Understanding Sexual Harassment in the Post-MeToo Era
In the spring of 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo was a public hero. New York was among the states most devastated in the initial wake of the novel coronavirus, and Cuomo served as a source of hope and comfort for a desperate population. His daily briefings — watched by millions of people at their peak — were charming, suave, and upbeat.
A year later, Cuomo is the subject of widespread national outrage after multiple women have accused the governor of sexual harassment. Many of these claims come from former or current government employees: one former aide, Lindsey Boylan, said that the governor kissed her on the lips, touched her inappropriately, and made suggestive comments to her; another aide, Charlotte Bennett, said that Cuomo asked her about her sex life and involvement with older men. In light of the compounding sexual harassment claims and another scandal, which involves Cuomo intentionally withholding critical data in a nursing home report, many critics and constituents have called for his resignation. Cuomo has refused, claiming that to do so would be undemocratic and a capitulation to the larger demands of cancel culture. In fact, his resignation is necessary for the preservation of democracy and the protection of women professionally and personally. If Mr. Cuomo has been “canceled” by the court of public opinion it is because the laws surrounding sexual harassment in the workplace are finally beginning to weather the political onslaught of money, power, and privilege.
Boylan and Bennett are not the only women to have come forward with claims of sexual harassment. Anna Ruch said that Cuomo harassed her physically and verbally at a wedding by placing his hand on her lower back and attempting to kiss her. Another former aide, Karen Hinton, said that Cuomo gave her an “intimate embrace” and attempted to summon her to his hotel room twice, each time against her will. Jessica Bakeman, a former reporter, gave another account of physical and verbal harassment. Perhaps the most devastating account, however, is anonymous: an unknown source claimed that Cuomo groped her beneath her shirt.
Cuomo has categorically denied these allegations. If he has not said that they are false outright, then he has positioned them in the profile of an affectionate politician. With regard to Bennett, Cuomo said that he did not “intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” He said of the Ruch incident that physical touch, such as hugging and kissing, was his “customary way of greeting.” Cuomo remains upright and refuses to entertain resignation. He claims that “people know the difference between playing politics, cancel culture, and the truth.”
Somewhat ironically, Cuomo has a legal history of protecting women’s rights. In 2019, Cuomo signed the Reproductive Health Act, which fought maternal mortality, improved access to services such as in-vitro fertilization and fertility preservation, promoted rural telehealth services for perinatal care, and introduced legislation that protected breastfeeding in the workplace. In August of 2019, Cuomo signed legislation that enforced protections against harassment and discrimination under the New York Human Rights Law. This legislation extended the statute of limitations for filing a complaint from one year to three and required employers to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy. Perhaps most compellingly, the 2019 human rights laws also introduced new protections for victims of harassment. Under the new legislation, harassment does not have to be “severe or pervasive” to be against the law.
The New York State attorney general, Letitia James, has named two outside lawyers, Joon Kim and Anne Clark, to lead the investigation into the sexual harassment claims. Their investigation will decide whether Cuomo is legally guilty or innocent. If he is guilty, his impeachment is probable. Though the New York State Constitution’s language on impeachment is somewhat sparse, Section 240 of the Judiciary Law calls for impeachment under “willful and corrupt misconduct in office.” The veracity of the harassment claims could certainly constitute both willful and corrupt misconduct.
More troubling, however, is Cuomo’s response to the allegations given his own harassment laws. If harassment does not need to be severe or pervasive to be against the law, then his half-apologies read somewhat differently. “It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it,” he said at a press briefing on March 3. Good intentions or not, an apology cannot make right a legal wrongdoing. He later said that “I certainly never meant to offend anyone.” Offend someone he clearly did, and remaining in office in the face of his own laws is an insult to the democracy he seems so intent to protect.
The #MeToo movement of 2018 unleashed a tide of sexual assault and harassment survivors who shared their stories after years of silence — some after decades. The allegations toppled a number of famous celebrities and personas, including media mogul Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis C.K., and former Minnesota senator Al Franken. What is abundantly clear, three years later, is that abuse persists. If the politicians who sign the harassment laws do not obey them, other powerful men truly cannot be held accountable.
Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, his statements regarding the workplace that he cultivated make clear his disregard for the harassment laws he signed. As Lindsey Boylan tweeted, “Pushing your elected officials to do the right thing is not bullying. It’s speaking truth to power and holding it accountable.”