Ansari, other congressional Dems seek end to sexual violence

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(The Center Square) – Three congressional Democratic representatives talked about dangers that female politicians face frequently during a press conference Tuesday inside a Midtown Phoenix high-rise office building.

The trio of lawmakers, led by first-term U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, rallied in support of Democratic Congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia, who reported being raped while fixing a campaign sign over the summer.

Greene-Placentia’s incident was first reported by The Phoenix New-Times in early October, igniting a firestorm for the former long-haul truck driver who's seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Scottsdale, in the bright-red West Valley district.

On Tuesday, Greene-Placentia was absent, though campaign staffer Isaiah Lopez took the lectern to express her appreciation for the men and women who have vouched for her of late.

“The support means a great deal to Bernadette and to the many survivors whose voices deserve to be heard,” Lopez said during the press conference. “Bernadette had every intention of being here this morning, but sharing her experience of sexual assault publicly has been very difficult. And having to revisit that experience repeatedly has taken its toll.”

Requests for comment from Hamadeh and the Arizona Republican Party were not returned by the time this story was published. 

A daunting task

All three of the congresswomen took turns laying out the difficult dynamics at play when it comes to running or serving as a woman.

On Tuesday, Ansari called on the men who attacked Greene-Placentia to be brought to justice, while imploring national media and those on social media to dial back the temperature in the room.

“Trauma can be debilitating and it can be mobilizing,” Ansari said. “And it's important to acknowledge that no survivor's experience or response to trauma happened in exactly the same way.

“And so, before I go any further, I want to say to Bernadette that we stand with you, and that you are not alone,” she added.

U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter, whose 3rd Congressional District in Oregon includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River, and U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico were the other two House members to take to the dais Tuesday morning.

Dexter, who worked as pulmonary critical care physician before entering politics, said safety is paramount for all women, though those on the trail at the local, state and federal level have a bigger target on their backs.

“It is absolutely the case that women need to feel safe no matter where they are, especially when they are trying to serve the public,” Dexter said. “This is an egregious issue that we absolutely will take on in Congress. Every woman deserves to feel safe at home, at work, in their communities, and when she steps forward to serve.”

According to Cook Political Report, Greene-Placentia’s race against Hamadeh is one of the 171 in the camp of “solid Republican,” meaning her chance of flipping the seat is marginal, at best, with Hamadeh carrying the 8th District by 13% two years ago.

Win or lose, though, all three of the congresswomen said Greene-Placentia will serve as an inspiration to women of all ages, mostly because of her courage to tell her story in the first place.

“In many communities, as many as one in three or one in four women are actually survivors of sexual assault, but they never tell their stories because of the shame, because of the denial, because of the harm that comes to them for telling their stories publicly,” Stansbury said.

“So we want to say thank you to all of our survivor sisters and organizations that are here today to advocate for resources, and we just say thank you for the work that you do,” she added.