Senators finally required to go through sexual harassment prevention training

As sexual assault allegations continue to circulate through nearly every industry imaginable, Congress is taking preventative action in attempt to ensure the future safety of senators and staffers.

On Thursday, members of the Senate voted to make sexual harassment prevention training a requirement for all "members, officers, employees, interns, and fellows of the Senate."

The "STOP Sexual Harassment Resolution" states that sexual harassment training given by the Office of Compliance or the Office of the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment must be completed no later than 60 days after assuming a position.

According to the resolution, the training will cover information about federal laws related to sexual harassment, the rights of victims, and consequences for harassers. There will also be presentations by experts on ways supervisors can help prevent "harassment, discrimination, and retaliation."

The move is definitely a step in the right direction for the individuals with high political power, but it makes you wonder: Why hasn't this always been a requirement? Prior to this legislation, sexual harassment training was simply optional for members of the Senate.

The action comes after years of Capitol Hill-related sexual harassment allegations and several weeks after women in Congress like Senators Elizabeth Warren, Claire McCaskill, Mazie Hirono, and Heidi Heitkamp responded to women speaking out against Harvey Weinstein by sharing their personal harassment experiences with the hashtag #MeToo.

"By passing this resolution, we take a step to ensure that all who work for the Senate are able to do their job without feeling unsafe or uncomfortable," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley, who co-authored the resolution, said in a statement to The Washington Post.

"No place of work is immune to the all-too-prevalent scourge of sexual harassment, but we in Congress have a particular duty to set high standards of conduct."

Seeing that sexual harassment has proven to be such a prevalent issue in Congress and today's society, the training is required to be repeated at least once every congressional session.

Though sexual harassment training was still optional for members of the House when the Senate voted to pass the resolution, on Tuesday, Nov. 14, The Associated Press reported Speaker Paul Ryan said the House will be making sexual harassment prevention training a requirement for lawmakers.

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