Sexual abuse at work

You may have seen news articles lately about senior lawyers sexually abusing or harassing junior female staff.

The Law Society now takes these types of complaints very seriously, and the naming and shaming involved in a finding of misconduct by the Law Society will stay with the offender for the balance of their career.

However, for many (mostly female) victims of sexual abuse at work, the options are more limited. There are good reasons why someone may be hesitant about going to the Police to make a complaint. Unless there is clear evidence of non-consensual assault or abuse, the standard ploy is for the defendant to lawyer up and claim there was consent – hoping that it will be difficult to prove otherwise.

I had a phone call last week from a younger lady who had sexual relations with a senior manager, in a large national firm, on three occasions. Only on the first occasion could she clearly say that this was consensual.

The other two occasions were highly debatable, given that she had consumed a large amount of alcohol, given to her by her boss.

She believed a great career (earning over $100k) was now at an end, and she should at least move town if not move country, because she felt so ashamed to find herself in this position. For me one of the saddest things was that she had nobody in her life that she could trust for a confidential discussion about what to do next.

If there is anyone in that position, I can help with the employment law side of things, and I have great contacts working in the field of sexual abuse who can provide some help and advice.
Drop me an email or give me a call.