Now, she is setting her sights on a slightly different target — and that is the system in which sexual harassment is reported in the U.S. Capitol. Through the Member and Employee Training and Oversight on Congress Act, or MeToo Act, Speier and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, seek to completely revamp an archaic and inherently unfair system that protects the harasser and that has settlements paid for by taxpayers.
And because of the recent avalanche of openness when it comes to sexual assault and harassment in entertainment, business and politics, she seems to have a rapt audience both across the nation and in the halls of Congress.
That is progress. The current system of reporting allegations in Congress is largely ineffective and significantly unfriendly to victims while protecting the harasser. Speier’s proposed law would eliminate mandatory waiting periods for complaints, require Congress’ Office of Compliance to issue a biennial climate survey to gauge how sexual harassment is being handled and prohibit the requirement that victims sign nondisclosure agreements.
There are new allegations coming forward nearly every day across the nation and in a variety of ways and much of an abhorrent culture is being dismantled. That is also progress. Yet it is still challenging to determine what this means for our overall society and what is the best course of action. One course is to make progress on a policy that needs to change and to set an example from the top, and that is what Speier is doing.
She has toiled on this issue for years without much attention years before the Harvey Weinstein story was recently revealed. Now, everyone is paying attention and Speier has the expertise and determination to carry this progress forward. The MeToo Act is one solid step, and knowing Speier, there will be others, and it couldn’t come soon enough.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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