The following statement was prepared by Allison Bivens of the Indiana Abortion Doula Collective for a September 23 press conference calling for Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s resignation. The statement has been reproduced in full here with the permission of Bivens.
Indiana Abortion Doula Collective endorses Councilor Jesse Brown’s call for the resignation of Mayor Joe Hogsett.
The Collective formed to support Hoosiers before, during, and after abortion care locally, and to advocate and take action for reproductive justice globally. “Doula” means servant and that is a role we take seriously. We are servants to our clients as they access their human right to reproductive justice and servants to the people of Indianapolis and everywhere as they demand justice from government.
Mayor Hogsett calls himself a public servant. But it is clear that he has lost the plot, if he ever had it.
When the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that the state’s abortion ban doesn’t violate the state constitution, allowing the almost total ban to go into effect, Mayor Hogsett had strong words.
He said: “This ruling is a bad decision that upholds terrible policy, and Indiana women will be less safe as a result.”
But here—in his own office, where the rubber meets the road—the Mayor makes bad decisions upholding terrible policy. Refusing to use his power to investigate and to take action. Refusing—until outside pressure forced him—to change terrible policy that offered no clear pathway for city employees to report harassment. And Indiana women were less safe as a result.
He said: “Full access to reproductive healthcare should be a fundamental right and Hoosier women deserve the autonomy to make these personal decisions.”
We say full transparency in government should be a fundamental right and Hoosier women deserve more than autonomy. They deserve justice. They deserve equal access to power.
He said: “Just as I fought against these changes in state law, I will continue to fight at the Statehouse for the restoration of full reproductive healthcare in Indianapolis.”
But when Mayor Hogsett had the power to fight for women, he did nothing.
Even as he pays lip service to abortion rights, Hogsett fails at every turn to take any action to protect women directly in his administration. At a Democratic rally earlier this month, Mayor Hogsett slurred to the crowd “I ain’t running for nothing. I’m running from things, but I ain’t running for nothing.”
Joe: You don’t fight—you run!
Thomas Cook was disciplined three times over the years before he was allowed to resign. Hogsett then brought Thomas Cook back to help run his 2023 re-election campaign.
Mayor Hogsett ignored survivors complaints via direct emails to him for years. He now asserts investigations into those complaints were initiated, but provides no proof. To this day, he refuses to meet with survivors.
Those close to the Mayor have colluded to silence victims since the first accusations were levied in 2017. Now a majority Democrat investigative panel wants us to believe it will hire its own legal firm to investigate its colleagues fairly. Democratic Council members sit in that chamber and claim victim anonymity to avoid releasing reports even as survivors demand their voices be heard publicly.
Sexual harassment exists within a greater culture of injustice. A hierarchical culture of oppression in which those at the top hold all the power. A misogynistic culture that devalues and objectifies women. When men at the highest levels of power in the city of Indianapolis abuse and silence women, a rape culture is created. When women and men near the highest levels of power in the city of Indianapolis betray truth and justice in order to cling to these men for proximal power, this culture is girded, reinforced, and perpetuated.
What we have here is a Mayor’s Office that is not accountable to the people.
We stand with Lauren Roberts, Caroline Ellert and all survivors of Joe Hogsett’s office culture of sexual harassment, oppression, and injustice. Today we amplify survivor Lauren Roberts’ words:
Joe Hogsett—you are a coward.
The people of Indianapolis demand better than leaders who joke about their failure to protect the vulnerable. The people of Indianapolis deserve better than leaders who collude to create a culture of silence. The people of Indianapolis deserve better than a Mayor who runs from accountability.
COWARD Mayor Hogsett: You have lost our trust. The time for investigation is over. The people of Indianapolis demand your resignation.
Featured image: Allison Bivens (pictured left) with the Indiana Abortion Doula Collective holds sign at Monday, September 23 rally at Lugar Plaza.
