* Amidst all the uproar over the allegations against Sen. Ira Silverstein yesterday, this testimony got lost in the shuffle. Take some time to read it…
My name is Katelynd Duncan. I’m a political fundraiser who’s worked in Illinois politics for nearly a decade.
More than a week ago several friends and I, some of whom are with me here today, decided to speak out on an issue that has impacted each one of us over the course of our career: sexual harassment. We published an open letter to share our experiences with this issue; experiences that are shared with thousands more women who’ve worked in Illinois politics over the decades. Approximately 300 people have signed this letter to date in a show of solidarity and support of ending the pervasive culture of sexual harassment in Illinois politics.
Since that time, we have been absolutely floored by the outpouring of #metoo stories from other women who have also worked in government and on campaigns. We are grateful for every single person who shared their story with us both publicly and in private. It is their bravery that has brought us together here today as we discuss ways to ensure that women can work in a safe and secure environment, free from every form of unwanted advances.
Many of the stories shared in our letter, on our Facebook group and in private are horrifying. Many women are still too scared to come forward, even years after the fact, out of fear of retribution. Their stories are heart breaking and difficult to hear.
One woman described a terrifying encounter when a legislator followed her to her hotel room, pinned her against the wall and forced himself on her after she said no.
A former lobbyist described meeting up with her colleagues and other elected officials when another lobbyist drunkenly walked up to her and asked “I’ve always wondered if you spit or swallow.”
And when a legislator was harassing me on a campaign, I tried to report it to management. I was fired immediately for describing his behavior as “inappropriate” and asking him to stop.
These are extreme examples of the type of environment we have been forced to work in, smile through and negotiate in, simply to do our jobs. And on top of it, many others watched this abuse happen and said or did nothing.
I have to wonder how many of us in this room have daughters, sisters or mothers in the workplace. Can you imagine someone treating them like this, just once? How about multiple times? Would we accept this as the status quo? My hope is no. We have to do better for the next generation of women in this industry because this is not a new topic. Women have been giving each other “the talk” for years about which legislators and lobbyists to avoid. No longer can anyone be shocked by these stories or say they didn’t know it was happening.
We are encouraged by the swift action our leaders have taken on this issue and although this bill does not solve the problem, it’s a step in the right direction. We look forward to working with you on making sure that women in this industry feel safe, secure and respected in the workplace. This bill puts elected officials and lobbyists on notice that sexual advances and harassment are no longer an accepted norm and there will be consequences for their actions.
The negative consequences of these assaults are real. It distracts women policy makers, causing them to spend time worrying about how to manage their harassers instead of managing their issues. It diminishes women’s power, by reducing them to sexual objects and turning them into pawns for political gain. It reduces women’s economic opportunities, because women will avoid taking work that may involve harassers in positions of power and politics. It discourages women from public service, causing them to walk away from careers they otherwise love. And in our business, our success is contingent upon our ability to be at the table with power brokers, NOT running away from them in the halls of the capitol.
We recognize that we cannot undo generations worth of sexism, power dynamics, norms and attitudes about sex and women in one week or in one letter or in one piece of legislation. These are institutional barriers that have oppressed women in the workplace for longer than most of us have been alive. We can say however, that before last week, the silence regarding this issue was deafening. Now, we can’t stop talking about it. This is only the beginning. There are no best practices in other states for how governments handle sexual harassment within their own backyards. Illinois has the opportunity to be at the forefront of change in culture and setting the precedent for the rest of the country. We take this challenge very seriously, and we hope our elected leaders do too.
Many people have asked us “what’s your end game?” Our goal is to do everything we can to make sure that the next generation of women in our industry never has to participate in a #metoo campaign. How quickly and effectively we achieve that future is up to all of us. Every single person in this room, in this city, or in this state, has a mother, a sister, or a daughter who deserves a fulfilling, positive life, free from fear and the shame of this antiquated worldview. We look forward to working with you to change behaviors and culture in our political system that make us less than human.
- anon2 - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 9:41 am:
Powerful testimony. I hope it inspires effective action.
- Waffle Fries - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 9:44 am:
Katelynd is incredible. When I first got into issue advocacy I was initially shocked of the stories I heard, then I got numb to it, shame on me. Mostly, shame on every male legislator or lobbyist that can’t find the basic human decency to engage in public service or the profession professionally.
Mad Men is a tv show, this isn’t that time anymore (nor should it have been).
- Loop Lady - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 9:45 am:
Says it all…thanks Ms Duncan…
- Miss Marie - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 9:48 am:
Thank you for posting this so it didn’t get lost in the shuffle. Katelynd Duncan gave great testimony. She’s a hard working professional and it’s so shameful that she and other women have had to endure this. I thought her testimony was very powerful.
Thank you Katelynd for speaking up.
- Centennial - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 9:52 am:
Agreed. I actually discussed with colleagues yesterday that the real story was in Katelynd’s testimony, and it got lost in the shuffle because a name was dropped.
Primarily, for me, these two examples:
One woman described a terrifying encounter when a legislator followed her to her hotel room, pinned her against the wall and forced himself on her after she said no.
A former lobbyist described meeting up with her colleagues and other elected officials when another lobbyist drunkenly walked up to her and asked “I’ve always wondered if you spit or swallow.”
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 9:53 am:
Just compare this testimony to Reick’s rant. He needs to, as does anyone (male or female) who bristles against having to be “trained”, consider the question posed in the lede.
- Perrid - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 9:54 am:
I agree, very powerful testimony. I wish she had asked them to think about someone treating them themselves (as in the men she was addressing) that way rather than wives/daughters/sisters. Guys who make statements like that (rightly) get knocked for “only” realizing it’s objectionable when they think of their own family.
- cdog - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 9:59 am:
“pinned her against the wall and forced himself on her after she said no.”
I’m thinking that’s sounding a lot like criminal sexual assault.
- Honeybear - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 10:10 am:
Keep putting putting it up on the board Rich. You are facilitating change, truth and moving us towards reconciliation and Justice.
For all those
Don’t stop
God bless you
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 10:12 am:
==Can you imagine someone treating them like this, just once?==
As Duncan probably knows, most of our mothers, daughters, and sisters *have* been treated this way.
- Joe Bidenopolous - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 10:28 am:
Amen, and kudos to Katelynd. She’s been a powerful voice.
- anonymous - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 10:35 am:
Waffle Fries nailed it (9:44) - Reich’s observation === Nothing will be enough until human nature bends toward androgyny==== could have rolled off Roger Sterling’s lips in 1963.
- City Zen - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 10:37 am:
This behavior wouldn’t be tolerated at Hangge Uppe’s at 3am. Deplorable.
- Just Sayin' - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 10:41 am:
Objections and complaints to the “mother, sister, or daughter” lines (there are whole articles lambasting politicians and actors who used this phrase) are misplaced. People naturally connect more to their own family members and may be more motivated (not solely motivated) to act when thinking about their family members. And if this phrase can get people who are questioning victims they don’t know to change their thought process and assist in addressing this issue, I see no problem with anybody encouraging others to think about how it has affected their own mothers, sisters, and daughters.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 10:50 am:
And I didn’t have much respect for politicians BEFORE I heard this kind of thing…
- flavius217 - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:04 am:
Just Sayin-
Maybe consider that the mothers, sisters and daughters are human in their own right and not just mere connections to you, a man. It shouldn’t take being related to a woman to understand how wrong this all is.
- Chris P. Bacon - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:09 am:
I do relish the thought of how every morning now every Springfield sleazeball is waking up wondering if today will be the day one of their past victims drops a dime on them. It’s called Karma, jerks.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:11 am:
very powerful words, and sad this was lost due to another story yesterday. Things have not changed much over the decades. Men grabbing women against their will, sometimes in public, and most often campaigns not doing anything about it. My past feels soothed by the brave testimony of Katelynd Duncan.
- Name Withheld - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:11 am:
==And on top of it, many others watched this abuse happen and said or did nothing.===
So, for those of you who think you haven’t done anything wrong - this right here says otherwise. If you allow evil to happen, you are as responsible for it as if you did the act yourself.
- Just Sayin' - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:14 am:
flavius217: Katelynd Duncan is a woman and she said it, so your point is….huh? And how do you know if I am a man or woman, ha. “It shouldn’t take….” But sometimes it does for some people. That’s my whole point.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:15 am:
Perhaps it is time we finally elect a woman governor. With this in the news there could be an opening…
- walker - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:21 am:
Katelynd Duncan is truly heroic, (and that’s a sad statement about the rest of us).
Thanks to Rich Miller for doing his job well, as we’ve come to expect.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:24 am:
===Thanks to Rich Miller for===
All I did was post a speech. Nothing heroic at all about that. She’s the one due the credit.
- It’s a tough job - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:33 am:
But someone has draft bills based on newspaper stories.
- Ahoy! - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 11:41 am:
As somewhat boring person who does not get into the bowels of politics I had no clue some of this crap was going on and it is utterly disturbing that adult men would act like this. People in leadership who knew this was going on and did nothing should be called out and forcefully removed if they do not resign.
The people who acted like this should of course step down and be thrown out, but it’s time leaders learn where the buck stops. There might be a reason Madigan is working so hard to get in front of this.
- Honeybadger - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 12:11 pm:
I’ll tell you this, if my wife or my sister ever came home and told me something like that happened to them, I would insist on knowing who said it to them and I would personally confront person and I wouldn’t be so nice or forgiving.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 1:49 pm:
It takes courage to speak out against harassment. It takes phenomenal courage to name names. The level is higher because of the potential for fearful payback is increased. Fear is a deterrent for harassers, so when it’s safe/feasible, whip out that phone and use technology as an ally. Document. Training can be helpful, but I think until harassers see the risk
(Based on many of them caught, punished and publicized) as too high, there won’t be a positive shift. IMHO
- RayDonovan - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 1:58 pm:
I wonder how many lobbyists have acted like “fixers” and made victims of assault or harassment go away?
- justme - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 2:03 pm:
Women still get paid less than men. It makes me as a women think I am not worth as much as a man. So if I have to avoid hands, finesse out of propositions or in any other way pacify the male person in power over me, I probably will to avoid any trouble.
The one time I spoke out was sheer hell. I had no witnesses, but I had documented every incident. I got left alone at our office a lot and was petrified this person would show up. I kept a hammer in my office. Although not fired outright for my accusations (remember, no witnesses and he was a “pillar” of the community), those in charge let it drag out hoping I would quit. Trust me, I was looking. Burger King wages started looking good. After about 8 months with NO COMMUNICATION during this time to what was being done, I guess they figured I was not going away, so they censured the man in charge. Then they s**t on me every chance they got, did not send me to trainings or meetings or really treat me as part of the team anymore. I would have quit outright, but needed the money and I couldn’t live on Burger King wages (unless I took 2 jobs). I kept wondering if this “pillar” was giving advice on my tenure at the job as I could not get another job. About 6 months later I did find another job - at a rape crisis center. But if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t have said anything. This is how these sleazeballs get away with it.
- Trapped in the 'burbs - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 2:07 pm:
This conduct is an abuse of power. They do it because they believe the victim is powerless. More of these abusive dirt bags need a punch in the mouth and to be publically outed. No excuses. One good video clip of one of these Neanderthals in action would be very helpful. Pretty simple rule-treat people the way you’d want your wife, daughter, son or mother to be treated. No excuses for this kind of behavior.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 2:35 pm:
“I’ll tell you this, if my wife or my sister ever came home and told me something like that happened to them, I would insist on knowing who said it to them and I would personally confront person and I wouldn’t be so nice or forgiving.”
That sounds easy right until your wife or daughter begs you not to say anything because it would destroy her career. And for those asking men to intervene, same rules apply. When I’ve been around it, I’ve tried to gently extricate the person being harassed without destroying my ability to talk with the legislator. Did that expose the legislator and prevent it from happening again? No. But it got the person out of the difficult situation without compromising the ability of either of us to do our job.
- crazybleedingheart - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 2:37 pm:
==I’ll tell you this, if my wife or my sister ever came home and told me something like that happened to them, I would insist on knowing who said it to them and I would personally confront person and I wouldn’t be so nice or forgiving.==
This is not a good answer.
- Veil of Ignorance - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 4:10 pm:
I too must confess a natural pull to the “Ray Donovan” solution, but that’s not a long-term or meaningful solution to this problem. We have to change the culture and hold people accountable. We need to remove the stigma and negative consequences for women who are harrassed or assaulted.
- Jane A. - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 4:11 pm:
Great testimony and so true–everywhere, not just in politics and entertainment.
The present problems need to be addressed, definitely, yes. And how are we (including fathers here) raising our boys?
We need to teach our boys that it is not and never will be manly to harass girls (as happens in middle and high school and college) or grown women. Period.
- Shytown - Wednesday, Nov 1, 17 @ 4:29 pm:
Very powerful statement and she and many other women deserve our respect for speaking out over the past few weeks about their experiences. Re her mentioning this happening to one’s daughter, mother or sister, for anyone to insinuate that Katelynd was tying a woman’s worth to men is crazy. This was obviously written to appeal to one’s emotions. Let’s assume that most men wouldn’t want the women in their lives to experience this kind of harassment. You have to personalize these appeals sometimes to get people to connect with them on an emotional level.