Among the issues raised by members of other parties, the Basque Nationalist Party’s concern over the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party’s response to complaints of sexual harassment within it stands out. As the media “Cuatro” reported, during a parliamentary intervention, the PNV spokesperson in Congress, Maribel Vaquero, opined that the PSOE should take a “much clearer and much more forceful” position regarding allegations of this type against members of its organization, citing both the increase in cases and the media attention generated in recent days.
The broadcast of televised statements from women reporting inappropriate behavior has once again brought the PSOE’s internal actions on issues of preventing and punishing sexual harassment to the forefront of debate. According to Cuatro, six women have lodged complaints through the party’s internal channel against the President of the Provincial Council of Lugo and Mayor of Monforte de Lemos, José Tomé. The complainants reported incidents such as touching, making phone calls that were perceived as inappropriate and sending pictures, incidents that occurred in the context of their professional relationship. According to the same media, these stories were presented on television, which achieved greater social and political impact and tested the PSOE’s internal mechanisms for dealing with these types of complaints.
According to the information collected by “Cuatro”, the repetition of accusations by women in the socialist structure has revived the debate about the adequacy of the institutional response to cases of harassment and behavior considered sexist. Following the publication of the complainants’ statements in the national media, several voices within and outside the PSOE called for a review of the methods used to draw attention to and sanction this type of behavior, increasing pressure on the party leadership to strengthen the direction and transparency of its internal policies.
The media “Cuatro” explained that the José Tomé case adds to previous situations that also affected recognized figures of the PSOE, such as the presidential adviser Francisco Salazar and the socialist spokesman in Torremolinos, Málaga. This history has motivated representatives in Parliament to emphasize the commitment of political parties to ensure safe spaces and effective systems to protect against violence or gender discrimination within their ranks. Although the PSOE’s internal procedures provide for the handling of harassment complaints, they have been questioned both in their functioning and in public perception as to their actual ability to provide satisfactory answers to victims.
The television station pointed out that the allegations against José Tomé relate to various types of behavior, such as: Examples include non-consensual physical altercations, telephone interactions described by the complainants as inappropriate, and the transmission of images deemed inappropriate, all related to a shared work activity. Although those affected made use of the process provided by the party itself, the repeated emergence of complaints raised questions about the efficiency and transparency of these mechanisms. Various political groups and institutional representatives have called for the PSOE to intervene “clearly and decisively” in the face of the repetition of complaints and questions about its internal management.
According to Cuatro, the visibility of the testimonies on television has played a crucial role in strengthening citizens’ perception of the problem and doubling the pressure on party structures to provide clear public answers. The debate has spread to other institutional areas and calls for strengthening both prevention procedures and accountability in cases of alleged sexual harassment. The media treatment of the case and the reporting of the complainants’ voices have brought the issue not only onto the political agenda but also into public opinion, reflecting the impact that the internal handling of these complaints has on the image of the PSOE and the trust that political structures inspire in the face of acts of discrimination or gender-based violence.
As reported by the media, the series of active and previous cases, as well as the media dissemination of victims’ stories, has led to calls for the PSOE leadership to review and adapt its internal protocols. The aim, according to demands expressed both inside and outside the party, is to strengthen the guarantees for the prevention and handling of complaints, so as to strengthen both the trust of citizens and the perception that the institutions have effective tools to combat harassment and sanction inappropriate behavior within their ranks.
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