Robert DeLeo to propose review of sexual harassment policies
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, after meeting with his leadership team Friday, will take to the floor to propose a comprehensive review of all House sexual harassment policies, a senior House official said.
DeLeo’s move comes shortly after a Globe columnist reported a series of incidents of sexual harassment at the State House and amid a broader spate of stories about such behavior.
“I am infuriated and deeply disturbed to hear that a dozen women who are professionally associated with the State House have described being sexually harassed while here,’’ DeLeo said in a press release. “While I understand and support their desire to remain anonymous, the fact that victims fear the consequences to their careers of reporting the harassment is as upsetting as the harassment itself.’’
“I want to assure all members, employees and visitors of/to the House of Representatives, that the House of Representatives has a zero tolerance policy for harassment of any form and has, and will continue to, thoroughly investigate any reported incident of harassment and take decisive and appropriate action to discipline offenders and protect victims,’’ he continued.
House Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad, a Somerset Democrat, said in a phone interview, “We can always improve. Nothing is perfect, and that’s why we’re taking this action and looking at the policies and making sure that they’re as strong as we want them to be.’’
Haddad went on, “The policy has been used; people have been removed. But if there are people who either don’t realize that we have a very strong policy that we use and have used in the past, then we need to communicate that better, and then we need to look very carefully at our policies.’’
