Transcripts For CSPAN Sexual Harassment Abuse Stories 20180103

Sally lets start out by talking about Harvey Weinstein, that is the story everyone is talking about right now. Every day, some new atrocity occurs, like yesterday or the day before. Three more people came forward with the idea this has been going on for years and years and years. There were eight settlements against him. Obviously everybody in the company knew about it. I have to say, i wonder about his wife, who i gather last night announced she was leaving him, finally. How she could possibly not have heard about this how do you think this happened . How is this allowed to go on and on and have nobody ever speak out until now . Gretchen because as a society and culture, we protect harassers. If somebody can actually tell me why that is the 20 million question, why . Is it because we are protecting our own jobs . Is it because we are protecting a person in power . I think those are the top two reasons. But now that the floodgates have been opened, i give so much credit to the women who were able to tell their stories. Either way, eight settlements eight have been reported. Sally that does not mean there were only eight people molested or assaulted or raped. We know there were three other people who were raped what is the statute of limitation on rape . Gretchen it is a crime, with a longer period. It depends on the state, whether it is a federal violation or state violation. That is another thing we need to look into. There are so many ways we should look into laws, helping more women come forward. Especially an issue like Sexual Harassment, it is less than two years. Sally power and jobs that does not excuse the men and companies and people on the board and the lawyers and the people who had to be involved in the settlement of those eight women had to know about it. Why did they not say anything, and who are they . I want their names on the front pages. Gretchen i do, too. We would have to fill up every newspaper that existed. It is not just that company. They are covering it up in hundreds and thousands of Companies Across this country and the world. The big question you ask is, why did we protect them . What i found out from research in my book, sometimes they even protect a lowlevel employee. Let me give you an example. Someone goes into a job, they say, be careful of joe, he has been here 30 years, he has a rude sense of humor. Sure enough, a woman complains, and who do they protect . Joe. He is not a central person to the company, not the ceo, but they protect joe and that woman stays out. It is at every level. I have to tell you, the Harvey Weinstein story. Sally not just you, we all do. I was horrified, but also thrilled that this came out, that he was outed, that he was fired, lost the company, that he is going into therapy, thrilled his wife is leaving him. He should be shunned. This is a huge step forward for all of us who have had these experiences, and we all have. Gretchen and it is a step forward for the enablers, the people you mentioned, who will also be called out. They will feel the shame that all of those women felt and should not have. Enablers are a huge part of this problem, and a huge part of this solution. Sexual harassment training and companies should focus more on enablers than anything else. Focus on, how do we give the courage to the enabler to not be an enabler and come forward . It is crucial. Sally i said to you earlier as i was reading your book, i got madder and madder. You think, this cant be happening, can be happening today, and yet it is. The reason we are here is because of your experience at fox news, your Sexual Harassment suit against roger ailes. I know you cant talk about it, but i can. I wanted to read in your complaint, ailes has unlawfully retaliated against carlson and sabotaged her career because she refused his Sexual Harassment and was subjected to pervasive Sexual Harassment. Ailes retaliated against carlson in various ways, including by terminating her employment, and ostracizing, marginalizing, and shunning her after making clear these problems would not have existed and could have been solved if she had a sexual relationship with him. When carlson met withon ailes to discuss, he said, you and i should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago. And then you would be good and better and i would be good and better, adding that sometimes problems are easier to solve that way. Carlson rebuffed ailess sexual advances, and then he ended her career at fox news. First of all, he was so repulsive. The idea that someone like roger ailes would think he could get away with it, that he would be attractive enough to anyone to even pick him up, were it not for the outrage of what he was assuming one of the things you cannot talk about, you did resolve this lawsuit and reached a 22 Million Dollars settlement. As far as i am concerned, that is not enough. Why cant you talk about it . Is that not part of the problem . Gretchen it is. Sally in order to reach a settlement, you have to agree not to talk about it. Gretchen just as a caveat with regard to the revolution, i am giving that money away to the gift of courage fund. I want to be clear about that. And the proceeds from my book are going to the gift of courage. Settlements, yes. This is the way in which our culture has decided to resolve these kinds of cases. Over 90 of Sexual Harassment cases end up in settlement. What does that mean . The woman that he much never works in her chosen career ever again, and can never talk about it, she is gagged. How else to resolve sexualharassment suits . We put in arbitration clauses in Employment Contracts for a secret proceeding. Again, nobody finds out about it if you file a complaint, you can never talk about it, ever, nobody ever knows what happens to you, and in most cases you are terminated from the company, and in many cases, he is allowed to work in the same position he was harassing you. This is the way our society has decided to resolve sexualharassment cases, to full everyone out there that we have come so far in 2017. The reason we think we have come so far is because we are not hearing about these cases. The reason we are not hearing about the cases is because the women are silent. Either through settlement or forced arbitration. Sally suppose you had said, i am bringing this case and i want to settle, but i do not want this silence. With a have said, go away . They would have . Gretchen i was given the benefit of being able to talk about this issue openly and hear other peoples stories and talk about ways in which i think we should change laws and have a conversation right now. That is rare. Sally what do we do to change this from happening to someone else where you can file a Sexual Harassment charge and reach a settlement, but it does not include silencing you . How do we go about changing them . Gretchen the first thing, the work i am doing on capitol hill, we have to take forced arbitration clauses out of Employment Contracts, or at least take the secrecy out of it. I am working diligently to get a bipartisan bill on the. Sexualharassment is apolitical. Democrats and republicans at should care about this equally, for their daughters, granddaughters, nieces. I have been meeting with them privately to get them on board to support this bill and take the secrecy out of it. It means if you are sexually harass, you can file a public complaint and have a jury trial, which is your seventh amendment right. The way it works now, if you file a complaint, it is a secret, and you go to arbitration, where only 20 of the time does the victim actually win. It is not like an open court system. You cannot call the same amount of witnesses, the depositions are different, there is no appeal. And people hearing the cases are retired lawyers and judges, who may not be as adept at understanding sexualharassment in this generation. Sally or they may. Gretchen they are mostly men. Sally that is what i am saying. Gretchen they will not side with the victim. We need to start there. If i can get a bipartisan bill to pass that takes the secrecy out of this, that is a warning shot to companies that you cannot hide this kind of behavior anymore. Sally explain to me why this is not a nobrainer. When you go to the hill and talk to members of congress and say, i want this arbitration bill, i want this changed why would anyone say no . Give me a good reason. Gretchen number one big reason is because democrats are in favor of this and republicans support big business. Sally do they say, there, there, little girl, we are supporting big business . What are they saying . Gretchen they are taking meetings with me and listening. They are thinking along and hard about the ramifications of their own children. This is why i did this for their wives. Many of their wives have been sexually harassed. This is why people are so frustrated with politicians in general. On the one hand, i think rationally theyd look at this and realize they should be on board. They have a whole other constituency. Sally lets talk about silence. The big business guys, because im sure they are guys, will go into talk to their republican congressman, lobby them, and say you cannot do this. And the reason, we are sexually harassing these women, and we could lose a lot of money. Gretchen they are not that blatant, but i get your point. Sally that is the only reason they could be against it. Gretchen the argument about arbitration is that it is cheaper for the employee, you dont have to hire lawyers and go through a long process of a trial. That is not really true, there are a lot of costs with arbitration. The biggest thing, Big Companies will say we are doing a service to not involve the court, because the courts are already overworked. Sally they care about the court . Gretchen it is a way to solve Small Business disputes by putting them into arbitration. Those are the arguments given. Here is the problem. When you start a new job, youre just happy to have the job and a paycheck, youre not thinking about the arbitration clause and not thinking there would be a dispute. I never thought i would be there. When you do and suddenly realize you do not have your rights anymore, that is a daunting day, because you realize you have no options and your rights have been taken away. This is what i am explaining to members of congress. Sally this was not your first experience. Tell me a couple you had before when you were 22. You had two or three experiences that were pretty disgusting. Gretchen unfortunately, it is not my first day at the rodeo. It was when i was miss america, actually. May be the blessing of that was that i had built tough skin. Suddenly my resume of a concert violinist, salutatorian, stanford grad, evaporated. I was just a dumb blonde. I had built six skin a lot. Then i was meeting with Television Executives because i knew it was the career i wanted. One was so nice, made phone calls, took me to dinner. I thought it would be a great beginning for me. We got into the backseat of the car service to take me back to my friends apartment, suddenly he was on top of me, with his tongue down my throat. I remember being panic and thinking, how my going to get out of this . I screamed for the driver to stop. I got out, not knowing where i was. I got to my friends apartment and just lost it in emotion. What did i do, why did he do this to me, did he not respect my brains, was he really trying to help me . All of that goes away. I never, ever spoke to him ever again. I guess he really did not want to help me. Unfortunately, a couple weeks later i was in los angeles meeting with a highpowered publicist i was a gogetter, knocking on doors to get a career started. Unfortunately, i was in a car again with him, and he took my head with his hand, forcefully jammed my head into its crotch so hard that i could not breathe. Sally this is better than flowers and candy . [laughter] gretchen here is the fascinating part about this. I never really spoke openly about this story until recently. But more importantly, it was a friend, when i was telling her those stories who said to me, you realize those were both assaults . I said, what are you talking about . That is assault. I had never defined it that way before. It speaks volumes about how we normalize this as women, in culture. We think we can overcome it, so we put it aside, and we dont acknowledge it for what it is. It was actually Natasha Stoynoff who told me this. She was one of the alleged trump of victims. She said what happened to her was assault. She tells her story in be fierce. Sally she was a People Magazine reporter. Gretchen she was at maralago, doing a story about the president s latest child with melania. She said that when melania went up the change her clothing, he took her into a room and forcibly kissed her. She actually took herself off of that premier beat. She told people, which is huge. You need to tell people. Sally she told People Magazine at the time . Gretchen and im saying, in general, women should tell people. Tell human beings what happened, it is a he said, she said culture. When i interviewed her for my book, she told me it was assault. Sally she came forward with her story. Gretchen she was listening to one of the debates where the president had said he had never forcefully kissed anyone against their will. And she thought, i dont want to be silent anymore. Sally she came out with it and had been friends with melania. I know she ran into melania on the streets and they kissed and hugged and she said, where have you been . After this story, melania denied it, said they never ran into each other, never happened. What do you say about the wives who were enabling their husbands to do this kind of thing . Melania is a perfect example. I do not know about Harvey Weinsteins wife, georgina chapman, how she could not have an inkling of this after 10 years of marriage. Gretchen i hope they can find a way in their heart also be fierce and stand up for who they are as women and give themselves more respect. Sally you mentioned jane fonda had several experiences. Gretchen she just came out of 79 years old and said she was raped earlier in her career. And abused. And she had never told those stories before. This is the culture we live in, where these kinds of stories are stuffed down, and women are made to feel ashamed that something happened to them, when in essence, they were shamed. We have to turn this issue totally in the opposite direction. I do sense it is happening now. Sally Gwyneth Paltrow came forward and so did angelina jolie. I have to say, god love meryl streep for speaking out against Harvey Weinstein, who she had worked with. The issue of shame fascinates me. I have had, as all women have had, a number of experiences like this. One when i was 19 when senator john tower was supposed to take me to lunch. Then he took me to dinner and took me to a bar where i should not have gone. We got in a cab and he tried to rape me in the back of the cab. I was so ashamed, i cried for days. I did not tell anybody for a couple of years. But i started telling people. When he came up as secretary of defense, i have these two fbi agents come to the house and say, we heard about your experience and we are checking on his resume. Tell us about it. Which is totally confidential. I said, i happen to know it is not confidential because i work for the Washington Post and we get our stories from you guys. It turned out he was voted down and nancy, the only republican, voted against him, because she had heard my story. And poor anita hill, didnt have my experience and background, she did not know better and talk to the fbi. Of course, they subpoenaed her and she ended up on capitol hill, and her life was ruined. I could have been anita hill. Her life was ruined, and she is now a punchline. Forgetting that she is a distinguished lawyer. A producer hired me to be the girlfriend in the movie flipper, about the dolphin. He said, but you will have to sleep with me if you want the part. I said, i will have to ask my father. I did not get a call back. The producer of 60 minutes sent me to london to cover princess annes wedding. He took me to my room one night and threw me on the bed. These are stories i never told right away. Then i did write a book about my cbs experience. But i never told the john tower story. Gretchen why . Sally i was ashamed because i thought i should not have agreed to have lunch with him i was 19. I should not have agreed to go dinner. When he dragged me across the street to the nightclub, i should not have gone. Somehow i shouldve kept him out of the cab, it was my fault. Gretchen we blame ourselves. Sally i still feel that, and the same way about the producer of 60 minutes. What was i thinking . He was going to help me be a big star. I had no experience. I should have known, that it was my fault that i led him on. Gretchen but it was not. Sally the john tower thing, i still feel ashamed, even to this day. How do women get over the shame of thinking we all want to look attractive. I want to look sexy when i go out at night and dress up and do my hair and makeup, and want people to think i am attractive. Where is the moment when you cross the line . When you are coming on or asking for it, as opposed to wanting to be an attractive woman . Gretchen i do not think women are ever asking to be assaulted. What i say in the book, you can be wearing a short skirt, hospital scrubs, or army fatigues, it does not matter. And you should not feel any shame, no woman should. Shame is a potent force. Sally how do they get over the shame part of it . Gretchen we talk about it. I have even seen some people say on twitter, Gwyneth Paltrow did not come forward right away, so we should discount what she is saying now. No. No, because this is how it starts. We should never shame a woman who comes forward at all, i do not care when, ever. We should then realize, even if these episodes happened 30, 40 years ago, i do not care when it happened. As long as you come forward, you encourage other women to come forward when it is happening to them now. That is how it works. It is a shame of inspiration. One woman at a time, we bolster courage. Courage is not something you one day wake up with and say, i will do a monumental thing. It is a process of time, not a light switch. That is one of the greatest myths i have seen on social media. Why did you wait so long . Why did you wait until it was all over . That is such a naive and ignorant question. You dont realize where women are still in society. We are labeled troublemakers, you cant take a joke, we are still the bword, we are still not believed. The best one, we bring all these cases forward because we want to be famous. Sally like anita hill. Gretchen i have never met any of the women i had spoken to, that was the reason for coming forward. Sally for me, it was over 40 years ago with the john tower thing over 50 years ago. I never told the story until last year. In front of thousands of women. I started telling the story and thought i was going to lose it. I almost started to cry because i had never told that story before. At this point in my life. I can only imagine i waited so long to tell that story. Does that make it less legitimate because i waited that long . Gretchen no. Sally it is ashamed, you dont want to talk about it, you somehow feel embarrassed, it is your fault, you dont want to bring that attention on yourself, dont want people to think you are a troublemaker, a complainer. But i agree with you. The idea of people talking about it when it happens and telling people the feminist point of view is, and i agree with this, if you say it happens, it happened. It should be done. However, there is this other side of the story. It happens occasionally on College Campuses. And that is, what if somebody is falsely accused . This is an issue that we cannot pretend is not exist. I happen to know this because a close friend of mines son was one of the boys at Duke University they got thrown out for harassing this woman, it turned out she had made up the whole story and lied. But his life was ruined, he was thrown out of college. I have a lot of friends of mine you have sons in college to basically say, you have to keep a stack of permission slips on your bedside table with a pen and make sure women will sign it if they will have sex with you. How do protect your sons . You talk a lot in your book about your children and how to protect them and make sure boys understand what the rules are. And how far you can go and what you can do. But there is another side to that. Sometimes the boys are innocent. In a lot of cases when you talk about men sexually harassing women, particularly in the workplace, it is a different situation. Gretchen totally different. I acknowledge in the book, there are false accusations. However, it is a very small percentage. Four out of five women will be assaulted on a College Campus. It is one of the reasons i am doing a College Campus tour with the book. You have to get kids young, to form and shape their opinions. One expert told me, if you start trying to change the way men perceive women in their 40s and 50s, forget it, it is too late. The main mission for me now is to get to the kids at a young age, so they are building perceptions and respect for women while they are growing up. I do a whole chapter on parenting, too. I have worked more for my son than for my daughter because i want him when he gets to the workforce in 12 years or so, i want them to look at his female colleagues and respect them with the same way he looks at me now and respects me. My kids were the most important decision in what i decided to do. When i jumped off that cliff, the only thing i thought about, was how will my kids be . The biggest decision. I would not have done it if i thought it would have harmed my children. In the end, how could i have ever known how any day would be after that day, with no safety net . But i have now seen my children get that gift of courage themselves. Specifically in my daughter, who was looking for courage in certain aspects of her life. When she went to school on the first day of that summer, the first day my resolution was announced, i was anxious for her. She came home from school and said, a lot of people were asking what happened to you. She said mom, i was so proud to be able to say you are my mom. Sally what was the Tipping Point for you . You put up with it and put up with it. The most insidious part was, you were getting higher ratings than anybody else, doing these incredible interviews, you were obviously a hard worker at the top of your game. And yet they started lowering your salary and taking your show away from you, and moving you into a different timeslot, and taking the interviews away from you. Was there a moment where you said, i am mad as hell, i wont take it anymore . Gretchen first of all, thank you for acknowledging all of that. It is a very lonely experience. I thank you for giving me that credit. When i finally realized what i had worked so hard for, more than 25 years toward, when i realized that would come to an end for me, i realized i had to do this, not so much for myself, but for any other women that would come after me. And i want to the next generation to not have to face the same indignities i had. That was really what it was. Seeing that what id worked so hard for was going away. Sally was it gradual . I know sometimes when i make decisions, i mull over for a long period of time and then i will think, i am going to do this or i cant take this anymore. Gretchen i cant talk specifically about all my emotions over the years, but in general terms, for women, i often think we are so used to working extra hard, that we feel we can change the dynamic if we just work a little more hard. You keep hoping they will finally see you for who you really are. I often think actually that stronger women are worse victims because of that. We are so used to banging our head against a brick wall to get ahead and persevere against all odds, that we keep fighting instead of saying something. That is the dynamic that needs to change. Sally it mustve been humiliating for you. What about your colleagues at fox . Didnt people say, hmm, i wonder why gretchen just lost the show that had the highest ratings on television . I dont get it. Gretchen you find out who your friends are. Sally how did that happen . Were you disappointed in some of your friends, surprised at the support you got . Gretchen i cannot talk about the people at fox. Sally i know you cant talk about it. But in terms of how people in general behaved when they saw what was happening to you. Gretchen it was really fascinating. I heard from people i had never heard from in 30 years that i never expected to hear from. That was amazing. Sally supportive . Gretchen yes. Some of my neighbors never reached out to me. Some people came up to me after time had passed and said, we just did not want to trouble you or bother you, we did not know what to say. Sometimes that happens when people died. People sign a sympathy card with just their name. My father had always said to me, when you send a card you always should send up memories of the person, because that is what people want to see, not your name. Sally it was a little death. Gretchen but it is not the same. The phenomenon is the same in the sense people do not know what to say to you, so they say nothing. Sally you do go through the stages of grief. Gretchen and ptsd. Which is what you are talking about, you are still experiencing. Guess what, 25 years later, i saw him walking down the hallways of my place of employment and i panicked. I ran up, slammed my office door, i started sweating, shaking. This guy was not going to come to my office and put my head back in his crotch. But this is what happens to you. 30 years ago for you, 25 years ago for me, you do not forget that moment of sheer panic and being out of control and someone violating you. I mustered up the courage to look in the hallway to see if he was still there and ran as fast as i could to the elevator. Sally do you think he even remembered it . Gretchen probably not, if he was doing it all the time. It is normalizing it within the culture. Which brings us back to enablers, why it is so important for people within companies to say, that is not acceptable, what you just did. Imagine if billy bush had said that in the donald trump tape, i am not going to stand for this, mr. Trump, i do not talk that way to women. You see, if somebody would just do that sally there was no way he would have done that. He was a young guy trying to get ahead and donald trump is donald trump. Gretchen but now i think that is going to start happening, i really do. Especially with our younger people. I want to see that their hard work pays off in a good way, that i could see the end result. And i believe that our younger people especially want to get rid of this indignity, i really do. With more and more women coming forward, it is so empowering to women of all ages, but especially our young women just coming into the workforce. They are seeing what happens when other women are speaking up and seeing that they have a voice. Sally when you look at politicians and you see lets start with jack kennedy. My husband was a very close friend of jack kennedys, he and his wife were. They would be at the white house two or three nights a week. He swears my husband was ben bradley, editor of the Washington Post swears he never heard any of the rumors about kennedy because the four of them were close friends. It was not something that came up, so he did not know about it. Later when he started reading all of these stories, he was really shocked. And then kennedy was killed. Shocked and disappointed, then the story came out about the woman he had had an affair with in the white house and she was 21 and he had forced her to have oral sex in the White House Pool with several of the white house staffers. Here is this person who is revered all over the world by everyone, and he was this extraordinary man, there is no question about it. But he was a predator of the worst kind. Gretchen so that makes him not an extraordinary man. Sally and you have bill clinton. The women are the first to stand up and say, if she said it happened, it happened. Suddenly with bill clinton, all the women were liars, it did not happen. And he was a predator. Then you have donald trump. Bill clinton is still revered. You have donald trump, who is so blatantly out there with this, he even talks about it openly. In fact, while he is married, coming on to women like with the People Magazine reporter. The majority of people in this country he was elected president , despite that. And the people who were interviewed said, that his locker room talk. Melania said, that is just boy talk. Gretchen it is not. Sally it is not boy talk, locker room talk. I do not know any man who talks that way, i dont. At least, i do not think i do. I have not been in a locker room lately. The point is, he is revered by many people in this country and they do not seem to care about that. What do you do about changing the culture, in the sense that people will look at donald trump and say simply, that is not acceptable . In anybody, but particularly the president of the United States. Is that with the mothers of supporters are saying to their little boys . This is the president , he can do what he wants to do, so so can you . Gretchen it is a terrible example for our children. Sally what do you do . Gretchen the way i handled that personally, i showed my children that tape. Because i thought it was a teachable moment for them. I know that millions of other parents across the country were grappling with what the heck to do with that. I wrote a New York Times oped about that after he was elected and said, to me, i do not give a damn about any policy you are trying to pass or what party you belong to. To me, human decency supersedes all of that. And that tape showed me what human decency was not. And that is what i shared with my children. Sally did they understand what he was talking about . Gretchen yes. In schools now did i want to show it to them . No. But i thought it was imperative. Whether or not people think that tax policy or immigration policy or any of that is more important than human decency, that is why we live in a free country and they can vote for whomever they want to. I worry that those comments have set us back dramatically. But i am optimistic because of the stories coming out. Sally what is happening now with weinstein, will it make other women and men look at this and say, this is enough . This has gone on too long, we cannot do this anymore. It is so recent. Gretchen i see it. A huge part of the equation, i have a chapter dedicated to this, men who defend. Sally i was about to get to that. Who were the men fighting with you . I read George Clooney had said something about Harvey Weinstein. Gretchen the men in my book range from journalist to men who have made this their life mission, to go into companies and teach them to be more equitable with women and treat them with more respect. There are tons of men out there doing more work for women. Here is why it is crucial. The responsibility of fixing this problem should not only be on the shoulders of women. It is not only our responsibility to make the workplace safer for us. It is more of a mans issue than a womans issue. We need these men on our side to make change. As long as we still have 94 of fortune 500 Companies Run by men, we especially need them on our side in the way they pay us, promote us, decide whether or not we get a seat in the boardroom, and may or may not sexually harass us. Mens voices are critical to making change. That is why i feel, even though it has been a couple days, to see men come out and say what they have been saying, we must support these women and we must stop enabling this, that is huge. It is a cascading effect. I really believe were on the precipice of a major change with regard to this issue. Sally i think Harvey Weinstein may have been the Tipping Point. It was just so egregious and had been going on so long and kept quiet for so long, and then suddenly, it defies the imagination that this could have been happening in this day and age and that people were accepting this and enabling this. One of the things i think in terms of fighting this, it creates an atmosphere of the creep factor. What Hillary Clinton was talking about, donald trump hovering around her during the debate. She said, i wondered if i should say, just get away from me, you creep. Because he was a creep. Only a creep would say what he said on the access Hollywood Tape. It is like smoking. It was cool, but now you think, that poor guy is addicted, he is weak. They will get cancer for a man to shove a womans face in his crotch, i am going to tell everyone what a creep you are. Even if they did not realize it was wrong or did not care or felt entitled, that they would be so terrified of being called a creep i think maybe i kept in my imagination, i was getting angry and thought, we ought to have, every newspaper ought to have the creep of the week. [laughter] gretchen i love that idea, but think youre smoking analogy is a really good one. Mind if i use it . Sally it is all yours, you can also have the creep of the week. Gretchen great analogy. My kids look at smoking now i think him a why is that person smoking . I am going to use that as my barometer for this issue of Sexual Harassment and i will hope that in the next few years or 10 years or 20 years, that is the way in which we will be looking at it. Sally there was a powerful guy in washington, wellknown for putting his hand on womens thighs under the dinner table at fancy washington dinners. He never did anything more than that, and it was creepy and embarrassing, but it was kind of like, you are in the middle of a blacktie dinner, candles and Everything Else and the guy puts his hand on your thigh, and you dont know whether to say, cut it out it would have been so shocking. It was kind of a joke. But i cant look at this guy and not think about that. Gretchen so tell him. Here is where i see hope. Look at somebody like taylor swift. She is in her 20s. Do you think she wanted to take time off for her world tour to testify in a Sexual Harassment groping case . Probably not, but i am so glad she did. She is sending a message, especially to young women, that she will not take that crap. She is a person standing up and saying, get your hand off my thigh, how dare you grope my butt. That also played into this narrative of how we got off to this Tipping Point. If i jump off the cliff, then susan fowler came out it uber, and more people it silicon valley, then you had the sterling jewelry case, then taylor swift and now you have Harvey Weinstein. Look at how far we have come in just 15 months. Sally here is the question in terms of getting this to stop there are two issues. The guys will be scared to do it because they will be called out and humiliated and people will think they are creeps. The other thing is, how do you get them to become decent human beings . How do you get them to realize this is not decent behavior . By the way, some of these people are evangelicals and christians and religious people who tolerate it the most. You mention it briefly in the book. Gretchen there is a horrific story in the book. Sally and this is not an unusual story among religious congregations. We have seen a Sexual Harassment situation in the catholic church. People wont commit crime because they are afraid theyll get caught, but only because they are afraid they will get caught. These guys may only not do it because they are afraid they will get caught. How do you get them to realize this is wrong . Gretchen it goes back to our original point of how we raise them. Sally the mothers and the fathers. Gretchen whatever the family dynamic is, singleparent, partners together. Kids see and hear everything. I found myself over the last 15 months reevaluating how i am parenting and exactly what im saying. What is my dynamic with my husband . Because that is what they are seeing on a daily basis. They are getting cues from that. But also our schools. Why did a study come out that when fiveyearold little girls when they heard something smart, said it could be a man or a woman. But by the time they were six or seven, were not sure he could be a woman . What happens between ages five and six . They go to school. What are these subtle cues at school that make women feel less than boys . It is crucial. Sally you had one line in your book your daughter said mom, you should be president of the United States. A thing my son said when i was married to ben bradley, of the Washington Post, he said, mom, you should be president of the United States. [laughter] sally i read that when you said that. Something must have been going on in the family dynamics. Ben was a tough guy. Gretchen i love to hear that. To finish that story, she was in the car and said, why cant you decide to run today . I said, it is a little more complicated than that. Ironically, i have been asked to run for Political Office since this story unfolded. It is not out of the cards for me, never say never. Sally you had one statistic that blew me away. 43,000 people in the workplace are raped or sexually assaulted every year. Can that possibly be true . Gretchen it is more than that. 70 of people do not come forward. This is an epidemic. It is alarmingly shocking how much this is happening in our culture. Three women accusing President Trump of Sexual Misconduct spoke with the press earlier this month in washington. They told their stories about their encounters with mr. Trump and called on congress to investigate the allegations. Hello, my name is samantha holvey. As a little girl, i would watch the miss usa pageant every year and dream of being one of those beautiful, successful, incredibly confident women. These dreams never included a man lining us all up to look this over like we were pieces of meat, these dreams never included a man coming into the backstage hair and makeup area while i sat naked under a robe as he walked around looking at us like we were his property before he moved into the dressing room. And these dreams certainly never included this same man becoming president of the United States. I have a new dream now. That this man will be held accountable for his actions, and that future generations of women can fulfill their dreams without worry of anyone treating them like they are less than because they are a woman. Thank you. Want to go next . Sure. Good morning. My name is rachel crook. I think you are all familiar with my story. As a young receptionist in trump tower, i was forcibly kissed by mr. Trump during our first introduction. He repeatedly kissed my cheek and then my lips and it has followed me. It has incurred feelings of the insignificant and self doubt. He was friends of my employers, and owner of the building. There was nothing i could do. Given the hostile work environment, my only solution was to avoid future encounters with him. I realize there are far worse is cases. There is no acceptable level of such behavior. That some men think they can use their power and position into notoriety to demean and attack women speaks to their character, not ours. A tough lesson learned. In my case, i knew was not my fault when i read the account of temple taggart, whose story so mirrored my own that somehow it eclipsed my own image that i had somehow projected a target. It was wrong on the part of mr. Trump. This type of behavior is not rare. People of all backgrounds can be victims. Im here because this offender is now the president of our country. I promise you i wouldve much rather gain Public Interest by something great i accomplished rather than by, in this case, something quite negative. I shared my story because it was relevant. Mr. Trump dismissed his words on the access Hollywood Tape as locker room talk but i knew mr. Trump dismissed his words on the access Hollywood Tape as locker room talk but i knew better. I decided to let my encounter with him be known as on his various others. Our stories seem to fall on deaf ears. Recently the me too movement has gained momentum and women have found strength in one another the courage to come forward, leaving many powerful men to suffer the consequences of their actions. However, has escaped his past unscathed. Although about a dozen women have come forward regarding his Sexual Misconduct and we have video proof of him promoting this behavior. In an objective setting without a person with this record would have entered the graveyard of political return. Ons never to yet here we are with that man as president. I want to believe that we can put aside our political inclinations and admit that some things do transcend politics and we will hold up mr. Trump to the standard as Harvey Weinstein and the other men who were held accountable for their reprehensible behavior. Therefore, i ask that congress put aside their Party Affiliations and investigate mr. Trumps history of Sexual Misconduct. Thank you. Im jessica leeds. I am the Senior Member of this group. My story goes way back. An episode on an airplane where i sat next to trump and he decided that he was wanted some entertainment. I managed to get away from him go away. But then three years later i into him again and he remembered me. In myt really stuck memory. Years later, i come to realize that he is seriously running for president and i start telling my story. 30 years had lapsed, at least. But i told everybody. I told my friends. I told my neighbors. I told my book club. I told the ladies at the y. I told anybody and everybody that i could tell. You know what kind of person trump is . President . Nning for let me tell you what kind of person this is. So, obviously, when the Hollywood Tape came out and then i got soes happened, angry that i wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times. They responded. Publishing the letter. They did a video and they did a story. Never in a million years did i ever think that one day i would open up my door and pick up my newspaper and find my picture on the front page. The story was as simple as what i just explained. It was an encounter on an airplane and totally inappropriate behavior on his part. So then, there was a kind of a media scrum, as i call it, and then the election came and he won. And i was absolutely destroyed. But i figured the United States is a big, strong country. We can survive this person. But, during the course of the year, i kept hearing from people who would come up to me on the street, in the subway, at the library, at the grocery store, at the airport one time, in the swimming pool. All people. And everybody had a story. Everybody had some experience of being vulnerable and being attacked. And, you know, i thought things had gotten better for women in business but apparently i was wrong. Then the anniversary came of his election, there was some renewed interest by the media as to what i thought and all that. And then the weinstein story had hit and it was like an a shingle factory. Things were flying all over the place. And it became apparent that in some areas, the accusations of sexual aggression were being taken seriously and people were being held accountable. Except for our president. And he was not being held accountable. In fact, his staff made a big point of calling us all liars. So, we are at the position now where, in some areas of our society, people are being held accountable for unwanted behavior. Are not holding our president accountable for what he is and who he is. So, i would like to see this moment i think the me too fascinatingquite and im hoping that it creates more movement and that we get a change. But we shall see. And we all have to hope. Thank you for sharing your stories. Well take some questions from the media. Our first questions go to francis. Your name, publication. From the Washington Post. You talked quite a bit about the me too movement. Im curious about your next step and what specifically you hope to achieve in coming weeks or months in addressing the youve raised so bravely. Forthank you so much speaking up about those. I do not because im not im too old to have any working knowledge of how the internet works, so i dont i dont know exactly how this me too movement is going. But im just hoping that it continues forward and it grows. Its like the womens march in january after the election, which was incredible, and it was worldwide. So i am hoping that this will come forward. And produce enough pressure on congress to address it, more than just for their own members, it in theress president. Will you be going directly to try and push those points forward . If asked. But its not like were running out with banners. Of us noneany of us want this attention. None of us are comfortable with this. I mean, if we had been comfortable with being a star, we would have done Something Else with our lives. But this is important, so when asked, we speak out. Thank you very much. Hi, there, im renita young reuters. Specifically, are the three of asking for a congressional investigation . And from what committees and if not, what specifically do you want to happen . They have investigated other congress members, so i think it only stands fair that he be investigated as well. I think also, a nonpartisan investigation is very important. Not just for him, but for anybody who has allegations against them. Issue. Nt a partisan this is how women are treated every day. This is not a partisan issue. I would just echoe what sam echo what sam said. I mean, i think if they were willing to investigate senator franken, i think it is only fair that they did the same for trump. Hi. With fox news. The defamation suit against the president give you any hope . Do you think that is sure path to getting justice . You know, i was asked that on my interview with cnn last year. What am i going to sue him for . Being really creepy . Thats not something that would stand up in court, but what im more concerned about is, as a isture in our country, what acceptable behavior, and if the standard that our president is setting its not high enough right now. Right. I mean, the court of public opinion, i think, would be the best place in, my opinion, for this to be judged. Like you said, it is a cultural thing and we should not let politicians get away with this. In my situation, it is so old that i dont even think a judge even enter into any sort of case on it. Have any thoughts of this. To the courts for this is really a matter of we have to deal with the public and we have to deal with attitudes and changing a cultural phenomena here, so its i dont think the courts are the place to go. Cnn. , allison with jessica, this is for you. When you had the episode with mr. Trump on the airplane, can you give us some details as to what happened and what happened three years later . Just give us some he tells about those encounters. Jessica i was a traveling sales rep for a paper company. And at that time, there were very few women traveling business. Airplane. On this i cannot remember whether it was dallas or atlanta, but going back to new york. And, the stewardess came down the aisle and asked me would i like to come up to first class. And, this had happened before. I had been invited up to first class several times. I sat next to some really interesting people like george steinbrenner, and ralph nader, and various ceos of companies. It was not unusual. And the food was so much better in first class. So i went up and sat down. And this gentleman was right up against the window. Against the bulkhead. He introduced himself as donald trump. I did not work out of new york city so i did not have any awareness of the trump name or the trump business or donald trump. So we had dinner. They served the dinner. Cleared the dinner. And about that time, he jumped all over me. And he grabbed me and was trying to kiss me and everything. And as i recall, he did not say anything, and i certainly did not say anything. Help. t yell or ask for i remember at one point looking over at the guy sitting across aisle and thinking, well, aid. Oesnt he come to my i wondered where in the hell the stewardess was. But it was when he started to up my skirt and that was the last time i wore a skirt traveling. Then, i managed because im not a small person i managed to wrestle myself out of the seat and i stood up, grabbed my purse, and went to the back of the airplane and sat back there until the plane landed. Let the plane deplane, all of the people get off before i left because i did not want to run into him again. Fast forward three years. Now living in new york city. And i go to work for the Humane Society on 59th street and they are going to have this big, fancy fundraising gala at saks fifth avenue. And they asked me to man the table that distributed the table distributions. So i go in it is absolutely a new york scene. I got to meet all of the designers. I got to meet various and sundry because the Humane Society, as a charity, was interestedwas very in inviting all the celebrities in town. And that is when i became aware that donald trump was the donald trump of the trump family of new york city and i recognized his picture. Him. Embered people remember when they are assaulted. They remember when, where, why, what they had. How they got out of it. They remember everything. Even if it happened when they 8 years old. So, im handing out the chits for the tables and up comes donald trump and at that time, his wife, ivana . Right . And ivana was very pregnant. And i hand him the hicket. And i am thinking the back of my mind, yet, that is the guy. And he looks at me and he says i remember you. You are the woman from the airplane. Only he used another term before woman. And it cleared the room. It absolutely cleared the room. Boy. Thought, oh, but he went on. And i went home. And that was the end of the story. That was 1983 . In 2016, when i realized that he was really serious about running for president , i started telling my story to everybody. I said, let me tell you what kind of a person this donald trump is. I told everybody that i could get to sit down. And i told my family, friends, i told my neighbors. I told everybody. Some people didnt believe me, i understand completely because it was so long ago. But, i wanted to get it out. And then the debate happened. And he lied about it. And also the hollywood bus tapes came out and i just was so infuriated that i wrote a letter to the editor and they called me and i thought i am going to get my letter published. This is really super. But no, they sent over a reporter. They asked for the people that i had told over the years. They call them, confirmed the story. Then they wrote it up. That is really what happened. Announcer tarana burke is an activist who started the movement known as me too more the goalcade ago with of raising awareness about abuse. Harassment and she spoke earlier this month at called women rule in washington. It begins with a video about the me too movement. Thousands of women are using two words on social media to survivorshemselves as of Sexual Harassment and assault today. To me, too. Ed me too. It happened to me, too. Than 24 hours, there have been over 12 million me too on faps and 62,000 tweets on twitter. I have been organizing since old. 14 years my life has been centered around social justice work. And i have for the last probably 16 years been really focused on color. Nd girls of but during that work was when we realized that the girls we were working with were encountering Sexual Violence in various ways. Young girl and i was pretty young myself. She was probably 12 or 13. Came to me and shared her history with Sexual Violence and her. Hings that happened to it was aening that was repeated. She was telling her story. Me too. I know what this feels like. The magnitude of what she was was so similar to my life. I was just scared. I was 22. I didnt know. I ended up sending her to another counselor who i thought could handle what she had to say better and get her some and figure out how to get her out of the home or whatever but i didnt tell her anything. I have over the years written letters. In my mind, i dont know where them. D but just apologizing because it just feels like the worst thing to someone who is committed to young people. My partner and i decided when a step backo take and figure out what to do. We were both survivors. So, me too came from this idea that we have to do this ground work first. So we started doing this work. We would do workshops wherever would let us, you know. Libraries, churches, schools, empowerment through empathy is the way that we describe around you too. It is an exchange of empathy between survivors. I think when i became a mother i have a daughter. Myset with me that i wanted daughter to live in a world that recognized her and acknowledged power. A lot of the work im doing is the kind of world i want them to live in. You can say youre not alone, alone, as much as you want. But the Empirical Data we have this movement is just [indiscernible] this is not about predators, it is not about individual people. If we start dealing with certain pop up and Start Playing racquetball, it really is, after a while, look at this one, that one. Were always surprised. I cant believe this beloved person. That are systems in place allow Sexual Violence to flourish. If we do not change our conversation to talk about patriarchy and privilege, we will have the wrong conversation. Announcer please welcome politicos congress reporter, bade. Reporter please welcome tarana, the founder of the me too campaign. [cheers and applause] tarana oh, wow. Wow. [applause] tarana thank you. Reporter tarana, first off, thank you for being here and sharing your story with us today. Tarana thank you for having me. Reporter i have been covering Sexual Harassment from a capitol hill standpoint ever since the broke. Weinstein news i was stunned that you founded on aoo way back in 2006 myspace page. Ok . So, tell me, why do you think it took more than a decade for this to catch on and take us inside the day when that hashtag went totally viral. Tarana i think its took more than a decade because the people dont want to talk about this issue. People dont want to amplify these discussions. Those of us who work in Sexual Violence talk to each other, we go out and work hard and were in our communities trying amplify the voices of survivors. But its not a pop culture issue. I started particular, this work working with black and south. Irls in the you cannot get more marginalized really. T, so it has had to have the light of popculture shine on it before people would pay attention. In some ways i am very grateful because now we have a National Conversation that we never had before. But i definitely did not foresee this when we started doing this work in 2006. There is no such thing as viral. As like, i dont think twitter had started yet. So that was not the vision. But it was a vision. We did have a vision to have something that people could connect to, that survivors could connect to that was simple. It showed an exchange of empathy so that people really other. Ed with each its really easy for somebody to say, when you tell your story of any kind of trauma, someone says, oh, my god, im so sorry you. Happened to and although the person is well meaning and wants you to be comfortable, theres still a between you and them. Its this thing that happened to me. But not the difference is when you tell tellsdy, somebody something thats the most traumatic thing that happened to them, and at the end of that, yeah, me, too. Theres an instant connection that happens that at least for of you, frees you. Its a liberation that you cant world. Or anything in the theres no money that can help you have that feeling with god, imthat says, my not alone, im not crazy, im so an anomaly, im not weirdo. These feelings i have are real and genuine. Too iseally what me about. Rachael take us into that day. Tarana sunday morning, picture it. It was sunday morning. I started having notifications on my phone. Not a lot, just a few going off. And i checked one. A friend sent me a message. She said, did something happening onething twitter. What are you doing . And i was like, sleeping. Particular. She said, you need to go online. There are people talking about me too. Ok. S like, i had like, videos out. Work. En doing but when i went to look on twitter, i was like, it wasnt but there were an awful lot of posts. Panicked. Kind of at first, this is weird. I do the work in a very specific way for a very specific audience and that was not the audience i seeing. And i also hadnt really tackled Sexual Harassment in the ofkplace and that kind thing. Street harassment yes, and in schools, yes. Went through a wave of emotions. I think by the late afternoon, i was more panicked about the idea there was mass disclosure happening in such a public way. Because while me too is obviously about people disclosing and telling their stories, i was worried about a container tong process. Its a very big deal. I think we lose the idea that social media is the world. Once you put it out there, its world. I was like, what are these people going to do . Theres a wave of emotions that disclosefter you something thats so personal. Then i was like, i need to figure out how to insert myself into this conversation to give this. T to its not just two words. Its a declaration and disclosure that has some impact, right . When we use it, theres a theory of empowerment through empathy. So i wanted to introduce that into the conversation and i was fortunate enough that these women who are, you know, i am a well and have created a network of people who do social justice work over the 20, 25 years. And they know my work. Immediately came and said we need to amplify your voice in this so people about. And what this is rachael speaking of disclosure, from my standpoint on the hill talking to a lot of victims, fear, even now, of coming forward, that theyll be wont be able to get a job. Theres a sense that this watershed moment has not reached washington politics. Why do you think that me too has not quite hit the political arena and the way it has had spread across the country . Tarana i think it hasnt hit a lot of arenas. Real fear we need to be clear about. The attention is great, the glitz and glam. I could go on television and talk about a lot of things but my talking in front of you does not protect a woman right now who is at her job, fearful she could get fired from, you know, her boss, whether it is capitol hill or mcdonalds. Be like,ave to people keep asking me what happens after this moment. Ad im like, this is movement. Movements are built over time. They are strategic, methodical. For me, this moment is a triumph in the overall movement and i think we should celebrate it as triumph and remember there is a lot of work that has to change. Have toe law that is change, policies that have to be implemented and groundwork that happen. That is my commitment to the work. Like, i love being here, i love talking to people and getting the message out but i have like, a lot of work to do. And part of that is because it hasnt reached everywhere and this sort of spotlight, i think the very next is amplifyve to do this conversation and represent those people wherever they are. Rachael what would you say that me too has taught you about mobilizing full networks of women . Tarana listen, women. Lets talk about women. [laughter] tarana i love being a woman. Woman. Being a black i love that we are so we are always at the forefront, a cameras if theres there or not. Paid,res attention to be other people paying attention, we are on the ground doing the work. This moment would not happen without women, no question. The bravery and courage of the who have come forward. Even the courage of the women forward. t come when you are a survivor of Sexual Violence, the thing that happens is that your choices taken away, right . Right . Your right to choose, your autonomy is taken away. Choice. Is a so even if you choose not to disclose, it is a choice. Choice thatful people should hold on to. I get messages of people saying i really want to say me too, i but imant to disclose scared. I say dont, you hold on to that choice. I think what this moment has done is given choice to women in ways that we have not seen in a long time, right . Having that our back to choose whether you disclose or dont, standup, dont, support, or dont. Your choice. [applause] rachael right. Rachael were almost out of wanted to ask you about the young girl you talked about in the video who inspired this. You said you write letters to her in your head and i want to know, have you ever found her, has she reached out . Do you think you will . And what would you say to her . Tarana this child. To really im 44. Shoutout to over 40 women who viral. [laughter] her. E not found the odd thing is that i ran that camp for almost 10 years. Our children, the youngsters over and over. She only came that one summer. Realizedof things ive in this moment. One is that i was 22. And i think when i think about of myself as an adult who didnt help a child. But i was 22, awfully young. I have a 20yearold daughter who, you know, is a baby to be. Hi, baby. And so, what i would say to her, i would think i would apologize for not being who and what she needed me to be in that moment but she is probably about 34 now, 33 or 34. So i would imagine that life has her some lessons, too, to let you know that there are times in your life when you up the way you want to. I would also like her to know that that moment helped me spend the rest of my life trying to up every time i have an opportunity to do rachael you also spoke in this video about how Sexual Harassment requires systemic change. He will be on the next panel. Everybody give her a round of applause. [applause] announcer earlier this year, the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel held a hearing looking at Sexual Misconduct at military academies. The hearing included testimony from four young women who had experienced sexual abuse and harassment as cadets. This portion of the hearing begins with remarks by subcommittee Ranking Member Jackie Speier of california. A reminder, you can watch the full version of this hearing at our website at cspan. Org. Mr. Chairman, i thank you for holding this hearing. This is an issue that i care deeply about. Sexual assault in our military and military Service Academies is a scourge on our nation. We depend on our academies to develop and attract our nations future leaders. When Sexual Assault occurs against these people, even one is too many. We all know these assaults are far more than that. Both women and men are victimized by Sexual Assault and harassment at the Service Academies, creating a toxic culture that follows these students straight into military leadership. Survivors of Sexual Assault often leave the academy under their own volition or are forced out, depriving our military of future leaders. Perpetrators of these heinous acts often go unpunished, graduate, reinforcing this criminal and abhorrent behavior. This also emboldens them to continue to assault their fellow servicemembers as they ascend up the ranks. In order to break the cycle, we need strong reforms to make clear that this behavior is not tolerated. In fact, the only result in cases like this should be dismissal. Military leadership for literally decades has testified that they are of one mind. That they have zero tolerance for Sexual Assault. The tens of thousands of survivors of these heinous acts, subsequent retaliation, ineptitude of chain of command, makes a mockery of this stated policy. Words alone are just words. If we have any hope of stamping out the systemic issue of Sexual Assault in our ranks, the tone must be set at the academies. This is not just about right and wrong, but being able to attract the very best to serve and have readiness and unit cohesion within our fighting force. Nothing short of the future of our military depends on us getting this right. The department of defense and annual report on Sexual Assault on Service Academies for years 2015, 2016 show a complete failure in addressing this epidemic. 12 of women in the academies experience Sexual Assault. 12 . And nearly one half one half face persistent Sexual Harassment. Simply put, this is disgusting. Since the last report in 2014, fewer students at the Service Academies have reported Sexual Assault and harassment but the estimated rates of Sexual Misconduct have increased. Both of these are trending in the wrong direction. One reason could be the ostracism of Sexual Assault victims. 47 of those who reported the unwanted sexual contact experienced social isolation and maltreatment. We must foster an environment in which students who have been Sexual Assaulted or harassed feel like they can come forward without fear of retaliation. I would like to hear from our second Panel Witnesses today on steps they are taking to reverse these Disturbing Trends so that we can bring about leaders who bring a culture of respect and dignity to their service. But before we hear from the Service Academies, i want to welcome the courageous survivors who are testifying on our first panel. She attended the United States Naval Academy from 2009 to 2011. Midshipmen 7 secondclass currently attends the u. S. Naval academy. And the others are former cadets at the u. S. Military academy at west point. Some of the stories you will hear today are heartbreaking and revolting. These cadets and midshipmen did nothing wrong by reporting their assaults, and yet their chain of command failed them. And the chain of command that was supposed to actually protect them, failed. We cannot tolerate this lack of accountability in our countrys most prestigious military institutions. I look forward to hearing the from our Witnesses Today and i yield back. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak of my experiences through this process. Im here as an individual and do not represent the views or opinions of the United States Naval Academy. In the Spring Semester of my freshman year i experienced unwanted sexual contact. In the fall semester of my sophomore year i filed an unregistered report about the incident to the office. I was overwhelmed by the support i received from the faculty and staff at the Naval Academy. In the fall of 2016, the individual was dismissed and is no longer a midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy. The whole process was difficult. But im confident in saying the resources that were and still are provided to me helped me through the healing process to this day. Thank you. Ms. Bullard. You are now recognized for five minutes. Hello. Cadet former could get of the United States military academy. I attended west point from 2013 until i was honorably discharged in 2015 when i went on to attend ohio state university. First off i would like to thank congresswoman spier for having me here. I left west point the day i was discharged from the hospital, suffering from stress induced high Blood Pressure. I found all my belongings had been packed without my knowledge. In the cold of january i was only left with a pair of shorts, jacket, and sandals for my return home to indiana. I was only then escorted onto the plane by two mps because my id was shipped off of my belongings. As soon as i was boarded on the plane i was escorted off by the the mps and i was told the captain who was retaliating against me wanted to see me. He asked me if i wanted to return to the hotel. I replied i wanted to stay but was confused by what he meant as i had no money to pay for clothing. He hung up and took my answer is a no. After i landed i received a call from sue fulton on the board of visitors from west point asking why there was a note asking me if i wanted to stay to the academy. I realize only then why i received a convoluted call from the captain. If i had known, my answer wouldve been yes. Despite all that had happened to me, i would rather stayed then an be forced out. I was recruited to be part of the swim team where i consistently experienced racial and Sexual Harassment. My exboyfriend who was caucasian was called django referring to the movie django unchained, solely because he was in a relationship with me. I was told nicknames were a tradition on the mens team. In december, the swim team made lewd remarks about my body, how my bathing suit fit, and made remarks about having sex with me. I protested this treatment to my coaches and faced escalating reprisal as a result. A team is supposed to be a group of individuals with a set of skills required to complete the task. If we are not simply able to swim together, how are we able to fight together to defend this country . The head coach further when on to punish me by forcing me to practice alone for two weeks before our biggest championship meet at the patriot league. The assistant coach decided to take it upon himself to make sure i was properly trained. Every day i would practice an hour before the rest of the team ostracize methem more because they thought i was getting special attention. I broke multiple records, resulting in winning a record. That day the Navy Vice Admiral shook my hand and said to tell the captain the army won this time. However i no longer felt a part of the army team. I tried to prove a point that no one could bring me down. That day, they didnt. We are taught in basic and in the army and in general to always protect your battle buddies. Never leave them behind. Then how come i was left behind . The call Opportunity Office substantiated my case of racial discrimination. I also filed a report that was substantiated as harassment but not Sexual Harassment. I then became friends with cadet gross. During her second assault case, i was present when a drunk cadet burst into her room. As curfew rolled around, i had to return to my room thinking expecting the cadet would take responsibility and they would remove him. A short while later, gross called me and was hysterical. I went to her room and saw the distraught state she was in. With new bruises on her neck and chest she told me she would never report again is no one would believe her. She had no faith she would be taken care of. Still having trust in the system, i urged her to report. I told her we needed to do this for others after us. Even though i was left behind, i refused to do the same to her. We needed to set an example. However, the system failed once again as my friend and i were retaliated against repeatedly. I was forbidden to accompany her to the hospital and was prohibited from socializing with her and forced to sign a confidentiality form saying i would not discuss her case with anyone. I was subjected to arbitrary discipline and filed a whistleblower complaint. Eventually in january of 2015, i felt i had no option but to resign. Although the processing of resignation normally takes a month or so, mine was expedited to one day. And to my detriment. I collapsed in the barracks. I was admitted to the hospital suffering from high Blood Pressure from stress. When stephanie tried to visit me in the hospital, she was confronted by her command and told the only way she could remain in the hospital with me was if she admitted herself for psychiatric evaluation. The command made clear out was being punished by being isolated during a time of great fear and uncertainty. I wrote a Resignation Letter in january of 2015 to the general which all must read and sign. In the letter i write, i do not want to be in a place that allows perpetrators to remain in their ranks. I dont believe in double standards. West points honor code is by abided by the cadets. But some of the officers are not held to the same standards. I resign because it is all i can do, it is all i can do, to protect my own wellbeing. General, i spoke with you before leaving the west point. In that threehour discussion you told me he believed i would be a great leader and asset to the army but you did not want to sign my resignation. You handed me my resignation and i asked if there would be any changes if i stayed, you remained silent. Instead, the numbers of reports have doubled since i left was left west point. Two years ago Congress Asked why were here and the answer was to help the academy and prevent what happened to us to other cadets. After two years, were back here again and the answer to the question has not changed. I hope we can come up with a solution that will mend a system that needs fixed for the sake of our future cadets and officers. With the support of congresswoman spear, i would like to return to the i believe i can be an asset to other female cadets. I take general kaplan at his word when he said to me i could be a great leader and officer in the United States military. Thank you. Thank you miss bullard. Miss gross, you are now recognized for five minutes. Thank you, sir. Hello. My name is stephanie gross, im a former cadet of the United States military academy. I would like to thank first congresswoman spears office for extending an invitation to testify today. In truth, i still have a great love for west point. I respect and admire the Training Program for our nations future leaders. I entered at 18 years old in 2016. I was honorably discharged on february 13, 2015. Over the two years, eight months at the at west point i was switched between companies four times compared to once for most at us. Because of this i had little stability of leadership during my time there and it contributed greatly to my difficulties. My first Sexual Assault was reported in the spring of my freshman year. I was in the hospital recovering from an emergency Pelvic Surgery that was found to be related to the assault. My surgeon advised me when he walked in he was unsure due to the inflammation of potential for scarring if i would ever be able to bear children. I later broke down to a nurse and thus, my restrictive report was initiated. I felt reporting would cause further damage emotionally and i requested my report remain restricted without investigation. My case was later reported by my commander as he became aware. He legally had to report it. The next day, they pressured me for a name telling me that i if i was a strong woman with duty and honor i would comply. Id. Resisted. I again resisted. At this time in 2013, there was not yet special victims of attorneys and i was without Legal Counsel. If Legal Counsel had been present i feel like my case wouldve stayed restricted as i desired and my difficulties in reportings would have been minimal. My report was determined to be unfounded. My second case was founded on the basis of assault but the report concluded there was insufficient evidence to find the higher charges of aggravated sexual contact. The investigators refused to take my clothing for testing and alcohol take a blood test on my assailant of the night of the incident. The addition of the newly implemented special victims attorney was helpful in this case, though. In the months prior to my resignation, i was subjected to many negative personnel actions with a pattern that suggested reprisal. Every time would initiate a report, a few days later i would receive a new punishment. From drug testing that was negative, to mental evaluations, room inspections, and insubordination were among the actions against me. I became desperate. This not surprisingly was damaging to me academically after missing many courses for the investigation and i began to feel as if i had no other option but to leave the academy. I decided to begin asking for open door meetings with my leaders, hoping i can speak to them in smaller, lower tension settings, ask for their mentorship and determine why my situation became so distorted. My entire chain of command denied me. I then asked Lieutenant General kaslan. I emailed you in desperation to speak with you privately. You, too, denied my request. I decided to add context to those grim blackandwhite words you chose to judge me by. Prepared by somebody else like those papers you have today. I found that one captain had influence over every factor of my case. I wanted to tell you i was sorry for the mistakes i did make and i looked up to as a leader. Even with those mistakes, i did not deserve to be treated the way that i was. I later found from a dod agent that you stated you cared greatly for me as a cadet, you instructed my chain of command to protect me and aid in my success in any way you could. Unfortunately, i never heard these things. From my perspective, each time i reported an action, i received a punishment. And in denying my opendoor policy requests you confirmed my suspicions i was not wanted at your institution. If i had felt my chain of command truly cared about me, i wouldve felt differently. It was the idea of the chain of command had given up on me that ultimately sealed my actions to leave the institution despite my desire to serve my country. I do not blame west point. I blame the systematic leadership that blames an individual they had never spoken to. I believe that if the opendoor policy had been a reality, and i was allowed to tell my story, i may have been able to stay. A system of investigating and prosecuting complaints of assault that leaves great power in the hands of one individual or single individuals motivated by career and institutional goals is not a good mechanism for victims. After signing my oath, the first given to me was a Small Business card. Next written on the board was a soldiers creed, i am an american soldier. I am warrior and a member of the team. I serve the people of the United States and i live army values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a falling comrade. Later, i am disciplined and im a professional. These are the words that inspired me to continue even when i had nothing to gain and everything to lose. When i decided to report to help better the academy rather than following advice to keep my head down and not say anything. These are the reasons i would also like to return to the academy and complete my time there because i believe actions speak louder than words. Simply coming here and stating a problem does nothing to guarantee solution with no action. With the support of congresswoman spears office, ive decided to reapply for admission to the United States military academy to finish the education and training i began a in 2012. I truly believe the military and west point have made positive strides to fix this problem. And understands assaults occur on many College Campuses. But the Service Academy specifically should be role models for the nation and the world. We were part of a group of four individuals who are friends who reported Sexual Assaults and harassment at the academy. Out of the four of us, none remain. West point and all the Service Academies are the functional units for change for the future of the forces and there is much more work to be done. Thank you for your time. Thank you. You are recognized for five minutes. Good afternoon. In 2008, i was a recruited athlete inducted into the United States Naval Academy. Prior to acceptance, my parents were concerned for my safety given the thenSexual Assault scandal unfolding at another academy. During a campus visit, my parents and i were told by Naval Academy representatives including my coaches and the athletic including director that the Naval Academy did not have a Sexual Assault problem and i would be safe. Shortly after the Academic Year began, i experienced two horrible and traumatic events. I was raped not only once, but twice. Both times my fellow classmates to facempany, who i had every day. My emotional state began to deteriorate and i went to the Naval Academy medical facility. During intake, told the training physician i had been raped. They did not ask when, where, but simply check the box on my intake form and prescribed me an antidepressant. These events set the tone for my remaining two years at the Naval Academy. The culture of the academy is that of a boysonly club where men are considered superior to women, women are repeatedly referred to as dubs, which stands for dumb ugly bitch, or other derogatory terms which most women want to be accepted, say nothing, and adapt to the culture. After two years of emotional hell, i broke down and was sent to bethesda hospital. I spent three days there. I was diagnosed with bipolar personality disorder by a nurse practitioner, not a licensed medical doctor. I thought that if i could get a transfer out of my company i would be ok. I made a request every semester to transfer to my Company Commander who refuse to transfer me every semester. I felt my life slipping away. As a final effort, i requested then captain robert clark. Upon discussing my situation with the commandant, he told me to grow up and within days begin an the separation process. In july, 2011, an academic review board was called, which was unusual given my overall good academic record. During my hearing members of the board openly discussed my sensitive personal medical records, all of which without my consent, and in the end, used my past medical treatments as a basis for my separation. The academy found it easier to label me as having a personality disorder than to treat me for the trauma of being raped. It seems the motto of the u. S. Marine corps leave no men behind does not apply to the men and women who are raped. Instead, they are frequently and intentionally left behind to deal with the continued stress and anguish. While the rapists career continues without consequence. The navy continues to defend the evergrown claims of military assaults within the academy as small and those women who reported being raped were mentally ill. How shameful. Military leaders then and now defend the growth rate as being good saying they are glad to hear that women are coming forward to report rape. What they do not seem to get is that more rape is bad and they continue because of the failure to address the root cause. Theres a small but active group of rapists whose crimes are rarely investigated, let alone prosecuted. And the military finds it easier to destroy the lives of the victims. The word is out if you are rapist, go into the military where you will be protected after you rape somebody. I was prime processed out of the academy, and the rapists are still there. Victims who see the treatment of those before them such as myself are not likely to come forward like i did because they know what will be the consequences. Upon leaving the Naval Academy, all forms of treatment ended. I was on my own to fend for myself. Thanks to the support of my family i was able to get the treatment i needed which began with weaning me off the drugs prescribed to me by the military doctors. Drugs that created the very personality disorders i was exhibiting. After more than five years of detox, i am off medications. Ptsd treatment, that was developed by a former green beret. I was denied the opportunity of completing my education at the Naval Academy, given i had one year remaining. I will never forget the day i had to return my class ring which represented the three years of hell i had to endure. All i wanted and asked for was to complete my education while getting proper treatment and to serve my country as a naval officer. All of which was denied to me by my Naval Academy leadership. Thank you. Announcer up next, testimony from a former member of the air force who was raped and beaten by a noncommissioned officer. She describes her physical and mental injuries following the assault and the lack of help from commanding officers. This was part of a hearing earlier this year by the Defense Advisory Committee investigating Sexual Assault in the armed forces. The committee was created in 2016 to advise the defense secretary in congress on the investigation, prosecution and defensive allegations of Sexual Misconduct. Hannah good afternoon. I am retired senior hannah stolberg. I was a contracting specialist in the air force. In sorry, let me take a moment. Take all the time you want. Hannah thank you, maam. I was medically retired thank you in may last year and i think what is shocking to some people is that i never even deployed. My scariest encounters were places like california, maryland with a population of i think seven people at the time. As well as Wrightpatterson Air Force base. So i really did not do anything that was that intensive. I was reached back for contingency construction in san antonio, texas. But in 2012, i was raped and beaten almost to death by an air forceman co. I spent almost two days in and out of consciousness on a concrete floor. It was over columbus day weekend. And when i did not show up to work, no one even came to check on me. During the assault, my right shoulder was dislocated. My left heel was fractured. Damage was done to my spine. I did not find out for almost a year and a half that i had received a traumatic brain injury. When i reported this to my command to try to get help, i was pulled in my Commanders Office with my commander and my superintendent who is also an acting First Sergeant because we were a small squadron and told that sometimes it was just better to just embrace the suck. I was told that nothing could be done and it was conveyed that there would not be help from that front. My superintendent did not say anything but his silence was his agreement. He did not question what my commander said. He just went along with it. This led to me trying very hard to suck it up. I did not find out my femur was fractured for months. I ran on it every time until it was almost shattered. Every time i went to the doctor, they told me i was just running too much, and it wasnt until a major realized that something was really wrong and sent me for a bone scan that they realized the damage that had been done. On my commanders part, it was not handled well, but i would like to point out that often times we dont give the necessary training to those in charge, in order to give them the tools on how to deal with someone in this kind of situation. Im very humbled to let you all know that about two years after this happened, was when a lot of the scandal was coming out of lackland, and i remember our trainings on Sexual Assault increased, a lot more awareness was going on, and i was pulled to the side by that same superintendent acting First Sergeant, and he said we handled your situation wrong, what can i do to support you and fix it . I would like to point that out because as Senior Master sergeant, he had no real reason to stick up for me at that point, two years later, and put himself on the line, but he was willing to put his stripes and his reputation on the line as a Senior Airman who was going through a medical board, and would be medically retired. And i think that is really important to talk about the character of someone who has so much humility to come back and correct and address something that has been handled wrong. And in the aspect of what happened with him, it was truly lack of training and lack of even knowing how to deal with this sort of situation, as he had never encountered it before. During my my Recovery Process was not very smooth. I spent time in patient at an intensive program for ptsd. And there, i was in a unit with all military members. Both from combat and from msp, and i met men and women from all branches who had experienced military Sexual Assault, military sexual trauma. And it was resounding across the board, that the way the situations were being handled was not very well. I was pulled out of this program despite me saying that i didnt think i was ready. The following day i was given an epr by my command, by my superintendent, my supervisor, and they told me that although i may have outperformed my peers, because i was in patient and unable to work, the new system that came out, i would be docked to a four, and there were not enough fives to go around. This was on my birthday. And they took me to lunch, gave me a cake, had me sign my epr, and i went home and attempted suicide. Obviously it didnt work. I am still here. I didnt have the saving grace is that i did not have access to a firearm at the time. So i just went home and i found every pill i could possibly take. The turning point for me was when i got involved with my branchs air force Wounded Warrior program. It was put out for all the branches to create their own armies, i am not really sure the other ones. But i became involved in this program at the very end of my time on active duty. They took me out they wanted to take me to an Adaptive Sports camp. And my command said i could go if i forfeit my 15 days of permissive tdy upon requirement to go to this weeklong camp, and i said sure. It was at the beach. It was in florida. And i went. That was the turning point for me. I was taught that things i did not think i could overcome, i could. I used to run believe it or not, despite my physique now i used to run quite a bit and loved it. And not being able to run anymore was pretty devastating to me. At that camp, they put me in a racing chair and for the first time in two years, i felt the wind fly past my helmet hair. Every sport they gave me from there on out helped me grow and helped me claim back some of that confidence. In the program, i was also linked up with the mentorship aspect of the program and was given a mentor who has been an incredible help to my recovery, as well. And finally, the aspect that has helped the most is the ambassador program, where i was taught to hopefully somewhat convey my story as i healed, and that is where the chief Master Sergeant heard me speak at a briefing and asked me to attend. It was the support like this that helped me grow, and helped me recover. And i think that is important to point out. Is that the programs put in place can be very effective and can be very helpful as long as there is not push back from command to be involved in them. I have spoken on several occasions, although not to this kind of room. So, i apologize for my nerves. And i can remember the first time i heard someone speak about how they had been assaulted, and it made an impact on me because when youre in this position, you know that others are out there, but there is such a stigma of shame surrounding it that no one speaks about it. You just know there are other people floating out there, and you never know who. And i can remember hearing someone speak on it, and i went up to him afterwards and i can remember saying, me, too. If any of you are a social media, you have probably seen the trend happening this week of people posting metoo. And i thought, what a mantra. I did not realize these were the International Words for people. Like us who have been through this. I have yet to speak anywhere, to any crowd, and not be approached afterwards, and usually in a hushed tone be told, me too. The impact of more visibility of the people who have already been through a trauma and are recovering is something that cant really be ignored. When you know you have someone who has been in that same position, you find strength in it. I am still learning to find my voice. I hate public speaking. And this is an uncomfortable subject. But, i remember being silenced , and the pain and the absolute isolation that it brings. And so even if my voice is just a whisper right now, i am very humbled and thankful that you have listened to me. I am very humbled and thankful that you would take these steps to try to protect and enforce better laws so that in the future things like this hopefully wont happen as much. Thank you. Thank you. I do have one question for you, if you dont mind. How long was it before from your attack until you were able to get to that program on the beach that you found helpful . Hannah the program had a different it is one of those words that is escaping me, one second. The program has different camps that to go around each region in the u. S. I did not go to my first one until april 2016. My assault happened in 2012. My m. E. D. Started in thats a good question. 2014 is when my m. E. B. Officially started. So it took a couple of years. I will say, that there has been strides made to catch people sooner as soon as they start the process. I am not sure about the other branches, but i know on the air force side they have had a huge uptick in enrollment because they have been able to catch people faster than at the end. I think that had i been able to get into a program like this sooner, i might not be quite in the state that i am today. I think my recovery would have been faster and better, and not quite so rocky. But i have also seen that on the side of the way that Sexual Assault is handled in general, at least on the air force side, i was saying earlier that i think that if what happened to me happened to me today in in 2012, it would be handled vastly different. For that i am very thankful that strides are being made to make the situation better and better. Did that adequately . Good to see you again. When you got out of the hospital and he went and you went back to the unit, how were you integrated back into the unit and what kind of jobs did they give you . Hannah it sort of depended. Ive had multiple surgeries. Ive had two surgeries on my shoulder and two on my femur. And of course my inpatient stay. I like to say that when you treat someone like a monster, they become a monster. In general, when this news came out and they did not know what to do with me, they just sort of squirreled me away in a cube and gave me a random stuff to do. I took pride in my job, i was not going to win airmen of the year, but i was very good at my job. I took pride in what i did. And my work definitely suffered afterwards. Part of it was undiagnosed ptsd, but definitely part of it was the total lack of support and not really understanding how to go about getting help anymore. So i think it is important to still engage with your members, especially if they can still carry out the mission and the tasking, to be reduced to almost nothing was definitely one of the key factors in me attempting to take my own life. I had been stripped of my own dignity, of my job, of my profession and my air force blue, my family. Of bend of to kind squirreled away, kept in secret, certainly did not help. From your perspective i know what happened to you happened in 2012, but as you have seen as you have been speaking out and talking to people, where do you see the biggest need for improvement . Hannah i am devastated to say that at least half the people i talked to never reported anything. They are not going to be in your statistics, not even in your restricted report. They are silent. And they have been silenced. I have talked to many people who have been in the same kind of situation i have aware they have reached out and tried to get help and they were silenced. I have even met people who were not the victim, but knew the victim and spoke out, and they almost lost their life because of it, and nothing was done. I have encountered both men and women the numbers are shocking that either did not report at all or nothing really came of it. And i understand it is difficult to prosecute at times, but a lot of times the way that it is handled at the beginning could be the key between going to a trial or not. For me, when i was finally diagnosed with tbi, they said we could have done more for you if you had come in 24 to 48 hours after it happened. In 24 to 48 hours, i was still laying on the concrete floor with no one even looking for me. One of the biggest disconnects is between leadership, and i dont think it is malicious, i think it is just a lack of training and ignorance to what to do in this situation. Its still so stigmatized that even commanders dont know what to do when you bring up the fact. First of all, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for your courage to be here in front of this committee and your courage since 2012. I guess part of the task of this particular committee is to look at the review process for cases that are investigated by the military. And so, i dont know the background on the investigative process, if there was one, and what your perspective is on that particular process, in that case . Hannah ok, so when i was trying to there are different avenues you can take, as we all know. I took the avenue of reporting to my command. When i was shut down and it was made known that i was not going to be receiving that they were not going to have my back, i ended up, after doing quite a bit of research and looking into just trends and how things go to trial, the percentage of people things that are even prosecuted, and the percentage of action that is taken even from then, and to look at especially in the military, you would see it come out in the base letters all the time, someone drove drunk and they have been stripped of everything and kicked out of the air force, but someone assaults someone and they go in for like a month. They have reduced pay for nine months. Is that what my dignity was worth . Is that what my life is worth . And i see that from so many other people around me. For that reason, i chose to report restricted, knowing that i literally had no one to support me. I am very sorry. May i ask a question . Hannah yes, maam. I join the others in thanking you for your courage. Did anything happen to either the man who assaulted you or those higher up who did not do anything to help you . Hannah Nothing Happened with the man who assaulted me. As for my commander, because i was having such a hard time at work, i was assigned to help put together his retirement ceremony. And then he sat next to me as a civilian for a year and a half. That is what happened to him. Is the air force at some point, did you unrestrict your report . Hannah i have not. I am just speaking. At this point, when i speak, especially to other Wounded Warriors who have been in fields more intense than mine, they tend to want to say, where is this guy . Were going to go get him. You did not have justice, lets bring justice. Someone told me yesterday, there are different kinds of justice. At this point, i am five years out. I have been through one heck of a Mental Health ride, and i am not exactly rocksolid, on the Mental Health aspect. For me, this is my justice, my justice is trying to be a voice for those who are still silenced. My justice is speaking out against this. Well, thank you for doing that. And you are doing it very eloquently. Hannah thank you, maam. Im glad you are speaking to us. I want to acknowledge that you have found your voice. I know you have places you want to go, but it is a beautiful, strong thing. Thank you. Hannah thank you, maam. Thank you so much for coming and sharing your experience, it has been very moving for all of us. Hannah thank you for having me. Announcer the final portion of our program on Sexual Harassment and abuse includes testimony by two former olympic gymnasts who talked about abuse they experienced at the hands of u. S. Gymnastics team doctor larry nassar. The Senate Judiciary Committee Held this hearing in late march. Chairman grassley, and distinguished members of the committee, i am honored to appear before you today. Thank you. I fell in love with gymnastics just before i turned three years old when i saw Mary Lou Retton on tv in the 1984 olympics. My parents were both competitive athletes growing up. But they did not know much about gymnastics despite watching it every four years in the summer olympics. I played tball, and i tried other sports, but i never stopped asking them to let me take gymnastics. I wanted to be an olympian. I remember taking all of the cushions off of the couch to use as mats and i tried to teach myself flips. After years of rearranging all their furniture, my parents put me in gymnastics when i was about 7. 5 years old. I loved it more than i even imagined i would. I loved to tumble and the parallel bars. It felt like i was flying. I would try anything to be like the olympians on tv. I would wear my hair like them, dressed like them and try to walk and stand like them. And i practiced my olympic salute over and over. My parents had to beg me to leave the gym after practice every time, because i could not get enough of it. Gymnastics brought me so much joy as a little girl. When i was 11 years old, i started training as an elite gymnast at a gym in west covina, california. I needed to work with more experienced coaches at that time. It was a big sacrifice for my entire family because of the 90 minute drive each direction from home. Both my parents worked five to six days a week. I also had six siblings that were involved in sports. My coaches assured them it would be worth it because i had the talent to go really far. Financially, my parents did not know how they would make all of this work, but they decided to try, and hoped i would have the opportunity to get a College Scholarship one day. Gymnastics started becoming very intense at this point. I started training 25 to 30 hours per week, including two workouts per day in the summer. My coaches were very serious and even scary to me at times. They would yell at me. My body was always sore. And i always seemed to be tired, but i was learning the skills i had only seen on tv. So i thought that was what i had to do to accomplish my dream. I made the Junior National team for the first time when i was just 12 years old. It was in palm springs, california. What i remember most about the at competition is that competing at the same competition, where girls that i had only saw on tv. Like dominique. I was so excited. I made the usa National Team every year after that, all the way up to the olympics. It was around then i was then introduced to dr. Larry nassar. What i have only recently come to understand is that what he performed for my back pain and other injuries was Sexual Assault. The doctor abused me at the National Training center in texas. He abused me in california, and all over the world. Many times the abuse took place in my own room, in my own bed. He abused me in my hotel room in sydney at the olympic games. When i first spoke out about my abuse, i thought i was the only one. I was disbelieved and even criticized by some in the Gymnastics Community for bringing it to light. Now i know im not alone. More than 100 women have come forward and shared stories that are shockingly similar to mine. Upldren often do not speak when they are abused. They suffer in silence. They are taught to submit to the authority of adults. This is especially true in the hypercompetitive world of elite gymnastics. Women do speak up and that is why i am here today. Usa gymnastics failed its most basic responsibility to protect athletes under its care. They failed to take action against coaches, trainers and other adults who abuse children and they allowed dr. Nasser to abuse women and girls for more than 20 years. The federal law that governs our bempic programs should responsible. It now specifies the usa gymnastics should abide by stricter policies to prevent sexual abuse in order to maintain its certification. It is time the long reflects the law reflects that usa gymnastics hice priority should be protecting their athletes from sexual abuse, and that exactly what usa gymnastics failed to prevent. I am more than grateful to this committee for inviting me to add my voice to those who are supporting this important new legislation. It would require usa gymnastics and other olympic sports organizations to report child abuse to Law Enforcement and will provide victims with greater opportunities to seek justice. Generations of Young Athletes will thank you for your leadership. And so do i. Chairman grassley, distinguished members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to speak to you. The day i found my sport was the day i fell in love with it. Those first few years of training were pure bliss. But to achieve my goal of becoming a worldclass athlete, i needed to switch to an elite coach. My first practice with my new coach was so intense i spent the following two days vomiting and unable to make it back to practice. When i did return, the work began. By age 15, i was u. S. National champion, a position i held for three years. But the fear and intimidation that permeated my training sessions took a toll. As did the physical pain. By the time i reached World Championships in 1999, my hips hurt so badly that at times i could barely walk. At those World Championships when i was just 15, i had a rough practice two days before the competition. My coach called me into her room where the head was also present. She yelled at me so severely i sat perfectly still and my only movement was to pick the skin from my finger. Among other things, she told me i was an embarrassment to my country, my family and to her, that she never been so humiliated coaching someone as she was me and they would kick me off the team the next day if my practice was not better. By the end of the meeting, my finger was bloody and i wanted to jump out of the window. After those World Championships, usa gymnastics suggested i go see dr. Larry nassar, renowned for his work with the womens gymnastics team, to help with my hip pain. Parents did not go to the ranch, so i went by myself. I was just thankful to have a few days away from my coach. I dont remember an adult taking responsibility for me, and the first time i met dr. Nasser, i immediately trusted him. He was the premier usa gymnastics dr. With an International Reputation and i felt lucky to be invited to work with him. Apartment but for our first appointment, he asked me to wear loose shorts and no underwear. That seemed strange, but i obeyed. I wanted to be perfect. He began to massage my legs and moved inward on my thighs. He massaged his way into me. I was rigid and uncomfortable but did not realize what was happening. I was confused and thought it must just be what had to happen. This scenario happened repeatedly while i was at the ranch. At no time was there never another adult in the room. Coming off a year of difficult training, dr. Nasser acted as a good guy, supporting me emotionally and promising me relief from the pain. Now i know in actuality he expertly abuse me under the guise of treatment. I trusted usa gymnastics, but i was sexually abused, as were so many other athletes. More than 100 young women and girls have now come forward to accuse dr. Nasser of Sexual Assault, and the abuse was not limited to him. According to more than 5600 pages released to the indy star on march 3 after a Lengthy Court battle, some of the 64 coaches with abuse charges were not banned from gymnastics until years after usa gymnastics discovered they were accused of crimes against children. As an adult, i spent years serving on the usa gymnastics board of directors with the goal of protecting children from the psychological abuse i endured. But the meetings seemed to revolve around two things money and medals. When the sexual abuse case came up during my time on the board, the concern was about the reputation of the coach, not the accusation of the athlete. As i have attempted to come to terms with what happened to me as a teenager, it has become glaringly obvious usa gymnastics has not done nearly enough to protect athletes from any form of abuse. To show they are serious about making institutionwide changes that will create a safe environment for athletes, usa gymnastics must be accountable and required by law to adopt a zerotolerance policy regarding sexual abuse. Accusations of child abuse must be reported to the Law Enforcement authorities immediately. It took five weeks for usa gymnastics to report dr. Nasser to the fbi once suspicions were raised, only after conducting an its own internal investigation. Protecting all children in sports from abuse is of paramount importance. That is why this bill is so vital, because it requires reporting allegations of sexual abuse and makes it easier for victims to report. This legislation will also help victims by extending the statute of limitations, giving athletes who were abused as children an opportunity to seek justice when they have a better understanding of what happened to them. There is nothing more motivating and powerful than an olympic dream, but there is a long life to live after the span of a gymnastics career. My postgymnastics life has been fraught with issues from the abuse i endured as a young teenager. It should be the priority of those in power to make sure that an athletes post sport life is not spent dealing with a crippling effect of abuse. Thank you for your efforts to protect vulnerable Young Athletes. Announcer cspans washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impacted you. Coming up thursday morning we will focus our entire program on the nations infrastructure, starting with congress and the trump administration. Well talk with senior congressional reporter for transportation topic. Then states and Infrastructure Spending with executive director of the American Association of state highway interest rotation officials. Deborah will stalk be sure to watch washington journal live at 7 00 eastern thursday morning. Join the discussion. Announcer cspan, where history unfolds daily. Service i america posse cabletelevision company and is brought to you today by your cable or light writer. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell laid out his agenda or the 115th congress, which opened today. Newest welcomed the two senators sworn in today. Prioritys emigration. We will look at the prospects for Immigration Reform in 2018 later this hour. We will hear from former hillary reince advisor believe baird Donald Trump Former chief strategist, steve van and has bannon has described the trump tower meeting during the campaign as treasonous and unpatriotic according to an explosive new book. We will get reaction from the white house to his comments later on cspan. John newman looks back at his career. He is interviewed by richard blumenthal. Having gone from that active life of making decisions, going to court, advocating a case to judging it, was that a difficult transition missou and did you ever the life of advocacy, so to speak . It wasnt difficult. I have known people who became judges and