Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and the Workgroup on Harassment, Sexual Assault and Misogyny in New Jersey Politics today announced that they will be holding their second private listening session on Zoom on Tuesday, July 21, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“Both our public and private listening sessions provide an opportunity for us to hear from women about how the toxic climate of harassment, sexual assault and misogyny in our governmental institutions, politics and the public sphere has affected their lives,” said Senator Weinberg. “Both the public and private sessions are important as we continue to gather ideas on steps that can be taken to positively change the toxic climate for women in New Jersey.”

The private listening sessions provide an opportunity for those who desire full anonymity to speak privately to the committee to do so individually in what will effectively be a closed session. Those wishing to address the committee privately at the Tuesday, July 21, session can register at
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtc-mqqjguEtTrmktRrpkvMUxnWW-G_C9F The session will be facilitated by staff from the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA).

The four previously held public forums and the two private listening sessions are part of a multi-layered strategy of outreach that also includes the anonymous on-line Survey on Misogyny and Sexual Misconduct in New Jersey Politics survey (https://njcasa.org/njpolitics/) that was conducted by the New Jersey Coalition on Sexual Assault – the findings of which will be made public later this summer.

Senator Weinberg created the workgroup in the wake of a Star-Ledger/NJ Advance Media report in which 20 women told of being groped, propositioned, harassed and even sexually assaulted while serving as campaign staffers, political operatives, legislators and lobbyists.

The workgroup includes: Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver; Alison Accettola, Senate Majority General Counsel; Laurel Brennan, Secretary-Treasurer, New Jersey State AFL-CIO; Elizabeth Coulter, Director of Public Health, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey; Sonia Delgado, Partner, Princeton Public Affairs Group; Rosa Farias, Deputy Executive Director, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority; Jeannine LaRue, Senior Vice President, Kaufman Zita Group; Sabeen Masih, Vice President of Public Affairs, Capital Impact Group; Debbie Parks, International Vice President, AFSCME; Crystal Pruitt, Franklin Township Council; Lisa Randall, Commissioner, Bergen County Improvement Authority; Julie Roginsky, Co-Founder, Lift Our Voices; Christine Shipley, Executive Director, New Jersey Senate Minority Office; and Patricia Teffenhart, Executive Director, New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA).

“Our public forums and private listening sessions provide an opportunity for those interested in sharing their experiences, thoughts and perspectives on how to shape policy and implement reforms to address the toxic climate of misogyny, sexual assault and harassment in New Jersey politics,” said Ms. Teffenhart. “It is not the workgroup’s role to adjudicate individual cases about specific people, but we do believe it is our role to center the voices of those most impacted by the issues at hand.”