The Wash Rag Issue 3.1 January, 1995 UN 4TH WORLD CON- FERENCE ON WOMEN BEIJING SEPTEMBER 4-15, 1995 BEIJING SEPTEMBER 4-15, 1995 We got a call from Jeff Meer at the US Department of State recently to inform us that sexual harassment had been put on the agenda for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. The reason he called me (and nobody was more startled at the call than I was) was because an October newsletter from the Department of Labor still did not list sexual harassment as being on the agenda for the conference, and I had faxed them at the number they had given to request that it be included. Jeff said that Connie Evans from a Chicago project on self-employment had gone to the European meeting to finalize the agenda, and had made sure that sexual harassment had been included. Our thanks to Connie. The two items included, according to Jeff, are the following: 41bis. Sexual harassment and other firms of violence at the work place constitute a problem faced by women in the labour force in the region and are a major issue of concern. 84. Governments shall take the necessary measures, such as implementing and enforcing legislation, to ensure that gender discrimination is removed from working life, particularly concerning the hiring, training and promoting of employees, the terms and benefits of employment, sexual and racial harassment, the direction of work and the termination of employment. Special measures need to be implemented to deal with the multiple discriminations faced by (page 2 column 2) women belonging to ethnic or racial minorities, disabled, indigenous and migrant women. The conference itself will take place in Beijing, China between September 4-15, 1995. An associated Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Forum will be held August 30 - September 8, 1995 in Beijing, and anyone can attend. We know of one person who will be going, Carol Trout of Vermillion, and would like to hear from anyone else who plans to attend. We have forms for applying to go to the NGO Forum if you are interested. Attendance at the Conference itself is limited to government and qualified NGO representatives. Neither Carol nor I have been able to ascertain how you can get observer status at the Conference. But if you are interested, send a $.55 SASE, and I'll send you copies of what I have concerning reservations at the NGO Forum. In addition, we received a letter from President Clinton thanking us for helping in the Department of Labor Survey, however little we were able to help, which is framed and hung by other memorabilia. A copy is at the end of this newsletter. GHOSTS FROM THE PAST HAUNT CLARENCE THOMAS CORROBORATION FOR ANITA HILL The truth about Clarence Thomas finally surfaced in a series of television and newspaper items investigating the story which was uncovered by Jill Abramson and Jane Mayer in their book, Strange Justice. They all describe the political maneuvering which prevented women who would have confirmed Anita Hill's stories of Clarence Thomas' inappropriate behavior. Anita Hill was put before a panel of incredulous senators, some of whom knew of the existence of corroborating witnesses. You heard it here first, folks. Even as the Thomas hearings were being discussed in the media, we said that anyone who sexually harasses one woman does it as a matter of doing business, and that there must be more women who could testify to Thomas behavior. Because sexual harassment has nothing to do with love or even sex but only power, men who harass their female employees do so to keep them in line, to make themselves feel superior, to make other people see women as inferior and thus not worthy of promotions, pay raises and visibility. They do it to keep their own status. The book by Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson looks into the story of the Thomas hearings. They women who had agreed to testify but were not allowed to were : Kaye Savage who found Thomas had pornographic materials in his apartment including a carefully organized set of Playboy magazines. Angela Wright, former PR director for Thomas who says he pressured her for dates, asked her the size of her breasts, came to her apartment uninvited, says (page 2 column 3) Thomas lied about the reason he fired her and that he purgered his way onto the Supreme Court. Rose Jordain was a coworker of Angela Wright and confirmed her claims. Zucharie Hartnet who worked for Thomas and says that he called her at home, tried to socialize with her, discussed personal relationships. The Judiciary Committee claimed that Thomas had fired her, but records show that she voluntarily transferred out of Thomas office. Ed Jones, a former classmate of Thomas at Holy Cross School says that the language Anita Hill described was consistent with his school behavior. He had poor skills in dealing with women. In particular, regarding an event which Anita Hill reported when Thomas had suddenly asked who had put a pubic hair on his soft drink, Jones said this was typical of Thomas. It seems hopeless to repeat the incredible sequence of misinformation, missed chances and omissions which prevented these women from testifying, some of whom were subpoenaed and then never called. Senator Patrick Leahy stated that the Republicans intended to get confirmation at any cost. The cost was to the credibility of the US Senate and the Supreme Court. Accounts detail a strange congregation in the Senate bathroom of Senator John Danforth where Thomas and Danforth and other supporters held hands and sang "Onward Christian Soldiers." To some of us, it appeared appropriate for Thomas and his supporters to congregate in a bathroom. That's apparently where Thomas belonged and still belongs. We wonder if the uproar has unnerved Thomas enough so he will stop his outrageous behavior, but we can't help worrying about the women who work at the Supreme Court. We wouldn't be surprised if he is left in place and the furor dies down, if there won't be a whole new catalog of charges against him at some time in the future. If there is not, then the old saw about the leopard not being able to change his spots cannot possibly be true. To The Contrary 11/5/94, Argus Leader Book Review 11/20/94 & Ellen Goodman 11/15/94, Turning Point, 11/2/94 EXPLOITED WOMEN MISLED JOB APPLICANTS A mailing from Human Rights Watch and a Maury Povitch Show of August 23, 1994, both discussed the Asian attitude towards women. Human Rights Watch was concerned about Asian women who take jobs thinking they'll be domestics or arrange flowers only to end up in brothels. Many were teenagers. Some escaped after years of exploitation, but in some cases they were eventually imprisoned when the government closed the brothel down. On the Maury Povitch show, two American actresses, Lysa Hayland and Sarah Bellomo, talked about being similarly misled into thinking that they would star in a Korean film about spies, but when they got to Korea, the film turned out to be a porn film. They were arrested and questioned by Korean authorities until the Embassy helped them get out of jail. They escaped with the help of the US Embassy which got their plane tickets and passports to them and helped them evade the officials and the producers. Their agents in the US had also been misled. One can't help feeling that there are similarities between the plight of these women and the predicament of women who take jobs in this country thinking they will be secretaries, waitresses, clerks . . even attorneys for the EEOC . . . only to find out that they must provide sex or listen to degrading gutter talk to keep their jobs, or like Anita Hill, fancy step around an employer who quite literally has the power to destroy her career. As Einstein proved, it is all a matter of relativity. Or perhaps it is only a matter of time. POTPOURRI There was a meeting of women veterans on November 10, 1994 at the VA hospital in Sioux Falls which we attended. The VA does offer counseling for women who experienced sexual harassment when they were in the service, and anyone wishing more information should contact their local VA office. Regarding sexual harassment in the military, we noted that Paula Jones, who blew the whistle in the Tail-Hook scandal, received a 1.7 million dollar award in legal action against the Navy, though she has left the Navy. It is being appealed. The Navy has also been charged with sexual harassment by Wave trainees at the boot camp in San Diego. A San Francisco woman, Rita Weeks, received a 7 million dollar award in her sexual harassment action against the prestigious law firm, Baker & McKenzie. Other women from the firm supported her complaints about one of the lawyers, Martin Greenstein, who she accused of grabbing her breasts and lunging at her. NAACP director Benjamin Chavis was fired by the NAACP after he used $300,000 of the NAACP's funds to settle a sexual harassment suit by a former employee. It was found that a NAACP board member had previously used the organization's funds to settle a sexual harassment suit. Public radio reported on November 10, 1994 that many women found that it is worse to deal with the EEOC than the original harassment. Ellen Bravo of 9 to 5, an organization of working women, has published a critical report. Federal Employees of the ATF were reported by the Argus Leader earlier in 1994 to have tolerated years of sexual harassment in order to keep their jobs. Some who did speak out were the targets of counter suits or were transferred against their wishes. The Wash Rag is published by Women Against Sexual Harassment, P. O. Box 505, Hudson, South Dakota 57034-0505. Subscription price is $10.00 a year. Copyright 1995, Tesseract Publications. ISSN 1068-2449