Sexual Harassment Issues At The Workplace

The Workplace We highlight a victim’s rights in a professional setting and what to do if faced with sexual misconduct.

- Zurien Onn

It took one anonymous but explicitly detailed email by a purported former employee to get the ball rolling on investigations into sexual harassment allegations at a prominent business-oriented radio station, quite recently. The alleged misconduct by several senior-level and “influential” staff was stated to have been going on for years and even included alleged raping, yet the claims were not taken seriously by the company. Although the individual accused of rape was sacked, there were still others who continued to hound and intimidate female employees at the station through inappropriate language of a sexual nature sent via text messages, or, in the case of one senior staff, by showing up at the homes of female staff late at night and forcing them to come out.

These allegations detailed in the letter were in no way vague or subjective. If they are true, any thin line separating friendly banter between colleagues and clear-cut harassment has definitely been crossed. Yet, according to the letter, all the station’s management did was to have meetings with the accused men, with no other actions taken. They are said to be protected as they are well-known and popular in their industry.

However, following the anonymous letter going viral on social media and online news sites, the company finally took action and appointed an independent panel to assist in investigating the claims, resulting in the sacking of two employees at the station. Meanwhile, in a press statement, the owner of the station said that the company’s management acknowledged that “more could have been done to proactively gather evidence so that such misconduct could have been addressed in a more timely manner.”