
On the ABC, a three-part documentary series Silent No More tackles sexual harassment in the workplace.
Among many other brave and formidable women, one of the people featured in the documentary is me.
Except, ironically, you can’t actually know what happened to me. What precisely was done to me, which led me to being on your TV screens. You also can’t know how my employers handled the situation. You can’t know what happened to that perpetrator.
Despite the name of the documentary, Silent No More, I, for a large part, am legally silenced.
This is absolutely through no fault of the incredible documentary makers, who fought so hard for the inclusion of my story. Rather, the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) I signed when I resigned from the workplace after experiencing ongoing sexual harassment from this one employee.
“I had become terrified and physically sick with fear at work.”
I suppose one of the questions on your mind must be what compelled me to sign an NDA. I had just turned 18 when the perpetrator walked into my life. I was also 18 when I resigned and the settlement, including the NDA, was processed.
Now 21, I don’t think I’m far enough away from the experience to truly understand how my age impacted the situation. However, I am certain that when you’re 18 and your employers, colleagues and perpetrator aren’t, the imbalance of power between all parties is only tipped further.
At no age is it easy to stare down the barrel of a sexual harassment case, but when you’re 18 years old and receiving letters from lawyers, my mind said to get out. Fast.
When I first told my mum what this man was doing to me at work, I just wanted to resign. I didn’t want to report. I just so desperately wanted to get out. I had become terrified and physically sick with fear at work, that I wanted the fastest one-way route out of that place: resignation.