It would seem that despite my initial disappointment (11:11 (part 8)), and with the foresight of my attorney friend who insisted that I put in writing 'sexual harassment,' 'discrimination,' 'retaliation,' 'hostile work environment,' and the length of time since I initially spoke up in my resignation letter to the chairman of the board, they have started to take the investigation seriously and have spoken to at least two of the witnesses, as the ladies have reached out to me in confusion given the evasiveness of those investigating.
One seem to have had physical and emotional reaction after her meeting with the investigators. For the entire afternoon she was numb, wondering what she could have done differently, especially after she noticed my 'out of office' I have retired message on Skype. One of the married men (kissing my boo-boos) had cornered her in the coffee room to ask her about my personal life soon after the incident, as well as on a few other occasions. At the time, she had asked me how well I knew him as she thought it was odd but I did not disclose to her that he had trapped me in a hotel room.
We never discussed it again and as they questioned her, it dawned on her what occurred. In hindsight, she realized that she had seen all the signs based on my body language including shaking hands, but pushed it out of her mind. She was so shaken that she spoke to her partner the next day to take some time off starting this week, and reached out to me to meet for lunch today. For a week she could not shake the guilt. When she met another mutual friend yesterday, they discussed what occurred. The mutual friend asked her a simple question, and as she relayed it, her arms went numb for most of the car ride when she realized that it triggered a sexual assault that she had buried so deep since the age of 16.
She is still processing it but she feels as if she is being called to work for a not-for-profit or somehow get involved in helping women who have encountered sexual assaults/harassments. She was troubled that it took them so long to talk to her. I suggested that we not spend negative energy to get mad about that and can only do our part in doing the right thing (silver fox). As I told her, even if it helps change one life, even if it makes a small ripple, regardless of whether the firm holistically changes the culture and tone at the top, it would have been worth finding my voice and speaking up. She seems to be focusing on finding happiness herself, and I shared my journey in the last few months and my catharsis from unpacking it all. Hopefully, it was enough 'food for thought' for her as she heads to Hawaii to start unpacking hers.
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