Roundtables Held in Yakima and Spokane
Spokane - William D. Hyslop, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, recently hosted roundtables in Yakima and Spokane, Washington, for community organizations to discuss the problem of sexual harassment in housing. The event included local law enforcement agencies, legal aid offices, fair housing organizations, shelters and transitional housing providers. Those organizations were invited because they often work with vulnerable populations who are most likely to become victims of sexual harassment in housing.
United States Attorney Hyslop said, “Sexual harassment in housing is often underreported. I encourage anyone who has been subjected to sexual harassment by his or her landlord or employer of a landlord to report it to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. Sexual harassment is illegal under the Fair Housing Act, and my office is committed to enforcing the law and working to secure justice for victims of these offenses. We are extremely proud of our community partners joining us in a meaningful discussion on how to increase community awareness of, and identify barriers to reporting, sexual harassment in housing in the Eastern District of Washington."
While most people are familiar with the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, harassment also occurs in housing, and the Fair Housing Act prohibits it. Sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, and others with power over housing often affects the most vulnerable populations - single mothers, women who are financially unstable, and women who have suffered sexual violence in their past. These women often do not know where to turn for help.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington is working closely with the Civil Rights Division to spread the word here in the Eastern District of Washington about options to help victims experiencing sexual harassment or who experienced sexual harassment in housing in the past. Often it is community organizations, such as local law enforcement, legal aid offices, fair housing organizations, shelters and transitional housing providers, that are in the best position to identify housing abuses and recommend that victims report sexual harassment to DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. By increasing awareness and building strong partnerships, we can better combat this problem in our community.
Since launching the Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative in 2017, the Department of Justice has filed 11 lawsuits alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in housing. The Justice Department has filed or settled 15 sexual harassment cases since January 2017, and has recovered over $2.6 million for victims of sexual harassment in housing. These cases often involve egregious conduct, including allegations that defendants have exposed themselves sexually to current or prospective tenants, requested sexual favors in exchange for reduced rents or making necessary repairs, made unrelenting and unwanted sexual advances to tenants, and evicted tenants who resisted their sexual overtures. The DOJ’s investigations frequently uncover sexual harassment that has been ongoing for years or decades and identify numerous victims who never reported the conduct to federal authorities.
Roundtable discussions like the one that United States Attorney Hyslop hosted recently are an integral part of a DOJ initiative that seeks to identify barriers to reporting sexual harassment in housing, increase awareness of its enforcement efforts - both among victims and those they may report to - and collaborate with federal, state, and local partners to increase reporting and help women quickly and easily connect with federal resources.
DOJ encourages anyone who has experienced sexual harassment in housing, or knows someone who has, to contact the Civil Rights Division by calling (844) 380-6178 or emailing: fairhousing@usdoj.gov.
Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may also contact the Civil Rights Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, Joseph P. Derrig, by calling 509-353-2767.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
