Speier: 'Time To Throw Back The Curtain' On Congressional Sexual Harassment
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Congresswoman Jackie Speier took to social media Friday, revealing that she had been sexually assaulted as a young staffer and saying that Congress has "been a breeding ground" for sexual harassment.
Speier (D-Hillsborough) said she was "forcibly kissed by a high-ranking congressional staff member."
"Like so many of you, I have a #MeToo story to share," she said on the video posted on YouTube. "I was working as a Congressional staffer. The chief of staff held my face, kissed me and stuck his tongue in my mouth. So I know what it's like to keep these things hidden deep down inside."
Speier said she has been haunted by the incident.
"I know what it is like to lay awake in bed at night and wondering if I was the one who had done something wrong," she said. "I know what it's like years later to remember that rush of humiliation and anger."
The Bay Area Congresswoman said she released her story to help other Congressional staffers come forward with their own stories.
"I'm reaching out to Congressional staff and former Congressional staff to share their #MeToo Congress stories," she said. "There is nothing to fear in telling the truth."
Speier believes "it's time to throw back the curtain on the repulsive behavior that until now has thrived in the dark without consequences."
