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QUEENS WEEKLY, MARCH 3, 2019
Rozic bill would toughen existing sex harassment laws
INJURED
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
State Assemblywoman
Nily Rozic and Brooklyn
state Sen. Andrew Gounardes
introduced legislation
on Monday that would
strengthen the current
sexual harassment laws for
victims of sexual harassment,
regardless of the level
of pervasiveness or severity
of the alleged conduct.
The new legislation
would clarify and define
what constitutes
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sexual harassment.
“The flawed ‘severe
or pervasive’ standard of
sexual harassment has arbitrarily
denied justice for
far too long,” said Rozic.
“As we work to strengthen
our sexual harassment
laws, the first step is to
ensure that standards
are set up to date and
well defined.”
According to Gounardes,
the current sexual harassment
laws in New York state
are deeply flawed.
“A system that fails
to find behavior such as
sexual gestures, touching
and ‘grinding’ against employee’s
body as failing to
rise to the level of offensive
and actionable behavior is
in critical need of reform,”
said Gounardes. “The ‘severe
or pervasive’ standard
that currently exists under
New York law is outdated,
arbitrary and entirely subjective.
By lowering this
impossibly high burden
of proof, we are unequivocally
defining what constitutes
harassment and finally
fighting back against
a legal framework that has
protected perpetrators and
denied survivors justice for
far too long.”
The Sexual Harassment
Working Group, which is
comprised of seven former
legislative employees who
say they experienced or
reported sexual harassment
in Albany, praised
the lawmakers for taking
action creating strong,
progressive reforms.
“The ‘severe or pervasive’
standard is inhumane
and results in a high level
of workplace abuse. We are
working with the sponsors
to fine-tune the bill, based
on survivor and expert testimony
from yesterday’s hearing.
NYC has had improved
worker protections for years,
and the rest of the state
shouldn’t be treated as second
class citizens,” the group
said in a statement.
Joanne Smith, founder
and president of Girls for
Gender Equity, which has
been advocating alongside
cis and trans girls and gender
non-conforming youth
of color for more than 17
years, said they have consistently
held the work of
naming the sexual harassment
that young people
experience in their unique
workplace and schools.
“In a similar fashion to
traditional employment,
one of the significant barriers
created for young
people by the federal government’s
proposed definition
of sexual harassment
is that it requires students
to experience harm before
a school is responsible for
taking action,” said Smith.
“We want to challenge
standards which require
that cis and trans girls,
women, and non-binary
young people be exposed
to the most severe, ongoing
harassment, or even
assault, before schools and
employers are required to
take action. Our consistent
goal has been to create cultures
of consent through
the necessary work of
prevention,” she added.
“We are energized by the
commitment of members
of the legislature to shift
norms and make schools
and workplaces safer for
young people.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4526.
State Assemblywoman Nily Rozic’s new legislation would clarify and define what constitutes
sexual harassment. File Photo
/www.rubensteinandrynecki.com
