Many of us think sexual harassment in the workplace has become extinct. It hasn’t.
A few years ago, Melbourne accountant Jemma Ewin woke up after a night out with workmates with cuts and bruises and no memory of the night before.
Just weeks before the terrifying incident, she had complained to her employer, Living and Leisure Australia Ltd, that she was being sexually harassed by contractor Claudio Vergara, 40.
The response? To “get on with it”.
Ms Ewin, 36, still can’t remember exactly what happened that night – but she is adamant that she was drugged before passing out. A police investigation later found Mr Vergara’s semen on her shoes, and discovered that his swipe card had been used to enter their office at the same time Ms Ewin was there.
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I was working in a temp job on an enormous construction site in London. I complained about the continual sexual harassment (catcalling, getting pinched, leered at, men making masturbatory gestures etc etc). Since I was a temp, my contract was terminated that day. I was so furious I physically rocked up to the temp agency and said that I would take them to whatever the employment tribunal was in London at the time. They ended up paying me the salary of that particular job until I found another job (using another agency).
I once burst into tears in my manager's office, explaining to him that I was anxious to come to work due to a co-worker (A) harassing me. He told me 'oh that's just how A is'. Afterwards the manager went around telling people I had 'overreacted'. It was then I realised the workplace was a real boys' club. I could have gone to HR, but I was new at the job and didn't want to create hassle for the manager or for A, who everyone obviously loved, that could potentially result in me either not making it past the probation period or never being considered for career development. I'm sure many people will agree that executing your rights, even though they are indeed your rights, can cause tension and awkwardness in a workplace. I ended up telling the harasser that his touching was inappropriate and made me feel very uncomfortable and he looked completely taken aback because his harassing was so accepted by the entire workplace. He stopped doing it after that.