Katherine Clark to bring Weinstein accuser to State of the Union as her guest
“Sexism, harassment, and assault are a plague on our country and our economy."
When U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark attends the State of the Union Tuesday night, alongside her as her guest will be Rowena Chiu, who alleges that Harvey Weinstein attempted to rape her over 20 years ago while she worked as his assistant.“Sexism, harassment, and assault are a plague on our country and our economy,” Clark, who represents Massachusetts’s 5th District and serves as the vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said on Twitter. “Women and survivors have broken the silence.”
Sexism, harassment, and assault are a plague on our country and our economy.
Women and survivors have broken the silence. Now we need to change our laws so everyone can #BeHeard.
— Katherine Clark (@WhipKClark) February 4, 2020
Along with being Clark’s guest, Chiu is working with Clark on new laws against sexual assault and harassment at work, according to The Boston Globe.
“Too often, we see situations like Rowena’s where she is working for a very powerful person who has access to money and lawyers that she couldn’t possibly have in her first job,” Clark told the newspaper.
In an op-ed published in the New York Times last fall, Chiu said that after the attempted rape, she told a colleague. They hired attorneys and signed a non-disclosure agreement under pressure. With a settlement of about $213,000, the agreement served as a legal gag order — Chiu and her colleague could not talk about what happened to anyone. Chiu decided to break that last fall, and joined many other women who have accused Weinstein of inappropriate behavior and rape.
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