The #metoo movement met the critical trade fair in 2017 and stormed politicians and public personalities across the country. Allegations of harassment and misconduct – some from many years before – appeared. Many state legislation reacted with the takeover or improvement of the guidelines against sexual misconduct.
In the years since then, the representation of women in US landscapes has reached an all-time high.
Since more and more women fill up seats and hold management positions, the legislators and others are informed about whether something has changed. But allegations continue to appear – at the state level and beyond.
The Associated Press received allegations against the legislature of the state across the country, examined the policy of sexual harassment of legislative chambers in all 50 states and spoke to legislators, lobbyists and employees.
Here are vital snack bars from the investigation:
144 state legislator that have been accused since #metoo
Since 2017, the Associated Press has cataloged at least 147 state legislators in 44 countries who have been accused of sexual harassment or misconduct. Most allegations were reported by #metoo in the first two years, but more have appeared every year since then.
The total amount includes accusations of incidents in both the state government and outside of it.
In 2024 alone, the AP achieved at least 14 state legislators from 12 countries that were accused – about twice as many as in the previous year.
Overall, over a third of the accused legislator resigned or were excluded from the office. For example, another third effects such as loss of party or committee positions. A dozen top state executive officers, including governors and general prosecutors, looked like similar allegations during this time and resigned the most.
According to the National Women’s Defense League, which is committed to the politics of sexual harassment in Statehouse and holds their own meters, Republicans and Democrats are accused almost equally, and 94% of the total overall are men.
Despite updated guidelines and training, transparency is still missing
An AP survey carried out from last November to January showed that almost half of all legislative chambers had updated their guidelines for sexual harassment in the past five years. However, many guidelines are tough to localize for the general public.
At the beginning of #metoo, an AP survey showed that about a third of the legislative chambers did not require the legislator to complete sexual harassment training.
They now offer almost all state legislators, although it is not always mandatory and content, format and frequency. According to APS survey, only about a third of the legislative chambers will carry out training every year.
The Senate of Arkansas is the only legislative chamber without a certain policy for sexual harassment. Officials in the Senate of Oklahoma, in the Senate of Mississippi and both chambers of West Virginia legislation have not made their policy available to sexual harassment.
Less a “young” club – but with reservations
The legislator and others are divided into whether something has changed.
The US state of Michigan, Senator Mallory McMorrov, who submitted a complaint about sexual harassment against a colleague in 2020, said that improvements were less to do with “political changes or working groups”, and more with the fact that we are responsible for much more women.
Others still see sexism.
“Sometimes it feels like we just smile more and shouldn’t be annoying and shouldn’t challenge anyone. That hasn’t disappeared,” said Shea Roberts by Georgia State Rep.
The representation of women is still lower than 50% in most places
Proponents and legislators say that the Statehouse environment can still be hostile enough to prevent many women from standing up for an office.
“When men run for an office, it’s about whether they can do the job,” said Erin Maye Quade, a Senator of Minnesota. “When women run for an office, it is much more than that.”
Men still make up two thirds of all state legislators in the United States, and some say that #metoo has given them space to join the discussion and recognize more work.
Republican MP Mark Schreiber from Kansas said that the attitudes have developed over the years – from a “boy will be young” to recognition of the harassment, while they are still responsible. In recent years, he said, men realized: “We accuse the wrong people.”
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The women of the Associated Press in the covering of the workforce and the state government receive financial support from crucial companies. The AP is only responsible for all content. Find the standards of AP for working with philanthropias, a list of supporters and financed coverage areas at Ap.org.
