National Women’s Defense League

We speak truth to power. We shine a light. We stand with survivors.

Together We can end workplace sexual harassment.

For too long, sexual harassment has persisted in the workplace–threatening and undermining women’s safety, livelihood and leadership. Its pervasiveness is impacting what leadership in America looks like: who’s at the table and who can run it.

It’s time for a national advocacy effort that unites state leaders in the fight for policy change and empowers survivors in the fight for justice.

The National Women’s Defense League is shining a light on the problem, advocating for policy reform, and supporting survivors.

Together we’re building a movement that cannot be silenced.

  • "I’ve been forced to carry the burden of what was done to me, of a path I did not choose. We survivors have paid a price with our time, our money, our health and our well-being."

    Lauren Roberts, Sexual Harassment Survivor, Indiana | Statement to the Press, June 9, 2025

  • "When it comes to sexual harassment, the fox guards the hen house."

    State Legislator | National Survey of State Legislators on Legislative Workplaces (2025)

  • "We must keep pushing forward—our mission isn't complete until every survivor feels safe, supported, and heard in their workplace."

    Erica Vladimer, Survivor & Founding Director of Harassment Free NY | National Women’s Defense League Press Release, March 2025

  • "It is irresponsible and negligent for state lawmakers to continue to ignore the systemic sexual harassment in our own workplace."

    Abby Major, Pennsylvania State Representative | National Women’s Defense League Press Release, November 2023

  • "Sexual harassment made me feel like I didn’t belong. Fear, shame, disrupted my ability to concentrate and focus on the work before me."

    State Legislator | National Survey of State Legislators on Legislative Workplaces (2025)

  • "State legislators need to do more to protect staff and hold sexual harassers accountable. Predators are unfit to serve."

    Jo Ella Hoye, House Minority Whip, Kansas Legislature | National Women’s Defense League Press Release, November 2023

  • "The best way to create and maintain a harassment-free workplace is to prevent issues from occurring in the first place."

    Shea Holman, Counsel at Purple Method & Asst. Professor at George Mason University | Testimony to Rhode Island House State Government and Elections Committee, June 3, 2025

  • "Like many other women working in the Nebraska Capitol, I experienced various forms of harassment almost from my first day in office. The response from leadership in the Legislature highlighted how inadequately we have addressed the issue of harassment."

    Machaela Cavanaugh, Nebraska State Senator | National Women’s Defense League Press Release, March 2025

  • "We need a radical shift away from the culture of abuse that exists at all levels of government and politics, and we need systems that protect survivors and hold abusers fully accountable."

    Lauren Roberts, sexual harassment survivor, Indiana | National Women’s Defense League Press Release, March 2025

  • "Watching the harassment makes you feel like you have no control and you can’t help the person. It’s an awful feeling."

    State Legislator | National Survey of State Legislators on Legislative Workplaces (2025)

  • "I’m appalled by the ongoing pattern of sexual harassment and the lack of appetite to make the substantive, common sense changes necessary to fix it."

    Elise Shrock, Indiana Political Strategist & Former Indiana Statehouse Staffer | National Women’s Defense League Press Release, March 2025

  • "We understand the profound and lasting impact of sexual harassment on individuals and the integrity of institutions."

    Mollie Montague, RAINN | Testimony to Rhode Island House State Government and Elections Committee, June 3, 2025

  • "We passed bipartisan legislation to foster a stronger work environment at the state legislature where everyone is treated with respect and dignity."

    Julie McCluskie, Colorado Speaker of the House | National Women’s Defense League Press Release, March 2025

  • "We deserve leaders who will champion reforms that do not silence survivors, but empower and support them. We deserve leaders who will not brush sexual harassment under the rug, but will put accountability above politics."

    Emma Davidson Tribbs & Sarah Jane Higginbotham, CoFounders, National Women’s Defense League, 2024

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