Reluctance to report sex harassment questioned

Hartford — The dearth of sexual harassment complaints filed against Connecticut legislators was questioned Monday, with some lawmakers theorizing that people have avoided filing complaints because of the power legislators wield over staff, lobbyists and others.

State Sen. Mae Flexer, a Democrat from Killingly who began her political career at the state Capitol as an intern, said “each one of us could give multiple stories of people who chose not to be the hero” and file a complaint, worried that their careers could be harmed.

“There are still a lot of things that happen because of the power dynamic that’s unique to a building like this one,” said Flexer, who also voiced concern about relationships between lawmakers and staff.

The General Assembly’s Committee on Legislative Management held a public hearing Monday to gather input on what, if anything, should be done to improve the legislature’s current sexual harassment policies, in light of national attention on the issue. Over the past 15 months, dozens of state lawmakers across the U.S. have been forced out of office, removed from leadership roles, reprimanded or publicly accused of sexual misconduct during a mounting backlash to such behavior by those in power.

But Jim Tamburro, human resources administrator for the Office of Legislative Management, said only one sexual harassment complaint — submitted recently — has been filed in 10 years.