“The members who were tasked with reviewing the intern policy for the House did an outstanding job in developing a list of recommendations that I believe are a step toward improving the culture at the state Capitol”.
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Rep. Kevin Engler, a Farmington Republican, was chosen to lead the effort to craft a new policy after House Speaker John Diehl was forced to resign following revelations by The Star that he exchanged sexually suggestive texts with a 19-year-old House intern. “It didn’t have a policy in there on dress code, so I wrote three little words when they asked, ‘What can we do with this?’ And I put three little words, ‘intern dress code, ‘” Rep. Kidd explained. “Removing one more distraction will help everyone keep their focus on legislative matters”.
But following immediate accusations of “victim blaming”, the new House Speaker Todd Richardson announced in the past hour that there would be no changes to the dress code as the house already has in place a code that applies to all members, staff, and interns equally.
Engler said he does not think a dress code should be interpreted as placing the blame on the interns.
“Such a recommendation reeks of a desire to avoid holding fully accountable those who would prey upon young women and men seeking to begin honorable careers in public service”, McCaskill said in letters to state Reps. Bill Kidd and Nick King in a letter. When several of the recipients responded that a dress code should be part of the framework, some reacted negatively. Paul LeVota resigned after he was accused of sexual harassment by two interns.
“We should never infer that the problem – and therefore the remedies – lies with the student interns”, state Rep. Kip Kendrick (D) said.
Claire McCaskill is not happy about reports that lawmakers in her state considered instituting a dress code for interns after a summer of sexual assault allegations.
“To insinuate that the way we’re dressed impacts their ability to police themselves and they don’t have the inner strength to behave themselves”, she said. “Ethics reforms need to be enacted that stop perpetuating the fraternity mentality rampant in the halls of the Capitol”.
The idea was greeted with disdain by Democrats, and set off a firestorm on social media, with critics arguing that it was victim blaming that would do nothing to address the problem of sexual harassment.
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Are dress codes the answer? I saw victims blamed for the crimes against them as a courtroom prosecutor of sex crimes, and as elected prosecutor for Jackson County-which includes the area you now represent in the Missouri General Assembly.
