DEARBORN — On Tuesday, October 8, lawmakers, local leaders and past victims of sexual harassment gathered at the Lebanese American Heritage Club (LAHC) to send a unified message to the general public, under a newly formed group, the Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Harassment (CASAH).

The coalition aims to bring to light matters of sexual harassment and sexual assault, especially among the Arab American community, where a stigma has continued to prevail and, as a result, has discouraged victims from coming forward. 

CASAH plans to take the first steps in addressing some of those fears, by setting up a strong support system for victims to feel comfortable in coming forward.

Led by State Representative Rashida Tlaib and Contributing Editor of The Arab American News (TAAN) Rana Abbas, Tuesday’s press conference was backed by dozens of local leaders who stood by the two women.

Those who stood by their side included Hassan Jaber, executive director of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS); Ismael Ahmed, assistant provost at the University of Michigan-Dearborn; Nabih Ayad, founder and chairman of the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL); civil rights advocate and attorney Noel Saleh and TAAN Publisher Osama Siblani, among numerous others.

State Rep. Rashida Tlaib addresses the crowd during the press conference.

Attorney Tim Attalla took the podium to lead a pledge and asked the rest of the group to repeat the words, phrase-by-phrase. Some statements in the pledge included “I understand that sexual assault and harassment exists in our community,” and “If a friend discloses to me that they have been a victim…I will listen, not judge, and I will seek help from a trusted individual.”

The announcement of the coalition comes in the wake of the recent decision by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in a sexual harassment investigation against former Michigan Regional Director Imad Hamad. Tlaib and Abbas, former employees at the ADC-MI office, were the first women to come forward publicly against Hamad in May 2013, after Tlaib wrote an open letter to ADC, claiming that the organization had been ignoring sexual harassment claims made by several women since 2007.

“It’s not easy to admit you’re a victim of sexual assault or sexual harassment,” said Abbas, during the press conference. “From this day forward, we send a strong message to any victim of harassment, or assault, that they have a support system in place. They have someone to turn to, so they do not have to face a painful and humiliating experience on their own.”

ADC has been widely criticized, since their announcement last week, claiming there was “insufficient evidence” in determining whether Hamad sexually harassed several female employees. Since then, Tlaib has issued her own statements, expressing her dismay and concern, regarding the investigation and has demanded that ADC release the investigation report.

After the claims garnered national media attention last June, ADC suspended Hamad from his duties and hired a private attorney, Teri Gorman, to investigate the claims. Gorman interviewed several women, who had similar claims against Hamad, and submitted her findings to ADC in September.  The organization recently released contradictory statements, regarding the findings of the investigation, which initially stated that the hired investigator had issued a determination, but later clarified that the ADC board had, in fact, “exclusively” made the final determination in the case.

ADC announced that Hamad would return as a temporary adviser to help assist interim ADC-MI Director Abed Ayoub. Many concerns have been raised over their decision, with some even fearing that it could discourage other victims of sexual harassment or assault from coming forward, as the claims did not generate appropriate action from the organization. 

As a result of ADC’s actions during the course of the investigation, the coalition will also aim to enhance laws in the State of Michigan that address sexual harassment in the workplace and ensure that the rights of victims are protected during that process. 

Tlaib and Abbas say that they want to ensure appropriate measures are taken in such cases, so that sexual harassment claims aren’t ignored, or even worse, victims aren’t subjected to ridicule, or retaliation in the work place, after making such claims.

“For almost a decade, I carried around the shame of my experience and the guilt of not doing more to end it… I could not bring myself to accept what was happening to me, and I had no one to turn to,” Abbas added.    

Also in attendance at Tuesday’s press conference were former ADC-MI Advisory Board members Ali Hammoud, Mariam Bazzi, and Siham Awada-Jaafar, who all submitted their resignations to ADC last month, citing a lack of transparency from ADC National, as their reasons for doing so. Jaafar applauded Tlaib and Abbas for being brave enough to address these concerns in the public eye.

“I think it’s a wonderful conversation to have, and I think people should be coming forward. This kind of issue should not be hidden, or thrown under the rug,” Jaafar told TAAN. “I also think with Rana and Rashida being strong and moving forward, it offsets the negative message of any situation of this nature. The strength of these women speaks volumes and gives courage for others to do the same.” 

While dozens turned out to back the coalition and its message, the concern over community members and religious leaders, who seem to dismiss sexual harassment claims, was also prevalent. 

Speaking with TAAN, Tlaib said that a recent letter, written by a few Imams in the community, which asked ADC to consider re-instating Hamad as Regional Director if he issued an apology, struck a nerve with her.

Tlaib issued a message to religious leaders and local community members, who may have doubted the sexual harassment claims in the past. 

“It’s haram to turn your backs on your daughters, mothers and sisters. Some men are actually using our community, because of our cultural stigmas around sexual assault and harassment, to continue being sexual predators,” Tlaib says. “We should understand that it’s haram to turn our backs on the fact that this is happening. Just like we must recognize that we have to deal with matters, like HIV and domestic violence in our community, we have to recognize that we need to deal with this matter too. It’s important for them to understand that if they don’t recognize what’s happening, it won’t just go away.”    

While CASAH is still in its early stages, Tlaib and Abbas are encouraging, not only Arab and Muslim women, but all women, or men who have experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault, to contact Tlaib’s State House of Representatives office at 517.373.0823, or 877.852.4212, if they are in need of support, or assistance.