The House Intelligence Committee discovered the CIA botched its reaction to reviews of sexual assault and harassment throughout the company, with sufferers compelled to navigate a procedure marked through “confusion and disorder,” in keeping with an investigation through lawmakers.
Employees who reported sexual assault and harassment noticed “little to no accountability or punishment for the perpetrators,” the committee’s report mentioned.
The procedure for reporting sexual assault and evaluate on the CIA was once marked through “confusion and disorder,” sufferers had been reluctant to return ahead as they might no longer stay nameless, personnel individuals lacked coaching to spot circumstances, and the company had an “inconsistent approach” with regulation enforcement companies, mentioned the committee’s bipartisan report, which was once launched Monday.
“Over the course of the investigation, the Committee discovered that CIA failed to handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment within its workforce in the professional and uniform manner that such sensitive allegations warrant,” it mentioned.
The CIA didn’t dispute the committee’s findings. A spokesperson mentioned it has taken a host of steps to strengthen the way it responds to sexual assault court cases and praised a brand new regulation that allowed the company to increase the place of job handling sexual misconduct circumstances.
“We are absolutely committed to fostering a safe, respectful workplace environment for our employees and have taken significant steps to ensure that, both by bolstering our focus on prevention and strengthening the agency’s handling of these issues when they arise,” the spokesperson mentioned in a remark.
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence introduced an investigation into the CIA’s reaction to sex-related offenses after a feminine worker approached lawmakers in January 2023 alleging she have been sexually assaulted and burdened. After she got here ahead, greater than 20 different staff adopted, announcing that they had suffered sexual attacks and harassment.
The unnamed worker’s case resulted in her CIA colleague’s conviction in state court docket for misdemeanor assault and battery.
The CIA later terminated the feminine worker, who had reported being sexually assaulted in a stairwell on the company and who accused the CIA of seeking to discourage her from submitting a prison grievance. Her legal professional claimed it amounted to illegal retaliation, however the CIA strongly rejected the allegation.
As a consequence of the reviews of sexual assault and harassment, lawmakers handed law final yr designed to mend gaps in how the CIA handles sexual assault circumstances, requiring it to arrange an ordinary sexual misconduct investigation process and annual reviews to Congress.
Kevin Carroll, the legal professional for the unnamed worker, mentioned that the House committee’s report was once “excellent” and that it vindicated his shopper and different feminine staff who raised considerations over the problem.
“This investigative report and the legislation it spurred have their origin in the bravery of a young female trainee with the integrity to speak truth to power at the cost of her own CIA career to try and prevent other agency women from suffering as she did,” Carroll mentioned.
The Republican chair of the committee, Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, and the score Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, mentioned in a joint remark that they might stay up efforts to trace how the company handles sexual misconduct.
“For more than a year, the House Intelligence Committee has investigated the responsiveness of the Central Intelligence Agency to personnel who have survived sexual assault and sexual harassment. We heard directly from whistleblowers who courageously shared their stories in order to push for change and accountability,” the 2 lawmakers mentioned.
“Our Committee has put in place significant legislative reforms to address failures, and we will continue to monitor progress to ensure there is no slippage in the Agency’s commitment to addressing sexual assault and harassment,” Turner and Himes mentioned.
The CIA’s Office of Inspector General is also accomplishing a “special review” of the problem.
The House committee’s report was once in line with interviews with 26 whistleblowers, 15 briefings from CIA officers and a assessment of 4,000 pages of CIA paperwork, in keeping with the committee. The report mentioned the committee additionally benefited from cooperation through the CIA, which it mentioned has proven “an eagerness to effectively prevent and respond to sexual assault and harassment instances.”