FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA)
Denver – Thursday, March 1, 2018 – The Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault applauds the efforts of House Leadership to balance the need for a fundamentally fair process with the need to exercise one of the state’s core principles, accountability. Therefore, we call on the House to vote yes on HR18-1005 to expel Representative Steve Lebsock from the Colorado General Assembly, and we call on the Senate to hold accountable those in their chamber who have been found to have credible complaints against them, and restore our state Capitol as a safe and welcoming place.
As investigations have unfolded, we have heard countless survivors express that the state capitol building no longer feels like a safe place to participate in civic engagement of any kind whether that be testifying in committee, meeting with their elected officials privately behind closed doors, or simply getting onto the buildings elevators with no ability to control who they might have to share that elevator with. Survivors have described the Statehouse as a hostile environment after months of investigations have produced little to no consequences for cases of sexual misconduct that resulted in findings of responsibility. For any survivor who has reported sexual victimization, it is imperative that disclosures be taken seriously and that those who have caused harm be held accountable. Failure to acknowledge and address sexual harassment conveys both the message that the behavior is acceptable and that reporting harassment does nothing to effectively end it.
When elected officials in positions of power commit sexual harassment, this affects not only the survivor but also the entire community and state. The State Capitol is a workplace and, in this historic moment, all of Colorado is looking to the General Assembly to set a tone and standard for accountability in the workplace. The cornerstone of a successful harassment prevention strategy is the consistent and demonstrated commitment of senior leaders to create and maintain a culture in which harassment is not tolerated. The process that has been set in place by the General Assembly itself to investigate complaints has been followed and it is now the responsibility of the General Assembly to act on the findings by the investigators.
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Media contact: Brie Franklin | brie@ccasa.org | c: 303-332-5037