Amsterdam alderman Laurens Ivens resigns over
offensive comments to female colleagues
SEXUAL
HARASSMENT
MONDAY,
JULY 5, 2021 - 16:37
The Amsterdam alderman in charge of the city's housing
policies has resigned in the wake of a series of a series of complaints about
comments he made in communication to city workers between 2019 and 2021.
Laurens Ivens stepped down from his position effective immediately, Mayor Femke
Halsema and Ivens wrote in separate letters to the Amsterdam City Council.
About ten
different city workers, all women, filed complaints against Ivens during that
time either formally or informally. "In all cases, the complaints do not
relate to physical contact, but concern comments that have been experienced as
overwhelming, transgressive or even sexualizing," Ivens wrote in his
resignation. He said he should have been more considerate of the fact that
there is a power disparity between an alderman serving as part of the city's
executive board, and city officials.
Halsema
said it was clear that "the behavior of the alderman has had a negative
impact" on the people who complained about Ivens.
"I
offer my sincere apologies to the employees involved," he said. Ivens also
downplayed the severity of the individual comments, but said that combined they
show a pattern of inappropriate behavior.
Halsema
said she was first notified of unwanted e-mails Ivens sent to a civil servant in
2019, and was notified of "possible undesirable behavior" directed
towards another. Halsema said she discussed this with him directly.
Five more
reports were made against him in the autumn of 2020, which pushed the city to
look closer at the alderman's behavior. Halsema and a top advisor to the
executive board held another meeting with Ivens and set down rules for his
engagement with other employees, Halsema wrote.
Four
employees made formal complaints at the beginning of 2021, though some of those
overlapped with other complaints. "As a result, I commissioned an
independent, external investigation," Halsema said.
"His
description is in line with the conclusions of the investigation. He indicates
that he is now very much aware that his behavior was inappropriate and
undesirable."
Halsema
conceded that because formal complaints were not filed until 2021, it made it
difficult for the city to investigate it. She pledged to do a better job
providing employees with follow-up care and guidance even if they make an
informal report about someone in a position of power. On this, she also asked
the full city council for feedback.
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