María Jesús Montero admits PSOE's internal deadlines for resolving sexual harassment cases are 'excessively long'

María Jesús Montero admitted this evening in Málaga that the PSOE's internal deadlines for resolving complaints of alleged sexual harassment are 'excessively long' and the party should be 'more agile'. She made these remarks in response to questions from this newspaper after the party's federal leadership had been aware since June of the accusation filed by a socialist activist against the leader of the party in Torremolinos, councillor and provincial deputy, Antonio Navarro, for alleged sexual harassment, and due to the lack of response from the party, the case was taken to the Prosecutor's Office.

"I believe we need to improve the procedures to make them more agile and to ensure that the victim feels supported throughout this process. Of course, we take note because something so intimate, so humiliating, as the issues that have been known and revealed require greater speed and, above all, better support for all victims," Montero emphasized.

After participating in the awards ceremony held on the occasion of 4-D by the Fundación Andalucía, Socialismo y Democracia, chaired by Rafael Escuredo, the PSOE's deputy secretary general and leader of the Andalusian socialists stated that these cases 'impact' the party because 'equality between men and women, respect for women, and the fight against violence is a priority for the PSOE,' and therefore reiterated that 'we are alarmed that the timelines are very long or that certain situations arise where victims feel defenseless.'

María Jesús Montero defended that the PSOE, after receiving the complaint, initiated the internal procedure with the corresponding contacts with the parties, the summons, and the task of gathering information to clarify the facts, although she stressed that these protocols need to be improved and contrasted the actions of the socialists with other parties 'that do not have protocols and never do anything when they encounter a situation similar to the one we have faced.'

Montero admitted that she was aware of the complaint filed by the Torremolinos activist, although not its content, as the protocol for such cases has 'an intimacy that must be respected,' and added that once the Málaga Prosecutor's Office for Violence against Women opened proceedings against Navarro, a suspension of membership was requested, and he was urged, as the provincial PSOE had already done, to surrender his seats as councillor in Torremolinos and in the Provincial Council.

"I hope not only that the internal process that was already initiated to clarify the circumstances of that complaint is completed but also that the Prosecutor's Office can obtain all the information that allows reaching the end," she added.

In response to a question about whether Francisco Salazar, the former advisor to Pedro Sánchez who had to resign after several complaints of alleged sexual harassment, had been protected, Montero assured that in the PSOE, victims are protected, who are 'the ones we have to protect, be empathetic with, and put ourselves in their place.'

"Above all, know how to accompany them in processes that are very painful for women because having to communicate, testify about 'WhatsApps', phrases that are humiliating, degrading, that hurt even when repeated, that is the priority of the PSOE. That is what we intend to do, and given the situation conveyed by the victims, we must accelerate the procedures and, above all, accompany them more effectively so that they feel supported by our party," she concluded.