When Toxic Work Culture Adds To The Trauma Of Sexual Misconduct

Sexual misconduct can be fatal. A heartbreaking reminder of that reality came in July with the sudden passing of Krista Carle, a former RCMP constable who took her own life after battling the trauma of sexual harassment at the hands of Canada’s iconic police force.

It’s a measure of just how hideous sexual harassment can be, and how consequential its mishandling by organizations, that otherwise strong, brave women who have shown they can walk down a dark alley alone late at night to answer a call for help cannot always walk out of the dark shadows that overtake their lives when they are confronted by the monster of sexual misconduct.

I have often wondered if our workplaces need a surgeon general-type warning that sexual misconduct can be dangerous to our health. For some time, I’ve been writing about the physical and emotional costs to victims of sexual misconduct who have tried to stand up against abuses in the workplace. PTSD, depression, sleep disturbances and high blood pressure are common among them.

For many, these become conditions that last for the rest of their lives. And for others, the harm unleashed by sexual misconduct can be terminal.

Many organizations actually add to the emotional trauma, if not other risks, faced by women who come forward.

A major study published in 2016, for instance, shows that among U.S. veterans, military sexual trauma (the term the military uses to refer to sexual assault and threatening sexual harassment) “was associated with elevated rates of current major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder; past history of suicide attempt and current suicidal ideation…”

No comparable studies are available in Canada, but most health care professionals will quickly admit there’s a close link between incidents of sexual misconduct and adverse health outcomes.

Yet, as both an advocate and a victim myself, I have seen little evidence that enough organizations fully grasp the gravity of this workplace epidemic and the overpowering waves of harm it can produce. It is rare to find among them a true victim-centred culture when addressing sexual misconduct complaints.

GOLUBOVY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Worse still, by their inept and unfeeling responses to victims, and their botched handling of incidents when they are reported, many organizations actually add to the emotional trauma, if not other risks, faced by women who come forward.

Victim narratives tell the story. There are the demotions and reduced hours that suddenly appear after a complaint is filed, the so-called investigations that wind up placing the victim’s character and actions under a microscope, and the co-workers who are encouraged to ostracize the victim to make her feel unwanted. Sometimes the workplace becomes so toxic that the victim has no choice but to quit. Then, the search for another job opens up a whole new nightmare. A sense of betrayal is commonly reported by victims in the aftermath of coming forward.

What we don’t see are the women who never come forward because they are no longer with us.

Using a number of lived experiences, I shared one horror story after another with the MPs who were considering amendments to the federal government’s anti-harassment legislation last spring. The indifference captured by their silence spoke volumes. It is the same silence that too many victims encounter as they try desperately to rebuild their lives and careers.

Nearly every organization today professes zero tolerance for sexual misconduct. But we need to get a whole lot more serious about removing the avoidable harm that insensitive responses and the misbehaviour of bad actors at the top creates

It may seem like a lot of women have come forward at this historic time of reckoning. What we don’t see are the women who never come forward because they are no longer with us — the ones who were not able to emerge from the dark shadows of rejection and despair. It is the great unmet need of #MeToo, and all of us, to bring victims of sexual misconduct back into the light by ending workplace practices that lead to irreparable harm.

Taking up that standard is the best way to honour the memory of Krista, and all the others who have fallen in the battle to make our workplaces safer and our humanity more respected.

Have you been affected personally by this or another issue? Share your story with Kathleen Finlay at The Zer0NowCampaign. 

 

Krista Carle | Appreciation

A P P R E C I A T I O N

Krista Carle

 Victim of the horrors of sexual misconduct at the RCMP, Champion in helping others to overcome theirs.

By now it is widely known that sexual harassment in the workplace can be life-altering. What is too often overlooked is that it can also be life-ending.

That was the tragic outcome for former RCMP constable Krista Carle, who took her own life in July after suffering the after-effects of the sexual harassment and bullying incidents that led to her resignation from the force. She was 53. Read the full appreciation & update…

Kathleen Finlay interviewed in The Hill Times

Leadership is about more than “She said – He said”

Kathleen Finlay Interviewed in London Free Press

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION?

Public disclosure of annual harassment statistics and a ban on non-disclosure agreements will go a long way to preventing sexual harassment of women in the workplace, an advocate says.

“Until we start to get a better picture, we won’t be able to measure any kind of progress,” Kathleen Finlay, founder of the anti-harassment Zero Now Campaign, says.

Zero Now is calling for government and other publicly funded institutions to provide annual reports on the number of complaints received, the outcome of the complaints and financial settlements reached.

The Chill of a Tirade

Two recent high-profile stories raise the spectre of a chilling effect on the willingness of women to come forward when they believe they have been the victim of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace. 

Read former NBC News Anchor Tom Brokaw’s attack  on Linda Vester, who says he sexually assaulted her.

More than 60 prominent women take his side, while NBC refuses to investigate, just like what was done by his company in the early Harvey Weinstein days. Goodbye, #MeToo?

When it comes to sexual misconduct, research shows the danger is not one of false claims.  Less than one percent are found to be false.  The real problem is that women fear coming forward to report wrongdoing and seek redress for legitimate claims.  When three out of four women who experience sexual harassment never report it out of fear of being shamed or disbelieved, or worse, more women are placed at risk because of unremediated workplace harms.  

Men who feel they have been unfairly accused have every right to exercise a defence, even a spirited one.  But surely highly experienced journalists, and others, need to make it clear that their strongly voiced comments should in no way be taken as to dissuade women at risk or those who feel their rights have been abused (sexual assault and sexual harassment are violations of protective laws in most jurisdictions) from coming forward.  

Shame on NBC for not filling this important role in the wake of Mr. Brokaw’s heated remarks. And shame on them for slow-walking their so-called internal investigation of past abuses that is being conducted by their inside legal counsel whose first duty is to protect her client — not the women who now work, or have worked, at NBC.  Mr. Brokaw is still employed by NBC News.  Its reputation is already stained by several episodes of workplace misconduct at the highest levels.  The network announced that it will not investigate the latest incident, putting NBC back in the same pre-scandal days when Harvey Weinstein’s company refused to investigate his misconduct.

Yet barely a whisper of criticism has been heard — including among the high-powered voices like Time’sUp and Vox whom we’ve reached out and invited to weigh in. Silence has been too damaging to women in the  past to be accepted at this point and on this issue.   

TVO host Steve Paikin cleared by investigator after sexual harassment accusations

In her report, investigator Rachel Turnpenney said while there is no doubt Sarah Thomson genuinely believes Paikin propositioned her, the evidence brought forward by Thomson and others does not support her account of what happened.

Here’s the forgotten reality in all of this — especially as it pertains to the forgotten women of the everyday workplace. Most victims would not be able to withstand the heavy incoming barrage from columnists and on Twitter if they are not believed or cannot produce air-tight evidence to prove their claims, which is often the case.  

Every day I hear from these women, and the nightmares that have overtaken their lives as a result of coming forward and speaking out. The fear of not being believed already holds too many back from speaking out.  Even rare cases like the two above are enough to set the gains of the last months back and create another dark age for women in the workplace. Yet few are  really talking about that fear and the extra steps everyone needs to take to remind women that it is safe to report wrongdoing.  Is this what becomes of #MeToo?