Former Museum Attendant Talks About Why She Is Suing The San Diego Museum Of Art

Speaker 1: 00:00 So Lena [inaudible] the former museum attendant at the San Diego museum of art who publicly quit earlier this year has filed a sexual harassment complaint against the museum. She alleges that museum management fostered a culture that allowed sexual harassment to occur and is discriminatory against women of color employees. She joins me now to share why she's moving forward with this complaint. Hello, Selena. Welcome to midday edition. Speaker 2: 00:23 Hello, Ms. Kim, thank you for having me Speaker 1: 00:25 Again. I want to warn listeners that we will be discussing issues of sexual harassment that can be triggering and may not be appropriate for all audiences. Selena. You alleged that during your nearly five years of working at the San Diego museum of art, you and others were put in situations that made you feel unsafe because inebriated museum guests would try to kiss and grope staff what exactly happened at these events? Speaker 2: 00:48 Well, um, these events, um, by the names of culture and cocktails, don't bash, um, what they are, are there they're parties hosted by the museum. Um, all, all of them are also fundraisers. So this is one way that the museum gains money to run their establishment. You know, and so as museum attendance, my job was to protect the art and make sure that the art was not touched. And, um, also just general customer service. Uh, these events would also be mandatory shifts for museum attendance. So there was no really way to get out of these, even though quickly after beginning working at the museum, I came to realize, oh, these are actually, um, very, um, compromising shifts, you know, and what would happen was as museum attendance, we would be prone to either, um, physical harassment and aggressiveness or sexual harassment, many times by guests who would get so inebriated. And, and it was very detrimental. Now the museum provides these drinks. So therefore it's the museum's responsibility, not to mention that this was my job. This is my workplace. And these parties, even though they fund the arts, it it's done in such a unethical way because it personalizes the safety and wellbeing of its workers. Speaker 1: 02:18 You said that you talked to museum management about this. What did they say it and what actions did they well, Speaker 2: 02:24 Um, what happened was I got sexual assault training. And as I started to see this video, I realized, oh, all of the video what's describing, according to the California law, all of these experiences are mine and, or I've heard of other, um, museum attendants have, who have had these experiences. And so I, I, I remember I told, um, Ms. Claire, our, our HR, you know, I love the way that museum attendance experienced sexual harassment is actually at these events. And it has a lot to do with the amount of alcohol that is served because there's no portion control, there's no volume control. And, um, as I started to detail my own experience with being, um, inappropriately touched and harassed at the museum, and also seeing guests, um, in appropriately, um, touch the private parts of nude statues, all of that, according to California law, according to this video training, all of that was sexual harassment. Speaker 2: 03:31 And so as I, as I told them, my story, their response was, what did you tell your lead? And the truth was, and then truth is still is that there was no way because I was positioned in the middle of a dance floor trying to protect this, this sculpture by Mexican artists, having a Marine. And that was my job, right. To protect the sculpture, but there was no one to protect me. And I, um, I'm sorry. I, um, I froze because I just wasn't, you know, like you don't expect to be inappropriately touched that your job and, and, and I couldn't see their face and it was very dark because again, this was a dance floor. Um, there's no way I could report that. There's no way I could say this person did that to me. So when I had that meeting with HR, they, they just, they didn't listen. They dismissed me and they kept on putting it on me. And I finally told them, look, we're not a nightclub. This is a museum. And we're museum attendance. There's no reason why we should come to work, feeling afraid. And there's no reason why we should come to work with the possibilities of being groped. Speaker 1: 04:57 It was Alina. I can hear in your voice. I mean, just recounting it, uh, what it's doing to you, how has this all impacted you and what made you decide to go public with this? Speaker 2: 05:06 Yes. Um, I loved my job as a museum attendant. Actually, what I was known for was talking to the children about the arts and I, I really wanted to continue with my job. I was one of their best workers not to mention that the museum, they pride themselves in their, um, Baroque, um, Spanish art. And that's what I studied. That's my undergrad thesis, you know, and I'm also trilingual. So I could talk to half of those. There's a touristy place, or I really could. I really delivered when it came to customer service and, and I just really loved my job. And for when I started to speak up in the fence of my life and art museum attendance lives and why it's not okay, that not taking, taking responsibility for how much alcohol is being provided and then add a sexual assault training. Um, and then again, when I spoke up in the fence of Asian lives, um, Asian-American lives when I realized that one of their upcoming exhibitions would not be appropriate, given the harassment and the dangerous that Asian-American people have been facing with what, the type of racism that has come because of the pandemic, I is just degraded in the graded and I wasn't listened to. Speaker 2: 06:28 And it got to a point where no, it felt like I was in an abusive relationship. You know, where I realized it doesn't matter how skilled I am. It doesn't like all of the good things that I bring to this place. It's not valued. My life is not valued. There is no policy change. I, I brought up the sexual harassment stuff, six months, at least six months prior, and nothing was changed. No investigation happened, no policy changes I had suggested. And I realized I can't continue. I actually have to go. But when I decided to do that, I was like, I don't want this to happen to any other coworker. Um, particularly because I know that many of my coworkers are college age students. And I just like, I don't want this to keep on going on. And so I, when the moment that I S I quit, I said, I want to keep this institution accountable. I could not do that through the medium, like HR would not listen to me, but director would not listen to me. My own supervisors would not listen to me. And so that's when I decided to go public. And it started with the change.org petition for workers rights. And actually, you know, the reception of that was phenomenal. It turns out that I wasn't the only one and more stories to start it in the comments. You can see other previous employers who say, I, I I've been there. Speaker 1: 07:54 He PBS did reach out to the San Diego museum of art. A spokesperson says the museum does not comment on pending litigation, but they have hired a third-party investigator to look into the allegations. And they're conducting diversity equity and inclusion trainings for all staff. Do you think this is a step in the right direction? Speaker 2: 08:12 I would hope so, but honestly, I have my doubts only because that investigation did not start, um, that it should have been a sexual assault should have been investigated right away. When I reported it in an August of last year, they only started it when I became, when I came public with the petition, to be honest, I, I hold hesitancy. Um, and I took, but I don't, I still think that change should come to the museum, but it has to be real change. It has to be genuine change. And it starts with accountability. Speaker 1: 08:50 I've been speaking with [inaudible] a former San Diego art museum employee who has filed a sexual harassment complaint against the museum. Thank you so much for your time today. Thank you, Ms. Kim.