咬牙強忍「揉胸摸臀」 加州議會150女控訴職場性霸凌
▲近150名加州議會女性工作人員公開譴責性騷擾問題。 （圖／翻攝自Chuen Lwc臉書）
受夠了！職場女強人挺身對抗性騷擾！美國加州首府沙加緬度立法機關有近150名女議員、說客及工作人員於17日發表公開信，控訴曾經遭受到職場性騷擾。自從好萊塢金牌製作人哈維韋斯坦(Harvey Weinstein)被踢爆過去數十年來，對超過30名女星性騷擾的醜聞後，相關議題就不斷地引起大衆關注。
她們在信中寫到，當上百萬美國人震驚於上週的哈維韋斯坦性騷擾事件時，她們沒有，因爲這些不適當的、令人不舒服的性騷擾行爲存在於社會上每一個行業，「一名女性無論年齡、體重、信仰、性向、經歷、社交關係或地位都無法倖免，這非常普遍。」
▲哈維韋斯坦被爆出曾對超過30名女星性騷擾。 （圖／翻攝自YouTube）
「夠了」信中提到，「在一個以公平正義的領導者自居的州擔任政界女性領袖們，很多人會認爲我們的經歷會與他人不同，但其實不是，我們都曾經親身遭遇或目睹職場性騷擾，以及與受害者一起工作。」她們控訴曾經被男性在沒有獲得她們同意下觸摸身體，或以不適當的言語評論女性的身體與能力。
信中還提到，「爲什麼我們不說出來？有時候是因爲害怕，有時候是因爲羞恥，而且這些男性大部分都有權有勢，掌握着我們的前途，很殘酷的是，與他們的關係將會影響到我們的個人成就。」
根據KCRA報導，召集人之一的Autumn Burke表示，她曾被一名男性以不恰當的言語騷擾，但她的男同事不但沒有阻止，還告訴她不要開不起玩笑。另一名召集人Cristina Garcia也提到，她曾被一名男性說客抓着並騷擾，但她信任的男同事卻勸她什麼都不要說，因爲那名說客很有權勢。她更表示，很多高級說客跟州議員都「捏過她的胸部跟屁股」。
▲召集人之一Autumn Burke。 （圖／翻攝自Autumn Burke臉書）
▲召集人之一Cristina Garcia。 （圖／翻攝自Cristina Garcia臉書）
另外根據《紐約時報》報導，說客羅培茲(Pamela Lopez)表示，她去年初在沙加緬度一間酒吧跟州議員及其他說客聚會時，被一名州議員尾隨到廁所，鎖上門並從身後壓住她，脫下褲子並「露出下體開始手淫」，她被嚇得不知如何是好，也不想把事情鬧大。
另一名聯署者律師凱倫(Karen Skelton)提到，某次工作必須與一名加州民選官員接觸，在午餐時被對方從桌底下摸腿，還被摸頭髮，在凌晨1點時還被傳訊息問她在哪裡。
整封信雖然沒有指名道姓地指控任何任職於加州議會的男性，但強烈譴責這種鼓勵女性隱忍的陋習。加州議會發言人Anthony Rendon迴應，議會於8月已經成立一個委員會，專門打擊性騷擾問題，有必要的話，也會舉行相關的強制性培訓。
公開信的最後也呼籲，「當妳看到或親身經歷令人不舒服的行爲，不要默不作聲，大聲說出來，並且要了解有一大羣人會在妳身後支持妳。」
Last week millions of Americans were shocked to learn of the behavior of billionairemogul Harvey Weinstein. We were not. This same kind of inappropriate, sexuallyharassing behavior cuts across every industry and facet of our society. No matter awoman’s age, weight, religion, sexual orientation, race, social status, or position ofpower, she is not insulated from this behavior. It is pervasive.
Enough.
As women leaders in politics, in a state that postures itself as a leader in justice andequality, you might assume our experience has been different. It has not. Each of ushas endured, or witnessed or worked with women who have experienced some form ofdehumanizing behavior by men with power in our workplaces. Men have groped andtouched us without our consent, made inappropriate comments about our bodies andour abilities. Insults and sexual innuendo, frequently disguised as jokes, haveundermined our professional positions and capabilities. Men have made promises, orthreats, about our jobs in exchange for our compliance, or our silence. They haveleveraged their power and positions to treat us however they would like.
Why didn’t we speak up? Sometimes out of fear. Sometimes out of shame. Often thesemen hold our professional fates in their hands. They are bosses, gatekeepers, andcontacts. Our relationships with them are crucial to our personal success.We don’t want to jeopardize our future, make waves, or be labeled “crazy,”“troublemaker,” or “asking for it.” Worse, we’re afraid when we speak up that no onewill believe us, or we will be blacklisted.These degrading acts over time cause us to shrink back in our personal andprofessional lives. While advocating for the causes and clients in which we believe, andworking to advance our careers, we must concurrently balance these activities withworry, fear or shame.
We worry if the dress we wore sent the wrong message; if we are somehow at fault forour own harassment and abuse. We fear the ramifications of coming forward. Many ofus feel ashamed that we have failed to protect our friends from abuse. We have feltpowerless to stop the cycle.We’re done with this.Each of us who signed this op-ed will no longer tolerate the perpetrators or enablerswho do.What now? It’s time for women to speak up and share their stories. We also need thegood men, and there are many, to believe us, have our backs, and speak up. Untilmore women hold positions of power, our future is literally dependent on men. It’s time to promote women into elected office, in positions of leadership, and onto corporateboards.For those in power, this means choosing to work with firms that hire and treat womenfairly, and asking for a woman to be the lead on your account. It means choosing topatronize businesses that are led by and empower women. And when you see - orexperience - inappropriate behavior, don’t sweep it under the rug. Speak up, speakloud, and know there is a community of people who will support you.