California Politician Accused Of Sexual Harassment, Again

We have often discussed how sexual harassment isn’t acceptable for any workplace. Political campaign offices aren’t a suitable place for sexual harassment. A recent news story about a Republican candidate out of San Diego shows that sexual harassment comes in many forms. Some of those forms don’t involve the harasser touching the victim in any way.

A Navy veteran who was working on the politician’s campaign is the one who is making the accusations against the politician. The veteran claims the politician was hovering over him while he was at the urinal. The veteran says the politician was “grasping his genitals” with his pants up and his zipper undone. The veteran says he walked out without saying anything to the politician.

The politician’s campaign spokesperson asserts the allegations are false. He says that the urinal on in question is one that isn’t functional. The urinal is said to have been broken and covered with plastic wrap since January; however, a receptionist for another business in the building says the urinal is currently functional. The veteran asserts that the urinal wasn’t broken at the time the incident occurred.

This isn’t the first accusation against the politician for sexual harassment. He was the subject of a previous complaint, but not enough evidence was available in that case for criminal charges to be filed.

Being the victim of sexual harassment isn’t easy. Coming forward with the story about how you were harassed is often very difficult. For anyone who has been sexually harassed, knowing what options are available and determining how to proceed with complaints can often help you to stop the harassment.

Source: KPBS, “Second Campaign Staffer Accuses GOP Congressional Candidate Carl DeMaio Of Sexual Harassment” Claire Trageser, Nov. 02, 2014