New Letter: 30+ Groups Renew Calls for New Mexico State Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto To ‘Step Down’ After Mounting Abuse Allegations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com
New Letter: 30+ Groups Renew Calls for New Mexico State Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto To ‘Step Down’ After Mounting Abuse Allegations
30+ national & local orgs including UltraViolet, me too. International, & Women’s March urge support for Daniel Ivey-Soto’s removal from New Mexico State Senate in solidarity with local survivors
NEW MEXICO – A new letter sent today by 30+ gender equity and survivor justice advocacy organizations is renewing calls for Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto’s resignation from the New Mexico State Senate. The letter, directed to all of Ivey-Soto’s affiliations in the non-profit and private sector, comes as mounting allegations of sexual assault, abuse, and harassment have surfaced from at least nine women.
Signed by leading national women’s rights groups, such as UltraViolet, me too. International, the National Women’s Law Center, and Women’s March, and 13 New Mexico-based organizations, including NM Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, OLÉ (Organizers in the Land of Enchantment), and Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico, the letter states:
“As Ivey-Soto has been credibly found to break basic rules of workplace conduct, he should not be in any position of power. To avoid any conflicts of interest and humiliating situations for women and survivors of sexual violence, we call upon your organization to sever ties and take any other appropriate action within your power to support the many women and survivors, including removing Ivey-Soto from panels, boards, committees; ending contracts with him; and finally, to call on him to resign from the State Senate.”
VIEW THE FULL LETTER HERE: https://weareultraviolet.org/
The joint letter also urges the New Mexico Legislature to adopt the Fair Process Principles, a set of guidelines created by New York AG Leticia James and survivor justice groups to reduce sexual violence in politics and properly investigate claims against elected officials and candidates.
Ivey-Soto resigned as chairman of the Senate Rules committee in 2022 after leaked results of an investigation showed probable cause that he violated their anti-harassment policy. However, formal action has not been taken by the body of the Senate and Ivey-Soto remains in office.
READ THE COMPLETE FAIR PROCESS PRINCIPLES HERE: https://survivorsagenda.org/
“State legislative offices are work environments that can be rife with harassment and abuse. Ivey-Soto is no exception. Because many of these workplaces lack human resources departments, survivors have limited resources for support mechanisms in which they can hold perpetrators accountable. This results in grave power imbalances that often lead to sexual violence,” said Elisa Batista, Campaign Director at UltraViolet. “The survivors brave enough to speak out here did so at risk to their reputations and careers. We stand with these nine women, who courageously came forward to share their stories, and the many more who are too afraid to come forward. We are grateful to the dozens of witnesses that spoke on the record in last year’s investigation. We hope our letter informs the New Mexico Legislature that they are not off the hook, and that we will continue to demand Ivey-Soto resign until he is no longer in office.”
“Nine women came forward to tell our stories about the sexual harassment, assault and abuse that Ivey-Soto inflicted upon us. After I submitted my complaint, the independent investigator found probable cause, constituents and local organizations called for his resignation and yet, he is still in office. More distressing, I was informed he sexually harassed another woman this session,” said consultant and legislative advocate, Marianna Anaya. “As women who spoke out, we put our reputations and livelihoods on the line, hoping to make our Roundhouse safer for the next generation. It feels affirming that people outside of New Mexico–national organizations that lead in holding perpetrators accountable–can see what we see: Ivey-Soto should never be trusted with a position of power, especially not an elected office.”
“Survivor autonomy is vital in every facet of political accountability, as is safety and access to trauma-informed care. Whether we show up as a constituency, or come forward as a result of experiencing harm in political spaces, survivors deserve to be heard, believed, and to have their needs be centered. The survivor justice movement will continue demanding accountability from perpetrators of sexual violence, as well as the systems that allow for the proliferation of sexual violence,” said Dani Ayers, CEO of me too. International.
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