Gillibrand on sexual misconduct: What was tolerated 25 years ago won’t be tolerated today

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in a new interview called for a “very different conversation” about sexual misconduct, saying the “tolerance” level for behavior that existed decades ago will no longer be tolerated today.

“My point is that the tolerance that we had 25 years ago, what was allowed 25 years ago, will not be tolerated today, is not allowed today,” Gillibrand said on MSNBC’s “Kasie DC.”

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The New York senator suggested to host Kasie Hunt that responding to sexual misconduct allegations is a collective effort in which everyone needs to help ensure there is “oversight and accountability.”

“That in fact, all of us needs to recognize — none of us are above this and all of us have to be responsible for how we create a workplace in our own office, for my office; how we do oversight in Congress with providing better oversight over the military, which is our job; with Title IX on college campuses. So we have to do our job, we are all responsible,” she said.

Gillibrand added that elected officials also need to be held accountable, saying they “should not be held to the lowest standard. They should be held to the highest standard. And that is why I focused all my efforts on trying to change the rules of the game — because they are not fair and they are not working.”

Gillibrand captured the national spotlight last week when she said during an interview with The New York Times that Bill Clinton should have resigned from the presidency after allegations surfaced that he had an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky while in office. 

“I think that is the appropriate response,” Gillibrand told the newspaper. 

“I think under those circumstances there should be a very different reaction,” she continued. “And I think in light of this conversation, we should have a very different conversation about President Trump, and a very different conversation about allegations against him.”

Over a dozen women have accused Trump of making sexual advances without their consent. 

A New York Times report containing allegations of sexual assault against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein led to women in various professions coming forward over the past month with allegations of sexual harassment and assault.