As more women have come forward with stories of sexual harassment and misconduct by men in positions of power, numerous members of Congress have come forward with similar tales. Already four women Senators have shared their own “Me too” experiences and now three former and one current member of the House of Representatives are speaking out by harassment they faced during their time in office.
According to a new report from the Associated Press, the four lawmakers said that these incidents occurred when they were young and new to Congress, with incidents varying from “isolated comments at one hearing, to repeated unwanted come-ons, to lewd remarks and even groping on the House floor.”
Former Senator Barbara Boxer described one alleged incident in which a male colleague made a sexually suggestive remark to her during a hearing in the 1980s. The comment was met with laughter, per Boxer’s account, and was seconded by a committee chairman.
“This is about power,” Boxer said. “That was an example of the way I think we were thought of, a lot of us. … It’s hostile and embarrasses, and therefore could take away a person’s power.”
Congresswoman Linda Sánchez, who currently represents California’s 38th District, told the AP that in her early 30s, a senior colleague—who was married—”outright propositioned” her shortly after she joined the legislative body. Sánchez said she tried to laugh it off but began avoiding her male colleague. She did not identify him by name but revealed that he is still in Congress.
She recounted a separate incident in which another colleague “repeatedly ogled her” and on one occasion touched her inappropriately while they were on the House floor and tried to make it seem accidental. (She said that this man is no longer in the House.)
Like Sánchez, former Representative Hilda Solis—who now serves as a Los Angeles County supervisors—says she experienced “repeated unwanted harassing overtures” by a fellow lawmaker but chose not to go into detail.
“I don’t think I’m the only one,” Solis said. “What I tried to do was ignore it, turn away, walk away. Obviously it’s offensive. Are you supposed to be flattered? No, we’re adults. Not appropriate.”
After former Congresswoman Mary Bono joined Congress in 1998 following the death of her husband Sonny Bono, she experienced “increasingly suggestive comments” from a fellow representative. After he approached her on the House floor to tell her he’d been thinking of her in the shower, she confronted him and told him that she would not tolerate his behavior. She says that the man backed off but noted that he still serves in the House today.
Among the four women who spoke to the AP, none of them reported these incidents—and several of them were unsure of how they would even file their complaints.
Glamour reached out to the women interviewed for further comment on their experiences. Though several of the women declined to speak further about the alleged incidents, a representative Rep. Bono provided the following statement:
“It’s important to note that, over my 15-year career, there were very
few examples of inappropriate conduct. My male colleagues were almost
always highly respectful and would not tolerate any harassment of any
kind if they were to have witnessed it. But, it is an important dialog
we need to have. We need to both protect those who are affected by
sexual harassment and empower them so they may respond adequately and
quickly.”