A government employee whose accusation of sexual harassment against a fellow worker was ignored has won the support of Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro, who called her “brave” and said he would personally follow up on the case “until the final consequences.”
Alfaro said the sexual harassment suffered by the woman — who was only identified as “Diana” — would not go unpunished. He has ordered state officials to provide the woman with legal aid and psychological counseling, he said.
“Neither Diana nor any other victim of these two attackers are alone,” he said on his Facebook account Tuesday.
The woman, a municipal employee in Tototlán, had filed a sexual harassment complaint against director of licensing Efraín Martínez. But after she filed the complaint, Diana said, Mayor Sergio Quezada also sexually harassed her in a meeting attended by all three where he tried to convince her to withdraw her accusation.
An audio recording of that meeting appears to back up her claims.
In the recording, Quezada said, “If he had raped you, or if it had been something more delicate … then, sure. But this situation doesn’t seem to me that complicated.”
He also made suggestive comments about Diana’s appearance and said, “This little dress you’re wearing makes you look pretty” and “how your husband must enjoy you.”
At one point, he also talked about how both he and Diana were sexually attractive people and that they both suffered from attracting attention from the opposite gender.
“Beautiful people like us are exposed to this sort of thing,” he said.
Alfaro said on his Facebook account Tuesday that an apology from the accused “is not enough.”
“An exemplary punishment is needed,” he said. “[Quezada and Martínez] don’t deserve to be public servants; they don’t have any business being there anymore. This is not a game; it’s a crime, and they have to pay.”
Alfaro also said that a task force was being established to address the issue that would include members of the Jalisco state Congress, his administration, and the state’s political parties. He also said that the Minister of Gender Equality would instruct Jalisco’s 125 municipalities to begin training to identify, prevent, and eradicate gender violence against women.
Sources: Proceso (sp)
