SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Female lobbyists and elected officials say the New Mexico Statehouse has long been a place where women experience sexual harassment.
Democratic consultant Heather Brewer told The Associated Press on Monday that the harassment ranges from groping to propositions for sex.
State Rep. Kelly Fajardo, a Belen Republican, said she has witnessed colleagues or lobbyists being subjected to "repeated profane comments and innuendo."
And Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver told the Santa Fe New Mexico she's also been subjected to sexual harassment and referred it to "an unfortunate reality."
Rep. Monica Youngblood, an Albuquerque Republican, called the current process investigating allegations of sexual harassment at the New Mexico Statehouse "a joke" and said women still are reluctant to report cases.