State Senators Confront Sexual Harassment

SAG-AFTRA hosted an intimate and informative discussion examining legislative solutions to sexual harassment on March 1 at SAG-AFTRA Plaza. California state senators Hannah-Beth Jackson and Connie Leyva, two of the leaders in the effort to strengthen state laws regarding sexual harassment, were joined in the conversation by SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, National Board member Frances Fisher, SAG-AFTRA members Mira Sorvino and Rosanna Arquette, and Noreen Farrell, the executive director of Equal Rights Advocates, an organization that lobbies for equal opportunities for women.

Seeking a long-overdo cultural shift in our society concerning sexual harassment, SAG-AFTRA is partnering with legislative and industry leaders. What began with revelations about abuses in our industry has blossomed into a discussion of sexual harassment that affects every sector of our economy, every employer and every hiring relationship where power can be abused.

Jackson recently introduced a bill, SB 224, that clarifies that abusers in the financial sector, elected officials and lobbyists, as well as people in our industry are clearly liable when they abuse positions of power to engage in sexual harassment or sexual assault. Leyva’s bill, SB 820, will ban confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements in cases of sexual assault, sexual harassment and sex discrimination, in order to end the silencing of women who come forward to file lawsuits against their harassers.

We thank all who participated in the briefing and applaud the efforts of state senators Jackson and Leyva, and the dozens of other legislators who are working on ways to prevent sexual harassment in California.

Photo: From left, SAG-AFTRA member Rosanna Arquette, National Board member Frances Fisher, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, Equal Rights Advocates Executive Director Noreen Farrell, state Sen. Connie Leyva and SAG-AFTRA member Mira Sorvino gathered at SAG-AFTRA Plaza to participate in a panel discussion about legislative solutions to sexual harassment on March 1.