Creeping Hands And Red Flags: workplace sexual harassment

Posted on 31 May, 2018

The #metoo movement found life in our Facebook newsfeeds.

We were privy to stories of assault and harassment, of disgusting comments and the stonewall silence those stories and allegations met. The horrifying fact of the #metoo movement was just how prevalent these stories were, but there was an accompanying sadness that nestled into your bones when you realised how unsurprising it all was.

According to the 2016 Australia Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey, 1 in 5 women had experienced sexual harassment during their lifetime. This averages out to around 5 million women.

I recently joined this incredibly unexclusive club. I went to my very professional place of work in my very professional attire and was told by a senior staff member that he needed me to sit in his lap to help with his computer problems.

I always thought I’d be like a bull to a red flag when confronted with such behaviour, instead, I turned out to be someone that quietly slipped out of his office to the safety of my desk. Upon reflection, there were lots of little red flags that I made exceptions for and I’m still not sure why I did.

That night I went home and told my boyfriend what had happened and said the words I never thought I would; it’s probably my fault anyway. How’s that for social conditioning.

This line coupled with unwanted pecks on the cheek, unwanted strokes of the shoulder and sweetheart where he should have been saying my name, is not the worst case of sexual harassment in the workplace by any means but this type of behaviour is entrenched in our workplaces.

We often dismiss a hand on the shoulder as harmless but that hand can so quickly turn into a hand on the knee and then it’s something else altogether.

Silence can so effortlessly be manipulated to sound like consent that when you call HR and they ask if you rebuffed their advances. There’s pang of guilt when you reply with a quiet ‘no’.

This behaviour has gone unchecked for too long and the people responsible have enjoyed a position of power afforded to them through the uncomfortable silence of others. If there’s one positive thing Hollywood has taught us it’s that time’s up.

Pick up the phone and make the call with the knowledge that your only crime was going to work expecting to be treated with professionalism.

You’re not alone, there are thousands of people saying #metoo.