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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho Sen. Crapo on #metoo: ‘Everyone deserves the safety and security of person’

As a “#metoo” social media uprising mobilized thousands of women to say they, too, have been sexually harassed or assaulted, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo today sent out his own message, with the hashtag “#MeTooEndsWithMe.”

“For those who have experienced any form of sexual assault or harassment, I support you,” Crapo wrote on Twitter. “I hear your echoes of solidarity with one another as well as the silence of those suffering quietly. Though we must continue to do all we can to ensure victims have access to the help they need, we all have a responsibility to speak out and to stop these kinds of acts before they happen. Everyone deserves the safety and security of person. As I have supported through legislation like the Violence Against Women Act in the past, I will continue to support efforts that connect victims with appropriate response resources, as well as efforts and conversations to prevent further assaults and violence from happening in the future. #MeTooEndsWithMe  - U.S. Senator Mike Crapo”

Crapo was the lead GOP sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization in 2013, which extended the law for five years after it expired in 2011. The measure, first enacted more than two decades ago, funds millions in federal programs that assist victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Idaho’s congressional delegation was divided on the bill, with Crapo and 2nd District Rep. Mike Simpson supporting it, and Sen. Jim Risch and 1st District Rep. Raul Labrador voting against it.

Crapo has been a longtime advocate for measures to fight domestic and sexual violence.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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