The US Congress approved this Thursday a bill that will prevent cases of sexual harassment in companies from being silenced and that gives victims more tools to report them.
The measure was unanimously approved this Thursday in the Senate after receiving the endorsement of the Lower House this week and, to enter into force, it will have to be signed by the US president, Joe Biden, who has already expressed his support for the project.
Once it is implemented, the law will prevent the private sector from forcing its employees to participate in secret arbitration processes outside the judicial system and in which the victims currently participate. and those who have allegedly perpetrated the abuses.
Specifically, The project will give victims the power to decide if they want to go directly to justice to resolve their complaints of sexual abuse and harassment.
Some million of is Americans, most of them women, have been forced to participate in this type of process, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand explained on the floor.
Gillibrand, a fierce defender of sexual abuse survivors, stated that the current system especially harms women from African-American or Hispanic minorities and those with few economic resources.
“This law will help fix a broken system that protects businesses. This law ends the days in which survivors are silenced”, said Gillibrand at a press conference after the vote.
This initiative represents one of the largest reforms in the US private sector in decades, according to the senators who have promoted the initiative, including Republican Lindsey Graham.
The approval of these changes represents a victory for the “Me Too” movement, which was born four years ago to make visible the harassment and abuse suffered by many women in work situations.
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