Protecting our representatives from temptation

[desrt]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sen-mccaskill-says-intern-dress-proposal-victim-blaming-n412341

"Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill took state lawmakers to task for weighing an intern dress code following a series of sexual assault allegations that rocked the state's legislature this summer.

"Such a recommendation reeks of a desire to avoid holding fully accountable those who would prey upon young women and men seeking to begin honorable careers in public service," McCaskill wrote state Reps. Bill Kidd and Nick King in a letter.

The two lawmakers championed a "conservative" dress code aimed at helping curb temptation. The idea has since been nixed by legislative leadership.

In May, Missouri House Speaker John Diehl announced he was resigning from the legislature after admitting that he exchanged text messages of a sexually charged nature with a college student serving as a statehouse intern.

"I made a mistake," Diehl said at the time. "It's one that calls into question my ability to lead."

Roughly two months later, Missouri Sen. Paul LeVota announced he was resigning after two female interns accused him of sexual harassment.

In her book, "Plenty Ladylike," McCaskill describes fending off the unwanted sexual attention of men when she was an intern in Missouri's statehouse.

McCaskill said she witnessed she often saw sexual assault victims blamed for crimes against them when she was a courtroom prosecutor of sex crimes, and later as a Jackson County prosecutor.

"I saw young women held responsible for the harm done to them by others. I even saw a few law enforcement officials sometimes unwilling to pursue justice because of the victim's behavior prior to the crime. 'She was asking for it,' is a sentence I have longed to see stripped for our cultural vocabulary," wrote McCaskill who as a senator has championed victims' rights legislation. "Victim-blaming obscures justice, and undermines a process that should be based solely on factual evidence, not on a desire to skirt accountability."




http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/18/1413186/-Missouri-senators-resign-after-scandals-Republicans-propose-fix-modest-dress-code-for-interns?

[orphanedhawk]

I passed some male runners in little tight speedos, the other day.
Are they asking for it?

Men need to stop blaming women when they don't control their behavior and take responsibility.
I can barely believe we are still having this conversation.

[Barb135]

"She was asking for it" begs the questions "What was she asking for?" and "exactly what did you do to her?"

While I'm a firm believer in dressing appropriately for the job (leave the cleavage, short skirts and/or tight pants for the after work party), I don't believe that representatives in Congress should have to impose a specific dress code on women, only, in order to make sure they keep their own pants on... If they have no more self control than that, perhaps they don't belong in a position of responsibility, such as they've been elected for.

I know what it's like to deal with sexual harassment and I guarantee that when a man has his mind on a specific thing, conservative clothing is not going to be an adequte deterrent...

[brice1967]

'She was asking for it,'

There is a statement that I can't stand to hear.  Frigging cop out of the worst kind.  It removes any personal acceptance.  In my opinion, if you used that sentence as an excuse, you've broken some laws.