Shortly after Marion Brown’s account of sexual harassment toppled a powerful congressman last fall, she returned to Washington on a frigid afternoon to ask for support from the lawmakers who had lauded her as a hero.

Wearing a smartly tilted fur cap, she left her business cards with aides who, to her, looked two generations her junior. She hoped for a reference, a lead on a new job, a bit of advice. She left the Capitol feeling disappointed, although lawmakers told Roll Call they want to do all they can to help.

Brown, 62, who spent 11 years as a Detroit-based outreach director to former Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers Jr., is among a handful of former congressional employees to publicly disclose sexual harassment allegations in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement. Their stories attracted a surge of media attention and inspired bipartisan legislation that unanimously passed the House and is making its way to the Senate.

But the hoped-for reckoning in Congress has sputtered, and several of the alleged victims say the publicity has done little to diminish the toll on their careers and personal lives.

“People try to be as nice as they can, but I’m still feeling the backlash,” Brown said.