Experts, lawmakers split on how to handle harassment

With four Tennessee lawmakers facing allegations of sexual misconduct since 2016, Republican and Democratic leaders at the Capitol say there’s nothing wrong with the culture at the statehouse.

But experts say more needs to be done to ensure a safe environment exists.

The latest lawmaker to face allegations was Rep. Rick Staples, D-Knoxville, who had a complaint filed against him after a woman visiting the Legislature said he made inappropriate comments about her appearance and held her by the waist while standing behind her.

The allegation, which resulted in a House ethics subcommittee requiring Staples to take unspecified “remedial measures” to prevent future harassment, has once again raised questions about the culture at the Capitol.

But when asked, leaders from both parties expressed satisfaction with the environment at the Capitol.

“I think over the years, the culture has changed and it’s changed for the better,” said Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge.

McNally, who began serving in the legislature in the late

1970s, praised the House for adequately handling the various allegations in recent years.

Those actions include the 2016 expulsion of former Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, the 2017 resignation of Rep. Mark Lovell, R-Eads, the recent demotion of Rep. David Byrd, R-Waynesboro, and now an investigation into Staples.

House Speaker Glen Casada, who has served in the legislature for 18 years, said the statehouse is as “tolerant as it is at any place in this country.”

“When things do arise, we address it,” said Casada, R-Franklin.

House Minority Caucus chairman Mike Stewart, D-Nashville, said he’s concerned about the safety and comfort of employees in all workplaces, including at the statehouse.

“I do think that the [harassment] policy that we have in place is rigorous, and I think it will work,” he said.

GOP, DEMOCRATS POINT TO CHANGES

Republicans and Democrats are quick to point to the steps taken in recent years to improve the legislative environment as evidence that they are taking sexual harassment seriously. Those changes include updating the General Assembly’s harassment policy for the first time in nearly 20 years and requiring lawmakers to take annual training.

This year, the Senate required members to watch a five-minute video while House lawmakers participated in an inperson training.

While Sharon Roberson, president and CEO of the YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, praised the implementation of the House training and the importance of a strong policy to combat harassment, she said more work remains.

“You do not want to believe that you are a part of a body that is doing something wrong, when you’re trying to do right,” she said. “But at the end of the day, there is a cultural issue that needs to be addressed.”

Roberson, who led an in-person training of House members in 2017 that featured some lawmakers at times making jokes, said the challenges the legislature faces are due to the very dynamics involved.

“I think if you were to design a system where sexual harassment could thrive, it would probably be any sort of governmental body where you have elected officials,” she said.

Roberson said lawmakers are in positions of power that leave people seeking to influence legislators in vulnerable positions.

“For whatever reason, when people need access to power, power can be a very intoxicating thing and it can make people really do behaviors that are not acceptable,” she said.

Laura Palumbo, communications director of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, said one of the measures to determine whether a workplace is properly responding to issues of sexual harassment is in the number of complaints filed.

“There may be more reports because people who experience sexual harassment know how to come forward,” she said.

LEGISLATURE NOT RELEASING STATS ON HARASSMENT

In 2017, then-House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, said the legislature would be releasing raw numbers of violations of the legislature’s harassment policy.

Connie Ridley, the legislature’s administrative director, said the policy “does not provide for the release of statistics or any other information concerning complaints, investigations, lawsuits, and corrective actions” and did not previously allow for its release.

Estimates from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicate sexual harassment of women in the workforce range from 25% to 60%.

And experts believe sexual harassment is underreported because of fear of facing negative reaction, the possibility of inaction and being blamed.

Palumbo said part of the long-term shift that needs to take place in statehouses around the country is promoting diversity within the workforce, including those who run for public office and employees of legislatures.

Although the allegations against Tennessee’s lawmakers have run the gamut from Durham — who was found by the attorney general to have had inappropriate sexual contact with at least 22 women — to Staples, experts say any form of harassment should not be tolerated.

“People really want to say, well, this isn’t as bad. Well, you can get to the extreme and say as long as they weren’t raped, they’re good to go,” Roberson said.

She said the standard that needs to be considered is whether a reasonable person would be offended by a particular type of behavior.

“If the answer is yes, it doesn’t matter if [it] doesn’t amount to as bad off as a Harvey Weinstein,” she said, referring to the Hollywood film producer who since October 2017 has faced allegations of sexual abuse from more than 80 women and been charged with rape and other offenses.

STAPLES APOLOGIZES BUT SAYS ALLEGATIONS POLITICAL

Last week, Staples apologized if any of his words or actions had been “misinterpreted,” while calling the allegations part of a “political character assassination” effort.

Palumbo said all claims of sexual harassment need to be taken seriously, whether or not there was intent behind the offender’s action.

“Even if wasn’t intended to be harmful, it’s never professionally necessary to touch a colleague or comment on their body,” she said.

Overall, Palumbo said legislators need to take a serious look at the issue of sexual harassment at statehouses across the country, given that the issue is a long-term one that needs to continually be addressed.

“It is in the best interest … of lawmakers in Tennessee to really take a close look at this and to think about what it still says about the culture of the Capitol,” she said.

“Responding to it requires every allegation and report of harassment to be taken seriously.”