As the #MeToo movement turns 5, N.J. women leaders say it is still tough for women on the campaign trail

Five years after the birth of the #MeToo movement, employers are more likely to take their responsibility seriously to make the workplace safe, and harassed women have more access to legal resources to help them seek justice, a panel of academics, a panel of legal experts and community leaders convened at Rutgers University said Wednesday.

Yet far too many women who enter politics as volunteers, staffers or aspiring candidates still encounter harassment and intimidation, what Political Science Professor Mona Lena Krook described broadly as political violence.

Identity-based political violence is important to understand and prevent because it prevents its victims from participating in in public life and democracy, Krook said during an hour-long discussion at the Eagleton Institute for Politics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

The reality is that still too many young women trying to build a career in politics are reluctant to report when they have been harassed because they believe it will cost them job opportunities, said Petra Gaskins, chief of staff for state Sen. Andrew Zwicker, D-Middlesex.

So they will suffer in silence until they cant take it anymore and leave politics, or will basically fight to find the good places and the good people to work for, Gaskins said.

The panel, hosted by the YWCA Northern New Jersey and the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University, began the discussion focusing on what has changed since 2017, when the outing of prominent men in business and entertainment accused of sexual harassment and misconduct triggered a worldwide discussion on sexual harassment and violence. The phrase, MeToo, was coined by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, but actor Alyssa Milano urged people on Twitter to share their personal stories using the #MeToo hashtag.

A recent poll by the Pew Institute found seven in 10 people believe sexual harassers are more likely to face consequences for their actions now than they would have five years ago, when the hashtag #MeToo first went viral, panel moderator Helen Archontou from the YWCA of Northern New Jersey noted. Six in ten also said they thought people who make claims of harassment are more likely to be believed.

Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp said he has tried to create a no tolerance culture, including anti-harassment training for all employees.

We should believe women whenever they come forward with stories of assault and harassment. It is not their fault and they should not be ashamed, Mapp said.

Kirsten Scheurer Branigan, a managing partner at KSBranigan Law, said employers should rely on meaningful in-person training that allows people to discuss what harassment looks and feels like, and to ask questions. Sitting alone in front of a computer watching a video doesnt work, she said.

The fundamental lack of respect people have for one another creates the problems we have now, Scheurer Branigan said.

In politics, Gaskins said the discussions on sexual harassment must go even deeper, to address overall power dynamics, especially as it relates to campaign staff, volunteers and interns.

The truth of the matter is, most people who work on campaigns and in political offices have either weak or nonexistent HRs (human resource offices), and they serve at the pleasure of someone else. You have to be in someone elses good graces at any given time, or youll lose your job, Gaskins said.

Retired Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, said she regrets not getting a vital piece of legislation she sponsored passed that could have addressed the problem Gaskins identified.

The bill called for creating a team inside the state Election Law Enforcement Commission to investigate harassment that occurs on campaigns and in other political settings and develop an anti-sexual harassment policy that campaigns would be required to adopt. The bill emerge from the Workgroup on Harassment, Sexual Assault and Misogyny in New Jersey Politics, which Weinberg formed after a report by NJ Advance Media in December 2019 detailed widespread and unreported sexual assault, misconduct and harassment in New Jersey politics.

Weinbergs bill (S3389) passed the state Senate in June 2021 by a 37-0 vote but it died in the state Assembly in the last session that ended in January. Sen. Nia Gill, D-Essex, introduced the same bill (S2545) in May.

I am hoping that bill sees some life, Weinberg said, urging colleagues on the panel to contact legislators on the bills behalf. Political parties have too much of a vested interest to investigate these matters themselves, she added.

YWCA Northern New Jersey CEO and panel moderator Helen Archontou said there are resources for available for people who want to learn more about their legal right to be free for harassment in the workplace, including a free 48-video the YWCA released with the New Jersey Bar Association in April that has been shared with political party leaders. That video may be found here.

Archontou and other members of the panel also shared the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault hotline number, 800-601-7200, as well as the County Bar Associations attorney referral services, which may be found here.

Sabeen Masih, vice president for Capital Impact Group, a lobbying firm, and a member of Weinbergs workgroup, stressed the importance of women supporting and believing each other, and encouraging each other to get involved in public life.

We see the same kind of person in power. Disrupt it, Masih said. You dont have to be the lawmaker, you can be in the background…That is what is going to lead to change. That is what will cause a culture shift.

Were already seeing take place but, you know, the work has only just begun.

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Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.