The 'Cuomo Factor': Do Russian-speaking immigrants face harassment in the United States?

In early August, a New York Attorney's Office report was released, according to which State Governor Andrew Cuomo was accused of sexually harassing many women, including employees of his office. New York Attorney General Laetitia James stressed that the Democratic governor thereby violated state and federal laws. In particular, the loving politician groped women, tried to kiss them, climbed under their skirts, grabbed them by the chest, and most importantly, according to the victims, he tried to take revenge on the women who refused him, thereby creating a completely unbearable and toxic workplace environment.

Photo: Shutterstock

In turn, the opinion of Russian-speaking immigrants about Cuomo was almost equally divided. Among the supporters of the Democratic Party, there were many people, including women, justifying the governor. The main argument that the defenders of Cuomo point out is the allegedly excessive suspiciousness of American women, in which even innocent jokes, compliments and courtship are perceived as sexual harassment.

Flirting or violence

There is some truth in such suspicions. Indeed, some American women can be absolutely genuinely indignant if men open the door for them, and there are even cases of written complaints about such actions. With a similar problem faced and an immigrant from Ukraine Yakov Kalyuta... The young man legally lived in the United States and worked all day at a construction site to support his family: his wife and three children. One day, while sitting in a cafe, he saw that the girls at the next table had something hit the floor. Just at that moment, Yakov went to get a new portion of food (the cafe was self-service), and obligingly offered his help.

As a result, the girls suspected an attempt at harassment in his gesture and turned to the police. As it turned out, the applicants were minors and decided that the immigrant's ultimate goal would be to attempt to rape them. The result of the misunderstanding was long court proceedings and even the threat of imprisonment, since the immigrant, who spoke poorly in English, could not understand the essence of the charges and choose the right line of defense for a long time.

On the subject: How a billionaire lost $ 250 million after harassment charges

At the same time, it is clear that Cuomo's case is not about innocent flirting, but about abuse of power and violence, at least psychological. These factors, according to the conclusion of the prosecutors, are especially unacceptable. "It was an environment in which you couldn't say no to the governor, and if you upset him or anyone in leadership, you could be written off, promoted, or worse.", - says one of the leaders of the investigation Jun Kim.

So, a situation in which the victim cannot say “no” without negative consequences for her is automatically abuse, and an attempt to force her into certain relationships when a person clearly demonstrates his unwillingness to enter into them is violence. By the way, girls from Russia also faced similar violence, especially those who, due to their immigration status or negative stereotypes, were the most vulnerable.

Without the right to defense

Maria, who remained in the United States on a student visa, was forced to work illegally. According to her, she had to go through real circles of hell: hard work 12 hours a day for nothing but a tip, boorish behavior of bosses - and notorious sexual harassment.

«While working in an Irish pub, I was faced with a real harassment, which, however, went through all the employees of the institution. The boss literally pinched us in the corners, pestered, and in case of refusal, he began to take revenge - for example, forcing us to work on the street under the scorching sun all day", - recalls Maria.

Now, looking back, the girl notes: those who find themselves in a similar situation have the opportunity to protect themselves, even if they work or are in the country illegally. For example, there are private detectives who can collect evidence of abuse by employers, and even the courts quite often side with illegal immigrants in such cases. However, at that time, Masha did not know this, besides, she did not have money and internal strength for such a struggle. In addition, it was impossible to guarantee that the identification of the fact of illegal work in court would not bring the girl problems in the future. This is exactly what unscrupulous employers took advantage of, realizing that the victim has almost no opportunity to protect himself.

Another problem Russian-speaking immigrants call stereotypes, under the influence of which any mention of sex in combination with a Russian / Ukrainian / Chinese immigrant and an influential American automatically launches a "spy" pattern in the minds of people.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

«When I was faced with real sexual harassment and even attempted rape by, shall we say, difficult Americans, I was bluntly told: “Don't try to make a fuss. You are from Russia, and no one will believe you ", - complains Nina (name changed).

Harassment without sex

And here is a more complicated case, which also happened not so long ago. Oksana (name changed) worked as an independent contractor in a fairly closed industry, but did not yet hold US citizenship. One highly respected and powerful specialist in the industry noticed a talented immigrant and decided to take advantage of her labors. To do this, using his influence, he systematically destroyed all other working contacts of the girl, closing communication exclusively on himself.

He built the process of this communication in a rather intimate way, showering the victim with compliments, persuading him to work for him free of charge and in every possible way emphasizing the special informal nature of their relationship. Oksana repeatedly made it clear that she was not satisfied with this style, and she would prefer to live and work as before, to which the American replied almost in plain text that he would not allow this, and the girl could no longer change anything. Oksana confesses: she tried several times to find other business partners and gain protection, but everything was in vain - the connections and influence of her tormentor worked flawlessly. Seeing with her own eyes the capabilities of an American, the girl was simply afraid to refuse him, not without reason fearing that such a person could completely destroy her life. However, in the end, he tried to do it anyway, when he changed jobs, and he no longer needed a new "toy". As a result, the girl had to leave the industry, in which she achieved considerable success.

On the subject: Through harassment and domestic violence: how an immigrant from Russia achieved success in the USA

Formally, it is very difficult to accuse this person of sexual harassment, although the "special" nature of the relationship that he built with his victim, most likely, had a completely sexual connotation. However, the problem lies not in the jokes, compliments and emphasized informality themselves, which in a different context would sound absolutely innocent, namely, abuse and violence. The American had no right to use his influence to force the girl to work for him, and even more so not to let her leave, blackmailing her with the fact that she would not have another opportunity to stay in the professional community.

These cases make it clear why the victims are sometimes silent for decades, and only then they dare to tell about their experiences. The trouble is, they almost always lack the resources to achieve justice alone. Rich and powerful people can afford much better lawyers, and psychological abuse is infinitely more difficult than physical abuse. Blackmail, intrigue, deliberate creation of an unbearable or dangerous situation are methods that are obvious to the victim, but often invisible to others, and even more difficult to prove. Moreover, if program assistance to victims of domestic violence works almost without interruptions, there is no single template for dealing with different types of abuse in working relationships. However, this does not mean that such things should be tolerated.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Two former assistants to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo accused him of harassment in the beginning of March. From that moment on, the threat of impeachment hung over him.
• Andrew Cuomo's office has scrapped plans to select an investigator to investigate the sexual harassment allegations against him. The office said it would instead ask the state attorney general and the appellate judge to select a lawyer to conduct an independent review.
• New York Attorney General Laetitia James closed an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on August 3. She concluded that Cuomo actually molested several women... He denies the accusations against him.
• Cuomo faced serious criticism after it was revealed that the death toll from COVID-19 in nursing homes in New York could be twice as high as officials say, because the administration Cuomo declined to say how many of the residents of these houses died from coronavirus in hospitals... This is the conclusion reached by State Attorney General Laetitia James.
• А The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Federal Attorney's Office in Brooklyn open an investigation into the coronavirus response team in the administration of Governor Andrew Cuomo... Particular attention is paid to the work of his administration with nursing homes at the beginning of the pandemic.
• In the State Assembly, even started talking about his impeachment... State GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy accuses Cuomo of ineffectively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic from the outset. His policies, according to the Republican, damaged the state's economy and led to the death of people.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Dozens of personalities and fake stories: how a girl lives when her illness makes her be a fraud

'Once you get involved in this, you won't come back': what happens at private parties in Silicon Valley

American philanthropy: how the system of assistance to the needy actually works in the USA

Air hostesses were not always on planes: when they began to be hired, and how requirements for them changed

Six popular stores that closed all points and went online forever

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.