A new national report has put the Indiana Statehouse squarely under the microscope, tying Hoosier power players to a broader reckoning over sexual harassment by elected officials. The National Women’s Defense League update, drawn from more than a decade of public reports and filings, names multiple Indiana figures and paints the problem as systemic, not just a few bad actors behaving badly.
What the Report Found
The league's "Abuse of Power" update documents at least 162 state officials and more than 424 distinct incidents between 2013 and 2025, and finds that about 93% of the accused are men while the partisan split is nearly even. According to the National Women’s Defense League, those counts are conservative, since many workplace incidents never make it into public records in the first place.
Indiana Names in the Report
Local reporting says the release includes several Indiana figures: former House Speaker Brian Bosma, former Attorney General Curtis Hill, Sen. Greg Taylor and Rep. David Niezgodski. As reported by the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Taylor is listed with six accusers, and Hill was added after allegations of unwanted touching at a 2018 post-session celebration.
Accountability Gaps and Recommendations
The league found stark accountability gaps: only about 30% of accused lawmakers face any formal consequences, and roughly 40% of those accused resign, while just seven accused officials have served jail time. That is a lot of allegations for not much follow-through.
The report calls for codifying sexual-harassment policies into statute, using independent third-party investigations, and adopting trauma-informed processes and transparency that protect survivors, steps the group says would reduce conflicts of interest and improve outcomes for staff and the public. According to the National Women’s Defense League, those reforms sit at the center of its recommendations.
Hoosier Reaction and What’s Next
Advocates and Statehouse watchers say the listing should push lawmakers to revisit internal complaint systems and ethics rules. Elise Shrock, an Indiana political strategist who sits on the league's advisory council, told reporters that "we work in close quarters with those who hold power," a reminder reported by the Indiana Capital Chronicle that staffers' livelihoods often depend on leaders' recommendations.
What to Watch
Watch whether Indiana lawmakers propose statutory fixes, independent complaint mechanisms or expanded training during the next legislative cycle. Advocates say public scrutiny could finally turn those talking points into concrete changes.
Local outlets, including WISH-TV, covered the report and the league's virtual news conference, and Statehouse leaders will face pressure to explain how complaints are handled going forward.
