"He tried to kiss me": Political journalists about the harassment in the State Duma
Over the past week, several women accused the head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and a member of the LDPR faction Leonid Slutsky of sexual harassment. First, it was reported by the channel "Rain", to which three journalists anonymously told about the harassment of the deputy (one did so after the program was broadcast). At the beginning of the week, Ekaterina Kotrikadze, deputy editor-in-chief of RTVI, spoke about harassment. Leonid Slutsky himself denies the allegations and believes that they resemble "cheap, low-grade provocation." We talked with several political journalists (present and former) about whether they often face harassment and how they relate to the situation.
I have no reason not to believe these accusations. Moreover, I know Katia Kotrikadze well and respect her decision to tell openly about Leonid Slutsky. I understand why girls did not do this before, I understand why they are doing now. And I really want to be supported. So far, unfortunately, I don’t see from my colleagues and especially the State Duma any adequate reaction. It is depressing.
Fortunately, I almost did not work in the State Duma, the Federation Council or some ministries. Interviews with politicians often took place within the walls of the radio station. It disciplines, as it seems to me, although the jokes and comments were different, not the most appropriate and frankly sexist. A couple of times I saw how some of the girls just seemed to be touching the butt, this is in the understanding of a man and no harassment - this is the whole horror of the situation. Well, think about it, touch the girl lightly, hug, press against the wall - what's the problem? I don’t know how they would react if a man does the same thing with their daughter or sister.
The problem is that everyone always thought it was the norm. Women are forced to remain silent because they are often in a dependent position. In addition, in society, as usual, they will begin to carry all sorts of nonsense like "I am guilty myself" and "the skirt is too short." And I understand why I don’t want to tell someone that someone has molested you. This is a burning sense of shame and injustice and at the same time complete impotence.
It is precisely because of public opinion that the situation cannot be changed. As long as deputies with hoops on their heads will simultaneously teach us morality and cover Slutsky, while such stories will not cause general indignation instead of silly jokes on Facebook, we will not be able to talk about any new norms. Apparently, it is necessary to cultivate more than one generation so that respect for each other depends not on gender, position and strength, but simply because it is so accepted.
Since I am threatened with court for publication, I will be careful in the wording. So, I believe the girls who talked about harassment, and I am glad that finally we are discussing this topic not only with our colleagues in the Duma pool. Because it is humiliating to realize that a person - I will be careful, I will add "it seems to me" - behaves incorrectly and may behave this way next time. You can not do anything with this, because you need to work in this place and you can not spoil the relationship with newsmakers. In fact, what he is accused of is called information trading. Then why is this not considered illegal?
In general, the work of a girl in political journalism presupposes constant communication with men - moreover, if you count on some exclusive information, this is confidential communication. It happens that you have signs of attention, make compliments, and now, by the way, some deputies, as I heard, are trying to mix these two things. But it is clear that we should not exaggerate, and we all understand where violence and humiliation begin. And if a person is not able to determine this line, then he has no place in the State Duma. Personally, I did not face harassment while working. By the way, I want to say that a large number of very decent men work in the Duma, many are sincerely outraged by this story.
I am sure that public accusations - and without them public discussion of this issue is impossible - can and should change the situation with harassment in Russia and the attitude of society to this problem. Changes in any area occur through the understanding of the situation. And these changes are already happening - many men are already thinking. I hear talk about it in the Duma and among colleagues. Everyone thinks about what they would do and what to do to solve this problem. I can argue that in the Duma, no one will ever harass anyone.
I was not a Duma correspondent, I rarely went to Okhotny Ryad - as a rule, to interview or comment on specific material. The deputies with whom I spoke, nothing reprehensible - except for their daily legislative activity - did not. But I heard stories, they walked in journalistic circles - they talked about Slutsky. I myself have not encountered any harassment from newsmakers and sources, but the word "harassment" describes the relationship of power and the press exhaustively.
I think that for no apparent reason, journalists would not raise this topic. Every time when you say that you become an object of harassment, harassment and harassment, a huge number of people do not believe you, they begin to accuse you of "promoting". This is an unpleasant, traumatic situation. On the other hand, it seems to me that Slutsky himself, if these accusations are justified, may, like most men in such a situation, sincerely not understand what he did wrong. I know that many people seriously think that such harassment, jokes, touching the girls behind their knees is fun, and if women react to this unfriendly, then they "have no sense of humor."
The reaction that this story meets is very indicative. I have already seen the predictable comments that everything is wrong and, the most colorful, "What did they want when they went to work in the State Duma?". As if this is the default unsafe environment and, working in such a masculine sphere, you need to be prepared that your bodily integrity can be violated.
I was faced with harassment of State Duma deputies. It was 2006, I was then eighteen years old. I was already working as a political journalist, I went with another young journalist to watch the presidential elections in South Ossetia. There were deputies there, they offered us to go to a private reception, where the president of the republic was supposed to be. Of course, for us it was a great opportunity to get access to interesting speakers and gather insider information. Therefore, we enthusiastically agreed, got into the car with them. In the backseat, they began to roughly grab us by the knees, joking about the "continuation of the banquet" and so on. Nevertheless, we arrived at the event - we tried to communicate with other people there. At some point, these two men got very drunk and began to pester us more actively. One of them reached out, tried to kiss me - but another deputy was standing next to him, he poured red wine over her, and she became very angry. While they were sorting out, my colleague and I managed to sneak away.
I knew about other girls who worked as correspondents in the State Duma or had internships there, I know about incidents when they were closed in the offices of deputies and forcibly kissed on the lips. I recently spoke with a girl who said that talk of harassment was greatly exaggerated. I asked if she herself or someone from her colleagues (she worked for the organization at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) faced this. She thought about it, started to remember, and it turned out that she had some wild stories about employees who shut down young employees on business trips or tried to get into the room. Another friend, the head of a major regional publication, was on a business trip with a prominent regional politician. He went to her room and just raped.
I think it all speaks of the mass phenomenon. Women talk about it terribly hard. When you reach the point that you are not guilty of anything, you are guilty of convincing you in your fault. When I told the story with the deputies, I, of course, heard that eighteen-year-old girls have nothing to do in political journalism, no need to travel to such regions, write on such topics, stay one-on-one with men.
I think that talking about such stories is very helpful. It is important not only to share the facts, but also to say what we experienced and what difficulties it created. At least try to develop empathy in other people and convey the idea that it is not funny, it does not flatter us, but, on the contrary, makes us close, feel insecure and strongly interfere with work.
If these accusations are true, unfortunately, nothing can be done about it. The situation is almost impossible to prove, and, purely politically, the case is hardly going to work - they will get the most out of it behind closed doors. I work in the Duma for the fourth year, and when I first heard about this incident about a year ago, I did not take it seriously at first — I didn’t know the details. But over time, and due to external circumstances (it is very important that more was said about this), my attitude also changed. Profdeformation is to blame: when you work in a society where this is considered normal, you often simply do not have time to think that this should not be so. For example, my colleague from another publication believes that girls need to flirt for information, and guys need to drink.
Deputy Slutsky allowed himself liberties in relation to girls, and I was aware of this. From the very beginning I have limited my communication with him with text messages and calls. But one thing - "jokes", looks and stupid hints, and quite another - the accusation that he got someone in cowards. I did not know that he had crossed all the borders, and at first I thought that a colleague who had sounded the alarm was simply not accustomed to his strange manners. But in some situations, his behavior remained strange and ugly, and after this incident I began to pay more attention to this. In addition to the obvious sexism, one could see a lot of things here - for example, the inability to control oneself in public, which is especially strange given the high post. I really want to believe that they will not let go of the situation on brakes, they will figure it out, they will be discussing for a long time and constructively.
I had different stories - from invitations to go to the country house from married politicians to restaurants, bouquets of flowers, offers to go on vacation, and so on. I always turn everything into a joke, and if a person behaves obsessively, just stop communicating. Nobody, thank God, didn’t go over the line - it was possible to stop everything and stay within, but I understand that I can’t always control it. At the beginning of work, my protection was informal clothes - for some reason it seemed to me, and it still seems that nobody in sneakers and jeans will see an object in you to play around. This, of course, is not always the case. There was a case when I could not leave the company of the newsmaker in any way, but at the same time I felt that it was impossible to stay on, but he insisted. I had to invent that I urgently need to feed the dog. A man gave me a driver and demanded that he take me and bring me back; then I called a friend and asked him to pretend to be an evil taxi driver - such as money dripping, let the girl go. Saved by a miracle and avoided since then the deputy. From colleagues in the pool, I also often hear stories, but mostly harmless. So yes, it is very common.
I feel that public accusations have already changed the atmosphere. This story made everyone think. Opinions among girls are very different: someone doesn’t want to be mentioned at all, worried, someone feels less comfortable than before. But in general, everyone gives each other a feasible "guild" support, and the majority hopes that they will succeed in changing something thanks to the fact that they have begun to talk about it. I want to believe that everything was not in vain, and the girls who survived this will be able to recover, to work further and never to face the same again.
Harassment of deputies to journalists in the State Duma are. This is not the first convocation, this is, just about it, as a rule, are silent. The journalist is a pretty defenseless creature: just that, you will simply be denied accreditation, that's all. You have to change your favorite job profile - many, almost everyone who works with parliament loves parliamentary journalism. I sincerely hope that this will not end with repression against journalists, regardless of whether the remaining women are openly recognized or not.
In fact, journalists were also harassed by deputies who were responsible for the work of the State Duma of early convocations. But now, it seems to me, we see that there is a new social norm: for young women (and men, by the way), this is already unacceptable. But the majority of deputies (because of this, by the way, female deputies can react in the same way as Tamara Pletneva) live in the old social norm. Suffice it to recall the statement of the same Pletneva, who said that she should be released from the plenary session to cook borscht. This was perceived with bewilderment, because in 2018 it was not the norm to ask for time off from work to cook borscht for the husband.
In Russia, public accusations cannot change the situation for sure. Officials are not ready to discuss the issue, and they will pretend to the last to pretend that this does not exist, clinging to the fact that it is impossible to prove this with reinforced concrete: the journalist, contrary to beliefs, does not walk with a tape recorder and a portable video camera. But I think that the deputies will get a very good lesson, and it is for the State Duma that the situation can change a lot, regardless of how the trial ends.
Officially, I think, the scandal is over. How did this happen, for example, when Vladimir Zhirinovsky (by the way, also from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) was asked by a pregnant journalist, and he attacked her with insults, shouted to one of his associates: "Force her!" In the West, I think, Mr. Zhirinovsky would have to apologize and forever abandon all party and political posts. Our journalist received an apology, he just said that he was not in himself, they calmed down on it. Therefore, it seems to me that there will be no influence on Russia as a whole, but many deputies and officials will behave more cautiously.
During my work, I came across harassment, and almost all of my friends, too. This, of course, is not at all funny and has nothing to do with flirting. And, of course, when ladies deputies say that this does not exist in Russia, this is either slyness or such transcendent separation from reality.
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