Groups Call On Lawmakers to Investigate Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Sen. Ivey-Soto

Several dozen New Mexico advocacy organizations have signed an open letter urging state Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe; President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque; and Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen to investigate allegations made earlier this week by lobbyist Marianna Anaya of sexual harassment by Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque.

“The very fact that this is where we are, in 2022, having to ask that a full and timely investigation be initiated, clearly shows that the existing policy system of reporting such abuses within New Mexico’s Legislature is extremely flawed and weak,” reads the letter, signed by Equality New Mexico, NM Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Common Cause New Mexico, NM Native Vote and many others.

Several groups also issued individual statements, such as NMSCAP, which described itself as “disappointed in Senator Ivey-Soto’s responses to the sexual harassment and abuse allegations. The Senator has engaged in behavior best described as “DARVO”, a term coined by Dr. Jennifer Freyd, is a tactic frequently used by people who have been confronted after doing harm. The accused denies that the behavior occurred, attacks the individual(s) accusing or confronting them, and reverses the roles of victim and offender.”

Equality New Mexico called out Ivey-Soto’s reference to Anaya’s sexual identity as a lesbian, noting that “sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault in all of their forms are about power— and they always have been. And LGBTQ Americans experience harassment in the workplace, and outside of it at very high rates.” LGBTQ New Mexicans, the statement notes, “deserve access to justice when we are wronged, Marianna Anaya is due this, at the very least.”

https://www.sfreporter.com/news/morningword/2022/02/25/groups-call-on-lawmakers-to-investigate-sexual-harassment-allegations-against-sen-ivey-soto/
(Santa Fe Reporter) (no more at link)