By The Star Staff
The interim Advocate for Women, Madeline Bermúdez, reported on Wednesday that, after learning through the media of a serious complaint of conduct constituting sexual violence among members of the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (MVC), she has sent a referral to the Secretary of Justice, Domingo Emanuelli, and to the Commissioner of the Puerto Rico Police, Antonio López.
“As the Women’s Advocate h, I condemn this and any act that harms the honor, dignity and sexual integrity of women in Puerto Rico. I strongly condemn any act of sexual aggression and reaffirm my commitment to defending the human rights of women in Puerto Rico,” Bermúdez said in a written statement, who also reported that her office has launched an investigation into the case.
Bermudez added that, due to the seriousness of the allegations, she asked the Department of Justice and the Puerto Rico Police to take note of the complaint and act according to their ministerial duty.
Bermúdez stressed the importance of inter-institutional collaboration to address the challenges faced by women on the island. “From the Office of the Women’s Advocate, we reiterate our commitment to defending women’s rights and promoting a safe and fair environment for all. We firmly believe that cooperation with the Department of Justice and the Puerto Rico Police is crucial to achieving these goals and ensuring that women’s voices are heard and addressed,” concluded the interim attorney general.
For her part, the general coordinator of the Citizen Victory Movement, Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, spoke about the situation. “A letter dated October 24 has been circulated, signed by a member of the Citizen Victory Movement, in which she describes an incident described as gender violence by a colleague from the MVC towards another colleague also from the MVC. We are not mentioning their names because we are not authorized to do so and because the investigation procedures of our protocols for these cases have been initiated. Once the letter was received, it was forwarded as is the process for the corresponding investigation,” Rivera Lassén indicated in a written statement.
“Regardless of the handling of the letter circulated today to the media, it is our responsibility to follow the processes and seek consent from the people mentioned. In the Citizen Victory Movement we value the protection of spaces free of gender violence and that is why once we received the letter, as has been said, we began the regulatory process immediately. Any comment distorting the attention given to this situation is untrue. Even mixing up a previous situation that was also addressed immediately upon learning of it, in relation to the MVC, is also manipulating the truth for partisan political purposes,” he added.
Rivera Lassén also responded to criticism from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) candidates. “If the Popular Democratic Party candidates want to announce their candidacies in an attempt to attack us, they are attacking the wrong party. I wish them luck in their aspirations and I hope they are known for their proposals for the country and their commitment to the truth. That is not what they are demonstrating,” she said.
The MVC candidate for the Senate, Rosa Seguí, also reacted to the allegations. “No one should be surprised by the most recent expression of the discredit and decadence admitted by the leadership of the Popular Democratic Party itself. Today a group of women from that party called a press conference to irresponsibly disclose information about which they have no direct knowledge. By doing so, they not only violate the privacy of a person who they claim suffered gender violence, but they re-victimize her,” Seguí said in a written statement.
“Distorting facts in their eagerness to gain some relevance in the electoral contest in San Juan, without caring about or having the consent of the person, is as serious as what they claim. This unpleasant expression reveals the lowest and meanest political opportunism. This action by the PPD candidates shows that they care more about political opportunism than safeguarding the privacy and respecting the autonomy of women,” she added.
Seguí stressed that the MVC has specific protocols to deal with these cases. “The Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana has a firm commitment to the eradication of gender violence in all its forms, and contrary to what they claimed today, it has specific protocols to deal with these cases. This protocol requires that the complainant has direct knowledge of the facts. The will of the survivors and victims must be respected. Support them in their decisions and respect their agency. This is what I did,” she said.
“For my part, I reiterate to all people that I carefully watch over and offer a safe space to those who approach me with any complaint or accusation, always validating what they tell me and respecting their wishes for intimacy, privacy and confidentiality. My commitment is and will continue to be to act immediately from accompaniment and from respect for the person and the confidentiality requested. We reject slander and libel intended to tarnish my reputation,” concluded Seguí.
The statements by the attorney general and the reactions of the MVC come after several candidates and volunteers of the Popular Democratic Party denounced on Tuesday what they described as inaction on the part of the Citizen Victory Movement in the face of an alleged case of sexual harassment in the party.
According to a letter written by Karen De León, electoral coordinator of the MVC, which was sent to the candidate for resident commissioner, Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, an official of the campaign of the candidate for the Senate, Rosa Seguí, accused a fellow official of said party of sexual assault.
The names of those involved are omitted from the copy of the letter provided by the PPD. The PPD candidates referred to what they consider to be “inaction” by the MVC in past incidents, including a case in which two employees of the Puerto Rican Workers Union and MVC officials filed a complaint against municipal legislator Joel Vázquez Rosario for workplace harassment.
The PPD emphasized the events that supposedly occurred during a trip by several MVC officials to take a course in political communication and participate in other related events. The PPD maintained that, after the alleged events, the victim reported what happened to Seguí, who, according to them, limited himself to calling the alleged aggressor and coordinating a conversation so that he could apologize.
Ivonne Lozada, a Popular Party candidate for the Senate, specifically criticized Seguí and Rivera Lassén, stating that they have “chosen to ignore the situation.” “It is useless to have the best platform to promote the rights of women in the country if they cannot even guarantee the rights, dignity and security of women in their own party,” Lozada said.
When Lozada was asked about the time elapsed since the alleged incidents, he initially replied that they had occurred as recently as a few weeks ago, but later adjusted his answer to “a few months ago.”
Also present at the press conference were Raquel Gauthier, candidate for the Senate for District 2 of Bayamón; Swanny Enit Vargas Laureano, candidate for the House by At-Large; and Belmarie Ortiz González, candidate for municipal legislator for San Juan.
In response to possible speculation that this complaint could be used to benefit the PPD just days before the elections, Lozada said: “Many will label our complaint as a political act. I condemn violence against women in political spaces that limits their capacity for effective participation. I defend this space not only in my party, but in all political spaces,” said the Senate candidate.
The situation continues to develop as authorities and the parties involved proceed with the corresponding investigations.
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