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Spain\u2019s ruling socialist party, which has been battered by a barrage of corruption allegations and political setbacks<\/a>, is scrambling to reassert its feminist credentials after being accused of failing to act on sexual misconduct by senior men in the party.<\/p>\n Pedro S\u00e1nchez appointed 11 women and six men to his cabinet when he became prime minister in 2018, saying his Spanish Socialist Workers\u2019 party (PSOE) was \u201cunmistakably committed to equality\u201d<\/a> and to reflecting recent changes in Spanish society.<\/p>\n But seven years on a slew of allegations of sexual harassment \u2013 and the PSOE\u2019s response to them \u2013 have led some women in the party to call for urgent action.<\/p>\n The party\u2019s travails date back to July, when Francisco Salazar<\/a>, who had overseen institutional coordination at the Moncloa palace in Madrid \u2013 the office and official residence of the prime minister \u2013 resigned. The online newspaper elDiario.es had published allegations<\/a> of sexual harassment against him by women in the PSOE.<\/p>\n At the time, sources at Moncloa said an investigation had been launched, but added that no official complaints had so far been made against Salazar. However, it has emerged in recent days that internal PSOE complaints lodged against Salazar by two female party members had been ignored for five months<\/a>. The PSOE admitted \u201ca lack of diligence\u201d but said the failure to act had been the result of a computer system error.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, S\u00e1nchez fired Salazar\u2019s former right-hand man, Antonio Hern\u00e1ndez, for allegedly helping to cover up his boss\u2019s alleged behaviour. Hern\u00e1ndez has denied any such wrongdoing, while Salazar has said he could not recall any inappropriate interactions.<\/p>\n Then on Wednesday, Jos\u00e9 Tom\u00e9, a senior PSOE politician in the north-western province of Lugo who had been accused of sexual misconduct by several women, resigned from his posts. Tom\u00e9 insisted he had been the victim of a \u201cset-up\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n The PSOE\u2019s commitment to feminism and equality was tarnished over the summer when recordings emerged of the former transport minister, Jos\u00e9 Luis \u00c1balos, and one of his aides, Koldo Garc\u00eda Izaguirre, apparently discussing the various attributes of different sex workers. Defence lawyers for the accused have sought to question the authenticity of the recordings, but police analysis has suggested they have not been manipulated.<\/p>\n On Sunday three senior female members of the party called in an opinion piece in El Pa\u00eds<\/a> for \u201cprofound transformations that guarantee, full, real and effective equality\u201d. Adriana Lastra, a former PSOE deputy secretary general, has also urged the party to fulfil its commitment to \u201cwomen\u2019s independence, safety and freedom\u201d and to hand over details of the Salazar case to prosecutors<\/a>.<\/p>\n