Flash forward to 1995. Believe it or not I did not have another
incident of harassment until 1995 and I must be more discreet now as I live in
this area where it happened. The person I
worked, after I had been there for 6 months, began making advancing to me by
putting his hand on my knee and saying things like “stick with me, I’ll teach
you . . .” I was uncomfortable, needed the job, not sure
if it was harassment or just invasive behaviour. I would stiffen and he would stop but then he
became aggressive in a different way and would throw things at me until one day
he actually threw a screwdriver at me from all the way across the room. I had
to put up my hand to deflect it from me and of course it stabbed me in my
palm. Two weeks later I had my annual
review and he refused to give me a raise after one year. I was livid and said it was
unacceptable. He would not budge. I went for my lunch, came back and told him I
quit. He said when? I said right now and out I walked. I was beside myself driving home because
Prime Minister Martin had said that anyone who quit their job would not get
unemployment so I was nervous as all heck but I swore on the way home that if I
had to starve in the ditch I would never, ever put up with a year of working in
a poisonous environment. I grew bone in
the nose (Danish saying) and a rhinoceros skin.
Lucky for me that the person I
met with at the Employment office was shocked beyond belief when I told her
what I had gone through and she said “you have been sexually harassed and you
should go to the Labour Standards Board.”
I wasn’t going to pursue it but a friend called me that night and told me
that the perp (yep, that’s what I’ll call him) was telling everyone he had
fired me. I got mad then and so I did
call the Labour Standard Board. They
were extraordinarily supportive, told me I was brave to pursue this and 100%
supported me through the process. The
perp got his just desserts, had to pay me a certain amount of money. After which you would not believe how many
women in the town suddenly came to me to tell me they too had been harassed by
him. I wish they had come forward sooner
but I think no one knew anything about the case until they heard I had got
money out of him. How that came out I am
not sure because I never said anything so I think the folks he employed spilled
the beans. It was all over town in less
than a week.
That was the last episode that I
had of personal harassment. But when I
started working in downtown Calgary in 2000 I heard a lot of stories from
colleagues on their experiences. The
town had changed since I worked for the law firms back in the ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. A lot of lawyers got into trouble because
they were notorious for having Friday afternoon drinking parties and things got
out of hand. I had never attended any of
those functions in either of the 2 firms I worked with so I never got accosted
by anyone. I was considered a “staid
married woman” even though I wasn’t married there is no doubt that I was staid. But after some serious suits the law firms
were very, very strict. Not so other
professions apparently. And the ladies’
experiences were not good as the human resources departments were on the side
of the company not the employee and most of the ladies had to find work
elsewhere as they were blackballed inside the company. Shameful but true. Victim shaming? Troublemaker?
As an assistant one is not valued in the same way as an engineer,
project manager, salesman or male professional.
It’s disgusting and still going on today. 
Solutions? I wish I had an answer except to say that
women need to stop being silent, support each other and go to a lawyer if the
firm does not pony up when they say “we take harassment and bullying situations
very seriously” but don’t.
Ladies – stand together and let’s
get this thing right so our daughters won’t have to suffer through the
experiences we’ve had to endure. And men
– start thinking with something above the waist. Hmm?
