“This fight is for all of us. It is not a fight for just survivors,” said Katryn Duarte, assistant director for sexual assault services at the Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP). “If we really want to eliminate sexual violence, it is our responsibility to educate ourselves on what that means and how to stop it.”
Sexual harassment
Posted inCommunity/News
Putting hashtag activism at the center of the conversation
With the almost daily revelations about well-known men who have sexually harassed (and worse) women, it can be hard to get a larger perspective on what The New York Times has called “The #MeToo Moment, ” named for the Twitter hashtag people have been using to share their experiences with harassment. Gaining perspective on the moment will be the subject of a panel discussion at the Iowa City Public Library on Monday.
Posted inCommunity/News
Report on sexual harassment in the Iowa State Senate Republican caucus says staffers fear retaliation if they speak up
The report that Iowa Senate President Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, claimed clearly showed that the Senate Republican caucus no longer has a problem with sexual harassment was finally released on Friday, as most Iowans were busy with Black Friday shopping and Thanksgiving leftovers. The redacted two-page long report is light on details, but documents that staffers fear retaliation if they report problems and that problems go beyond staff and include the actions of Republican senators.
Posted inOpinion
Democracy in Crisis: Dude columnist struggles with what it means to be a ‘good man,’ female editor has doubts
Mary Finn, an editor with Democracy in Crisis, often makes extensive notes on my columns —
in this case, we decided they were far more interesting than the column itself. So we left them, in dialogue with a half-formed column.
Posted inCommunity/News
Sen. Bill Dix changes his mind again about what Iowa Senate Republicans will do about sexual harassment
Iowa State Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix has reversed his position on what he will do to address sexual harassment and other workplace problems in the Senate Republican caucus. Again. Two weeks ago, Dix and Iowa House Speaker Linda Upmeyer announced the State Senate and House would jointly hire a human resource manager for the legislature. Creating the HR position was a response to jury to award a former Senate Republican staffer $2,2 million, after finding the Senate Republican caucus violated laws against workplace sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
Posted inCommunity/News
Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix backs out of plan to address sexual harassment in Republican Senate caucus
Just days after it was announced the Iowa Senate Republicans would be hiring to a human resources manager to prevent further sexual harassment in their caucus, Sen. Majority Leader Bill Dix said he’s changed his mind.
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa State Senate Republicans finish investigating whether they’ve engaged in sexual harassment
Republicans in the Iowa State Senate have finished an internal investigation into whether their caucus created a hostile work environment, complete with sexual harassment and racist slurs, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. But the results of that investigation will not be made public.
Posted inLetters
Op-Ed: West High women are taking their power back
“Boys will be boys” is a phrase that gets ingrained in everyone’s head from a young age. However, not once in my life have I heard the phrase “girls will be girls.” I came face-to-face with this realization a few weeks ago when something circulated my high school that would change the community forever.
Posted inCommunity/News
Everything is fine, says GOP Sen. Bill Dix after jury decides Iowa Senate Republicans violated sexual harassment laws
After a Des Moines jury decided Iowa State Senate Republicans violated sexual harassment, discrimination and anti-retaliation laws, Senate Republican leader Bill Dix released a statement saying the jury was wrong and the caucus doesn’t have a problem.
Posted inCommunity/News
Talking to kids about the Coral Ridge shooting
When Bonnie Lieberman arrived at the Coral Ridge Mall shortly after 7 p.m. on Friday, June 12, she had planned on a quiet night of family fun. She and her husband, Scott, had brought their son, Tyler, 8, and their daughter, Olivia, 4, to skate at the mall’s ice rink. “Our son was asking if […]
