The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) has a protocol for prevention and intervention in situations of sexual harassment which obliges the organization to make available to victims both legal and judicial advice as help and psychological care.
These measures and other victim protection mechanisms must be adopted once the complaint has been admitted for processing and as part of a preliminary assessment.
However, the PSOE sources consulted by this newspaper avoid answering whether or not the formation adopted these victim protection measures in the Salazar affairdespite the fact that they are part of the obligations set out in the anti-harassment protocol. “We have to wait for the report to say what measures have been taken”they explain.
But the truth is that, according to the protocol itself, the report is subsequently prepared by an independent body which is then sent to the secretariat of the Organization, while protection actions must be activated. from the moment the facts are known.
The document – negotiated since 2021 with worker representatives and validated by the Federal Executive Commission – establishes that the PSOE “commits to adopting the necessary protective measures and mechanisms (…) which prevent the situation of harassment from continuing and generating greater harm for the victim”.
These mandatory measures also include the provision of information on all public resources available in matters of judicial, administrative or labor protection. All this must be communicated in writing to the complainant.
The protocol also specifies that when the facts could constitute an offense, they must be transmitted to the public prosecutor’s office. However, the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchezaffirmed a few days ago that the legal procedure could not be activated by the party, but must be carried out by the victim herself.
PSOE sources limited themselves to emphasizing that “the procedure is being followed”, without specifying what specific measures have been activated. It has also not been confirmed whether the complainant received official notification of the measures available to her, as required by the internal document.
Protective core
These measures These are not accessories: They are part of the core of the protection system that the PSOE claims to offer to ensure that complainants can face the process without reprisals and with sufficient institutional support.
Added to this is the fact that, in response to this newspaper, the party itself recognized a “lack of diligence in part of the process”. “We do not need to wait for the report to propose these measures. The PSOE apologized for this, but The protocol works and has been implemented“, they argue.
Ferraz’s secrecy contrasts with the level of procedural detail in the protocol, which outlines deadlines, phases and obligations, including the commitment of contact the parties individually and support them throughout the process.
Until a few weeks ago, the party had refused to comment on the matter, ensuring that it was not aware of the complaints against Francisco Salazar.
The controversy arose in early July, when Sánchez’s former advisor was going to be appointed deputy to the secretariat of the Organization of the PSOE by the Federal Committee after the triggering of the Cerdán affair.
But during the same morning, several complaints were published that led Salazar himself to resign from his mandate and resign from his position as a member of the Executive.
Pedro Sánchez has publicly assumed “direct responsibility” for the scandals affecting the government, without this resulting in real consequences for him.
The president called it a ‘mistake’ the fact that the party only dealt with complaints filed by two women against their former advisor through internal party channels five months later.
The organic response was limited to reproducing the pattern observed in other recent cases, such as those involving the former Secretary of the Organization. Santos Cerdan or the former minister Jose Luis Abalos—: the dismissal of the person concerned and his number two, Antonio Hernández.
In the Senate, PP and Vox accused the government and the PSOE of inaction and attempting to cover up the allegations of sexual harassment attributed to Salazar, emphasizing that the complaints were allegedly “bypassed” in the party’s internal channels.
The PP linked this affair to other episodes which, in its opinion, refute the feminist discourse defended by the Executive, also mentioning the controversial application of the law of only yes it’s yes.
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