Tag: sexual harassment

A Labour activist who has waited almost 16 months for her complaint of sexual harassment against an MP to be resolved has called on the party’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, to take charge of more abuse complaints. In a letter to the deputy leader, shared with the Guardian, she said Watson should take charge of monitoring the process in the same way he has pledged to with complaints about antisemitism and bullying. “I, like many survivors of sexual harassment and assault, would like you to take the same measures to deal with allegations of sexual misconduct within the Labour party,” Etemadzadeh wrote to Watson. Etemadzadeh, who first made her complaint about Hopkins in November 2017, is scheduled to have it heard by the party’s highest disciplinary body in late April but said she had lost faith in the process. She has previously accused Hopkins of sending her a text saying young men would be “lucky to have you as a girlfriend and a lover” and has accused him of rubbing his crotch against her during an embrace at an event in 2014. Hopkins has said he “absolutely and categorically” denies any inappropriate conduct. Etemadzadeh said the handling of her case “shares many of the same flaws as its handling of allegations of antisemitism” and particularly criticised the makeup of the elected disciplinary body, the national constitutional committee, which she said was elected according to “factional politics”. Etemadzadeh said she had found herself in the position similar to those who had made complaints about antisemitism. “It is complainants, rather than perpetrators, who are accused of exercising a malign power and bringing the party into disrepute,” she said. Etemadzadeh also asked Watson to advocate for the release of a June 2018 report by Karon Monaghan QC on reforming the party’s complaints procedure, which she said she had contributed to but had not been allowed to read.

Actor Kevin Spacey appeared in court on Monday for his arraignment in Nantucket District Court on one count of indecent assault and battery. Spacey is accused of groping an 18 year old at Nantucket's Club Car restaurant in July 2016.…

Senator Bernie Sanders claims he was 'too busy' during his campaign to know about sexual misconduct allegations reported by the New York Times and apologizes to any women who felt they were not 'treated appropriately'; Dave Spunt reports. #AmericasNewsroom #FoxNews…

From training to thorough investigations and prioritizing diversity, the panel of democratic women called the recommendations in the report a blueprint to change the culture in state politics. Last October, political fundraiser Katelynd Duncan was one of six women who penned an open letter detailing widespread sexual harassment. “It really crushes your spirit,” said Duncan. “It made me feel like I wasn’t taken seriously or respected for the work I was doing.” Within days, scores of people signed on to the letter sending shockwaves throughout the state. Duncan raised money for the Illinois Anti-Harassment, Equality and Access Panel (AHEA) which formed earlier this year. The panel’s report does not propose legislative changes, but has a series of recommendations for state parties, political leaders and campaigns including: Adopt clear and non-negotiable policies that go beyond the law Provide anti-harassment training to everyone involved in campaigns Tie party funding and resources to campaigns adopting policies and participating in training Provide multiple discrete avenues for reporting misconduct Establish an independent body to receive and investigate complaints Commit to a concrete goal of women filling 50% of the seats in the Illinois General Assembly Illinois Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan, who has admitted he did not do enough to address sexual harassment, released a statement Wednesday saying a number of the panel’s recommendations are now in place in the party. “Additional steps to curb unacceptable behavior and make our party a welcoming place for all will continue to be considered and implemented going forward,” Madigan said. “I think training is critical, accountability is critical and we need male leaders to step up and have conversations with each other and do work peer to peer inside our community,” co-founder and executive director of Men4Choice Oren Jacobson said. The panel members said they are willing to meet with party leaders to give feedback and guidance on next steps. “We are glad this important issue is getting the attention it deserves.” Read the full report below:

In February of 2018, State Senator Melinda Bush, State Representative Carol Ammons and State Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza formed the Anti-Harassment, Equality and Access (AHEA) Panel. The group spent the past half year collecting surveys, consulting with experts and touring the state of Illinois to hold listening sessions with hundreds of women working in politics. The 36 page document, which aims to serve as a roadmap for all political campaigns, provides specific anti-harassment training procedures, workplace culture expectations and detailed recommendations for promoting women into leadership positions. Specific examples include the “one ask rule,” which allows for peers to ask out colleagues one time and one time only, the suggestion that campaigns should monitor alcohol consumption of its team members and the recommendation that state parties establish an independent body, separate from party leadership, to receive all complaints of misconduct. We need to change it, by being unabashedly intentional about promoting women into leadership positions throughout politics and electing more women to office who will be establishing the new rules," explains Illinois Comptroller, Susana A. Mendoza. In my experiences, in the General Assembly, I have seen men from both sides of the aisle conduct themselves in an inappropriate manner and I’ve seen victims from both sides of the aisle. The report maintains that in order to see more women with a seat at the table, political leaders must change the way they call on women to want to be there in the first place. "We hope to see the report turned into policy for political campaigns. This report should be a roadmap for best practices to change a culture that has for too long subjected women to unacceptable treatment. I also hope this report serves as a catalyst for women to own their own power, stand in their own space and know when they report sexual harassment it's taken with the seriousness it always should have been treated with.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says the claim made by Christine Blasey Ford “is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone.” He also states he’s willing to talk to…

'Tucker Carlson Tonight' investigates: NBC News chair Andy Lack claims they did not have enough evidence to air Ronan Farrow's sex scandal story on Harvey Weinstein. But Megyn Kelly pointed out they had actress Rose McGowan on record. Why the…

A woman’s case against CBS CEO Les Moonves which claims he sexually abused her in the 1980s has been declined by prosecutors because the statute of limitations has expired. » Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc About: MSNBC is the premier destination…

Accusers say Rep. Jim Jordan turned a blind eye to allegations of sexual abuse by the team doctor while he was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University more than 20 years ago; chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel reports…

It's not really a shock that this WH is filled with corruption, graft, greed, incompetence, and people who took the opportunity only to realize how utterly stupid it was for them to do so. (0) How many Obama cabinet picks were shuffled around or dropped altogether when it came out that they abused government resources for personal gain? [1] On the day of President Trump's personal attorney's office raids, Sean Hannity went on Fox and disparaged Special Counsel Mueller claiming that investigators had "declared war on the President of the United States. [5] So it doesn't come as a surprise when Sean Hannity and Fox News push incredibly deceitful portrayals of events over the course of Special Counsel Mueller's investigation, omitting facts so that they create an alternate reality that doesn't actually exist. For example when news broke that President Trump attempted to fire Special Counsel Mueller, Fox News host Sean Hannity deflected and changed his story several times within an hour on his show; first by claiming the report was fake news, then defended Trump by claiming that he didn't do anything wrong omitting the fact that in doing so would be obstructing an ongoing investigation, and finally Hannity cut to a video of a car crash instead of discussing pertinent breaking news. Sinclair forces local stations to run pro-Trump news segments. Sinclair forces its local stations to run pro-Trump “news” segments. [9] Just a reminder that 72% of Americans follow local news closely. [10] Keeping this in mind, Sinclair forced all its stations to recite the same script across the country that sounded like something out of a dystopian novel. [11] Sinclair forces stations to air segments created and presented by Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump White House official, 9 times a week.