~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE WASH RAG published by Women Against Sexual Harassment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Available on-line ASAP at http://www.washrag.org/ along with earlier issues ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subscribe to e-mail version of this newsletter by joining the group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenAgainstSexualHarassmentNational ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Issue 13, Number 3 September, 2005 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contents (hint: use the find function under edit to go to a specific article) Long-Time Police Woman Sexually Harassed Rape Not A Federal Offense Air Force Academy Rape Case Shelved! Military court kills appeal in AFA sex case Norma Drago Update Sex Abuse At Military Academies News From WASH California Rules Favoritism Along With a Sexual Relationship Is Sexual Harassment Film North Country Explores Sexual Harassment Perpetrator Is Fired After Harassment Complaint Opportunity for Venting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Long-Time Police Woman Sexually Harassed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My case is against The County of Ventura, California and its Sheriffs’ Department, plus a Supervisor of mine, Senior Deputy David Martin. I worked with Martin from Nov. 2000 until September 2002. I have been a Deputy Sheriff for 20 years with this Department. Before I knew Martin he was fired for inmate abuse, but civil service got his job back. He has had other complaints from other females on the department. He was walked out and put on medical leave for refusing to help another officer, and when I speak about him to other officers, the ones that worked with him would say he was crazy. Even Supervisors told me they knew the department has had lots of problems with this guy. Yet, he goes on and on. Here are a few examples of things he would do or say to me when I worked with him. I was referred to as; Little girl, Little bit of nothing, Scrawny, No ass, Cradle robber, Stupid woman, Brittle bones. He knew I was from Iowa and would tell me that I have huge ear canals cause I stuck corn cobs down them when I was young. He made fun of me when I was trying to train other officers, he would yell out, “ Corn, corn, corn, that’s all I hear coming out of your mouth.” This would belittle and degrade me in front of my peers. He would tell the other officers not to look in my eyes or they would turn to stone. He went as far as to put aluminum foil on top of his head and say that this would shield him from my rays. My husband is younger than I and when friends would ask about my son, Martin would yell out, “Which one?” He once was seated in the front passenger seat of a marked Sheriffs’ vehicle that I was driving. We pulled up to a stop light, and he ducked down under his seat and turned on all the lights and sirens. The couple in the car next to me was looking at me like I was an idiot, when I did not drive off, but instead tried to turn everything off. Martin just said, “Don’t you feel like a stupid woman driver.“ He would yell at female inmates with a bullhorn and tell them they were stupid. He carried toy aliens in his pocket and would pull them out and show them to me, saying, “ This one is the male because he has the gun and this one is the women because she is carrying the food, and everyone knows women are only here to serve men. There was only suppose to be work related reading material at the work site, especially no offensive materials. He would allow one of the male deputies to bring magazines with scantly clad women in them. There were always male inmate workers around and they would see these pictures, this would make me feel real uneasy working around them. He would blow up rubber searching gloves and pop them along side my ear, he would then laugh when I would startle in front of the inmates. ( please note I told this man many times to stop, I wanted to say something but I would be labeled a rat, a whistleblower.) Martin would tell me he wanted to slice off my flesh with a razor blade and eat it on a saltine cracker. He would pretend he was wearing a Kotex and would hold his thighs together, then he would walk around saying, “Squish, squish, it must be that time of the month again,!” He would sometimes add in the rubbing of his nipples and comment on how sour and tender they were, and how bloated he felt. Made fun of make up and blonde hair. These are just things that pop into my head there was so much more, including inmate abuse. Finally in July 2002, another non-sworn female employee that Martin had harassed, made a complaint to internal affairs. During the investigation Martin was only moved to the floor above us. We still had to encounter him almost everyday. I was called in as a witness and believe I was able to comment on what had happen to her. While Martin was upstairs he went on to harass more women. Then he was walked out on a medical for not helping someone. I too, was off duty during some of the time he was off, I was having a baby! That is why earlier he was calling me brittle bones , cause my hips could shatter at my age. ( I was 42 at the time!) When I returned to work, he returned the very same week. He was still a supervisor and was still going to work in the same building! The other female and I went to our Sergeant and said, “No way are we working with him again!” We knew that Martin knew all about her complaint by this time, and we knew, he knew what we said against him. We were afraid. The Sergeant took us to see our Captain. I told him my story this time. After I was done the Captain said he was aware of the other female’s complaint, but had no idea about what Martin was doing to me. He said Martin would have never been allowed back in the building had they known about all this. From here I will give the real short version. I was called into internal affairs, I told them my fears, I told them my story, I told them I was depressed. Matter of fact, I told several supervisors I was stressed from all of this and was worried about making mistakes at work, do you know not one of them called me in, sent me to a doctor, or tried to help in anyway. Internal affairs told me they were not going to pursue my complaint because I had already told them all of this when I was called in for the other females complaint. This is where it gets strange... My Captain states to me that no one was aware of what happened to me., and you know the supervisors working over Martin were aware of the facts of the other female’s complaint! Internal affairs tells me they can’t do another investigation on facts they already had! (By the way, I was only a witness in the other females complaint.) Human Resources states that I said nothing about being harassed when I was questioned as a witness for the other females’ complaint! Gee, doesn‘t that conflict with what internal affairs told me? If Internal Affairs is right and I did tell everything, ( you read some of the things he did to me!) He did lot’s of other things to the female that made the complaint, including turning off all the security camera in the facility. After Martin turned all these monitors off, he said to her peers, ”Watch to see how long it takes her to notice that the cameras are off and to turn them back on.” Remember this is a supervisor, and he just turned off all security cameras that were monitoring all the inmates and officers in the facility, if a fight had broken out we would not have seen it and someone could have been killed! All this to prove she was a stupid woman that couldn’t do her job. (Turning those cameras off was a violation of facility rules governed by title 15, he should have been fired for that alone!) then why did Martin only get a written reprimand for Discourtesy treatment of his fellow workers? For all this, and his past complaints? Wow, what a slap in the face. Plus, the department did nothing when I told them I was stressed and needed help. I was told by one Sergeant that I should burn everything I have on Martin and get on with my life. I was told by my Commander not to write anything down on paper about the things I knew about Martin, then he told me he would take care of it. Well he never did, so I wrote up another official complaint against Martin, but was never contacted by anyone about this complaint. Could you imagine these guys taking a police report for you, you would never hear back! Sad police work. Problem is there are so many great officers out there, it makes me question how do these ones get in these positions, and why do they change? I was told by Internal affairs that I could not have a copy of my statements from my own complaint. They also threatened when I asked for them to speak to some witnesses, that the witnesses could be charged with withholding evidence of a crime. If Human resources, and my Captain were right, Well then why wasn’t my complaint handled as a sexual harassment case, which is against the law in this state, right! So much more happened and I made more complaints, but I don’t want to go on forever. I made a complaint with the State, I found an attorney to take my case, and here I am, completely clueless! I am an Deputy Sheriff, and I worked as a bailiff for years, I was even sworn to the Rodney King (Powell et al) jurors, and I still feel like I don‘t understand all this. I can’t imagine what other harassment victims must be going through, this is pure Hell. My jury trial is set for Oct 31, 2005, In courtroom 42 of the Ventura County Superior Courthouse. Ventura, California. And if there are interested people that want to see how the court system has worked for my case so far, (this may even help other victims see what they are up against time wise, if they are considering going this route.) they can go to: www.ventura.courts.ca.gov When the sight comes up, click on: Public access and case inquiry. Then click on: case inquiries Then click the ‘continue’ button Click on the: civil case inquiries In the box next to ‘Court Case Number’ type in: 229396 In the box next to ’Case Type’ type in: CIV or you can use the arrow If this is troublesome you can locate cases by using names also, typing in: Mary Kelly bowflexvpd(bleep)yahoo.com Just my opinion, I think that during his career as a policeman, her boss got something extremely damaging on some official like a police commissioner, mayor, or judge, and if they don’t protect him, he will talk. Or they want to get rid of her before she gets her retirement. Janet Leih ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rape Not A Federal Offense ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I learned just recently that Rape isn't even a Federal Crime, and the Government avoids its recognition by leaving it up to the States. If you live in Utah, and you went to Oklahoma on a trip, and were raped at a rest stop, you would be at the mercy of Oklahoma to prosecute. This might not sound so bad, but what about the Indigent victim who doesn’t have the money to uproot her life just to get justice? What if she has a family? My cases involved a total of 5 States. How am I going to do that. I can't even get to the first state much less then 5. So now 2 perps are running loose just to rape again and again. You wouldn't believe what I found in my group. http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Surviving_Sexual_Assault_In_Tru cking/ I am so glad I kept this person on moderation. Some Guy joined my group under a female screen name, and tried to tell one of my girls to not worry about looking for a Female Friendly Trucking Company. Arggggggggggggg I was SO PISSED. I’m plucking him for info, and then I'm going to give him a WHAT FOR! LadyCoyote http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/466073802\?ltl=1111463039#body> "Research on the Treatment of Women in Trucking" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Air Force Academy Rape Case Shelved! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jennifer Bier, the Colorado Springs civilian rape counselor, has avoided going to jail for not turning over her private counseling records to the military judge in a recent Air Force Academy rape trial….BUT victims of sexual violence in the military now find themselves without legal protection and guaranteed confidentiality. Legislation is needed to ensure that rape counselors, health professionals and other service providers – as well as their clients who are military victims of sexual violence - are covered by the same “privilege” that guarantees confidentiality under federal and state laws. Rep. Louise Slaughter, (D-NY) has drafted the “Military Victims of Violence Confidentiality Act” for this purpose. The bill, which is currently being circulated to colleagues and experts before it is introduced in September, will establish this privileged communication which can be claimed by a victim/survivor of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking or trafficking associated with the US Armed Forces as well as the counselor/advocate/therapist/ health care provider. Please encourage your Representatives to sign on as an original co-sponsor of this bill. Contact Michelle Adams in Rep. Slaughter’s office for further details about the bill and how you can help. Michelle.adams(bleep)mail.house.gov, or 202-225-3615 Please encourage your Representatives to sign on as an original co-sponsor of this bill. Contact Michelle Adams in Rep. Slaughter’s office for further details about the bill and how you can help. Michelle.adams(bleep)mail.house.gov, or 202-225-3615 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Military court kills appeal in AFA sex case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4796464/detail.html August 1, 2005 DENVER - A high-profile rape case stemming from the Air Force AcademyR17’s sexual assault scandal appeared dead Monday after a military court refused to grant prosecutors an extension for an appeal. The decision drew fire from Jennifer Bier, a civilian therapist who was threatened with jail after she refused to surrender records of her sessions with a former client — one of two women who accused 1st Lt. Joseph Harding of sexually assaulting them while all were attending the academy. The judge in the case, Col. David Brash, shelved the rape charge against Harding in June because Bier wouldn’t hand over the records…..(Bier) said she had feared the Air Force would try to quietly drop the case that grew out of the academy’s 2003 assault scandal, which prompted several investigations and toppled the school’s top four commanders. Also left unresolved is whether a military court can subpoena a civilian. Harding’s lawyers argued that their client’s right to a fair trial trumped the privacy rights of alleged victim Jessica Brakey, who has agreed to have her named used publicly….Some of those subpoenaed in the case turned over records to Brash. Bier refused to release records of her sessions with Brakey, saying they were confidential and protected by state law. Brash at one point issued an arrest warrant for Bier, who was never arrested. Advocates say decision may discourage women from reporting sexual assault: June 24, 2005 http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2005/06/24/news/regional/819063724d5920a28725702a0077a988.prt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Norma Drago Update ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is to update you on what has happened with my lawsuit for sexual harassment. It has been a long and arduous road for me and now it seems as though it is going to be even longer. On August 17th a judge in Trenton, NJ held an oral hearing in connection with the defendant's huge application for summary judgment, which technically means that they have asked the judge to throw out my case as having no merit. They submitted their application in May this year and two weeks later my attorney submitted a large brief in my defense. The defendants then were entitled to another reply, which they did submit. Their position painted me out to be a bad employee who did not want to follow the rules. After the written summary judgment phase came the oral argument on August 17th, last week. I am simply beside myself over this whole thing. The judge was so pleasant and kind to the defendants attorneys and snapped at my attorney and seemed to work at discombobulating him. The judge had his decision already prepared in front of him before he even heard the oral argument and he read it after he listen to both parties. He said my attorney did not convince him of my case. His background is working for labor unions, therefore, I believe his loyalty would probably be for labor unions. I was told from the beginning not to file against the defendants or I would be sorry. The judge humiliated my attorney. I had a friend (counselor) was a spectator to the oral argument and he said he strongly sensed that something underhanded was going on in the courtroom. We left the courtroom and my attorney was so angry and is appealing this to the higher court. He said to the judge, "this monstrous file is full of proof that the plaintiff was a victim of sexual harassment and this court can chose to ignore it." So now I have to wait for approximately another whole year. I am certainly getting a life course on patience. The labor union that I worked for had threatened me that if they win this case, they will come after me for all their attorney fees and they have a whole department at their DC headquarters as well as a staff in a NJ office working on my case. They had all the people who worked around me to sign "their" affidavits who are still employees. They put their spins in the affidavits to make it look like I was the problem, although there were those who I worked directly for who said that I was an excellent secretary. There were so many fabrications to make this supervisor appear good and me, the troubled secretary. I was forced out of my job because of the retaliation I receive after rejecting him. I initially filed my complaint in 2002. I feel like i am fighting this big and powerful machine and I do not have the support or power to back me to win this case like I should. Can anybody help me or give me some consolation? Today is September 21st and after speaking with my attorney, he asked me to just believe in him, he has gone against big companies before and to go on with my life and leave this lawsuit in his hands, trusting that he knows what he is doing. I felt reassured and plan to trust that the truth will be revealed and that the right thing to do at this point, is to move forward in my work and enjoy life once again. I have experienced the emotions of fear, anxiety and powerlessness before, and during this suit. However, after expressing my feelings with my attorney today, I feel that letting go and trusting is the best thing I can do for myself and everyone else. I am moving forward knowing my attorney is doing his job and believing in his reassurance. Norma J. Drago strawhat(bleep)comcast.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sex Abuse At Military Academies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A USA Today article on August 26, 2005 reported on Sex Abuse at the US Military Academies. A congressionally mandated Pentagon panel found that fifteen years after a females midshipman was assaulted and chained to a urinal, the nation’s military academies have not dealt with the problem. They found that there was a subculture in the schools that devalues women in uniform and denigrates their abilities. Records show that offenders weren’t disciplined Programs to address the problem were mishandled Laws and procedures needed to be updated. The study basically says that the system is archaic, and that there has been a failure in military leadership. A survey last year reported that half of the women in the military reported having been sexually harassed. The report praised Army and Navy authorities for taking the problem seriously. Air Force brigadier general Wilma Vaught, who is the president of Women In Military Service To America Foundation, is quoted as saying “I don’t know what we have to do to end” the harassment of women by some male colleagues. Additional suggestions are to teach a course about women serving in the military, to include cases that do not involve physical force, to update the UCMJ , and to make rape a criminal offense. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News From WASH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Michelle Eppley Buttry, ladydew4love(bleep)yahoo.com, HB 701 which she had advocated for in Illinois, was signed into law on August 2. It gives victims of sexual harassment medical and psychiatric care paid for by the perpetrators. This is good news for every victim, too bad the same is not true nationally. However, the VAWA did pass, and we are hoping to get victims of sexual harassment added to those covered by it. We think some already are. WASH is in the process of filing for non-profit status in South Dakota. This has taken a lot longer than it was anticipated, but it was just a case of Murphy’s Law again, I guess. In addition to myself, Ruby Starr, Teresa Fusco and Regina Klein agreed to both sponsor the application, and also to be on the initial board of directors. My intention is to add all of the regional directors to the board of directors. That would include Dr. Michael Torrey (California), Mary Henderson (Colorado), Teresa Fusco (Illinois), Pamela Davis (Missouri), Ruby Starr (Oregon), Stacy Hopkins (Pennsylvania), Janet Leih (South Dakota), and Anne Louise Grimm (Washington). Anyone interested in being a regional director from any other area of the country should e-mail me at janetleih(bleep)washrag.org indicating their interest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California Rules Favoritism Along With a Sexual Relationship Is Sexual Harassment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times web site has an article on this week's California Supreme Court sexual harassment decision. As discussed in a prior post , the case upheld a sexual harassment claim for a supervisor's favoritism toward an employee he was having an affair with. Here's an excerpt from the article: The pretty financial analyst just out of business school seems to catch the boss's eye. She is spending a lot of time in his office. Soon the speculation begins: Were they eating dinner together? Did he have his hand on her elbow? And suddenly the analyst is getting prize assignments and eventually a promotion. Around them everyone else just watches and whispers. What else is there to do? Isn't that just how the world works? Well, not in California, at least since last Monday. In a ruling that significantly expands the law on sexual harassment in the workplace, California's Supreme Court ruled that workers can sue when a colleague who is sleeping with the boss is shown repeated preferential treatment. Unions and lawyers who represent workers rejoiced, claiming a victory for a group some of them call "the unloved." Phil Horowitz, chairman of the California Employment Lawyers Association, said employees can no longer be "treated as second-class citizens because they're not putting out." But those charged with managing workers in California were reaching for the Tums. Not only will management have to worry about who is sleeping with whom, but about who among them gets a bigger office, a better assignment, a promotion. And who might be stewing in resentment over it. Cynthia Hopkins, a human resources vice president for an organization that manages nursing homes, said she already deals regularly with complaints about on-the-job relationships between supervisors and their subordinates. One day someone is complaining because a nurse who is having a relationship with a supervisor got a raise without an evaluation. Another day it's the girlfriend of a different supervisor who can't be trusted with work-related complaints because she might tell her boyfriend. Ms. Hopkins said that although such liaisons are discouraged, preventing them altogether is impossible with employees who work long shifts together and socialize after work at bars and at softball games. "What am I going to do? Go spy on them?" she asked. In fact, some companies do forbid relationships between managers and their subordinates in an attempt to protect themselves from sexual harassment lawsuits when things go wrong. In California, the workplace has just become a tougher environment to navigate, representatives of both employers and employees agreed. They expect top management to watch supervisors more closely to spot any patterns of favoritism. Co-workers, meanwhile, have been given license to snoop. "Some are going to say, 'I'm suspicious, I'm going to find out,' " said Gloria Allred, a lawyer who has represented women in sexual harassment cases for decades and who said the decision was far-reaching. "Those involved in a relationship may find out that a lot more of their private life is going to be exposed." In the case that went before the State Supreme Court, Edna Miller and Frances Mackey, two employees at the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, 35 miles northwest of Fresno in Central California, sued the State Department of Corrections in 1999 after the warden effectively transformed a prison into Wisteria Lane by having simultaneous sexual affairs with three female employees. One of the women bragged about her power to extort benefits from the warden, Lewis Kuykendall, according to the description of the relationships at the prison in the State Supreme Court decision. The three women "squabbled over him, sometimes in emotional scenes witnessed by other employees." When Ms. Miller was competing with one of the warden's lovers for a promotion, the woman told Ms. Miller that she intended to take the warden down with her knowledge of "every scar on his body" if she was not given the job. The California justices ruled that such a case of pervasive sexual favoritism rises to the level of sexual harassment because it creates an environment "in which the demeaning message is conveyed to female employees that they are viewed by management as 'sexual playthings' or that the way required for women to get ahead in the workplace is by engaging in sexual conduct with their supervisors or the management." Miller v. Department of Corrections , a decision handed down yesterday by the California Supreme Court , holds that the state’s employment discrimination statute supports a sexual harassment claim for supervisor’s affair with a subordinate by a plaintiff who was not involved in the affair. The introduction to the Court’s opinion explains the decision:Plaintiffs, two former employees at the Valley State Prison for Women, claim that the warden of the prison at which they were employed accorded unwarranted favorable treatment to numerous female employees with whom the warden was having sexual affairs, and that such conduct constituted sexual harassment in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). (Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.) The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants, concluding that the conduct in question did not support a claim of sexual harassment, and the Court of Appeal affirmed. We must determine whether, in light of the evidence presented in support of and in opposition to the summary judgment motion, the lower courts properly found that plaintiffs failed to present a prima facie case of sexual harassment under the FEHA. For the reasons explained below, we conclude that, although an isolated instance of favoritism on the part of a supervisor toward a female employee with whom the supervisor is conducting a consensual sexual affair ordinarily would not constitute sexual harassment, when such sexual favoritism in a workplace is sufficiently widespread it may create an actionable hostile work environment in which the demeaning message is conveyed to female employees that they are viewed by management as “sexual playthings” or that the way required for women to get ahead in the workplace is by engaging in sexual conduct with their supervisors or the management. We further conclude that, contrary to the Court of Appeal’s determination, the evidence presented in the summary judgment proceedings was sufficient to establish a prima facie case of sexual harassment under the appropriate legal standard, and hus that the Court of Appeal erred in affirming the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants. Accordingly, we shall reverse the judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal. The court based its reasoning largely on an EEOC policy statement concerning favoritism for sexual partners in the workplace. (For those interested in regulatory trivia, the policy statement was signed by then-EEOC Chair Clarence Thomas.) Leaving aside issues of statutory interpretation and legal precedent, this outcome seems like common sense. If the subordinate having the affair receives tangible employment benefits BECAUSE of the affair, then the implicit message is that those benefits are available only to those having a romantic relationship with the supervisor. Employees either unwilling or unable to have a romantic relationship are excluded from those employment benefits. In effect, sex becomes a condition of full employment opportunities in that workplace. (The state’s regulations defined harassment to include “[u]nwanted sexual advances which condition an employment benefit upon an exchange of sexual favors.”) This seems like but a small step from quid pro quo harassment, where a supervisor expressly conditions either a benefit or detriment on whether the employee accedes to sexual demands. Indeed, the EEOC's policy statement says the following about favoritism: Managers who engage in widespread sexual favoritism may also communicate a message that the way for women to get ahead in the workplace is by engaging in sexual conduct or that sexual solicitations are a prerequisite to their fair treatment. This can form the basis of an implicit ‘quid pro quo’ harassment claim for female employees, as well as a hostile environment claim for both women and men who find this offensive. July 19, 2005 in Cases Contributed by "Bette Hanson" from Corporate Compliance Prof Blog A Member of the Law Professor Blogs Networkhttp://lawprofessors.typepad.com/compliance_prof/ Blog Editor - Paul E. McGreal Director of Corporate Compliance Center, Harry and Helen Hutchens Research Professor and Professor of Law South Texas College of Law ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Film North Country Explores Sexual Harassment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Josey Aimes returns to her hometown in Northern Minnesota after a failed marriage, she needs a good job. A single mother with two children to support, she turns to the predominant source of employment in the region - the iron mines. The last thing the miners want is women competing for scarce jobs - women who, in their estimation, have no business driving trucks and hauling rock anyway. When Josey speaks out against the treatment she and her fellow workers face it takes her farther than she ever imagined, ultimately inspiring countless others, and leading to the nation's first-ever class action lawsuit for sexual harassment. Release Date: October 14th, 2005 (wide). MPAA Rating: R for sequences involving sexual harassment including violence and dialogue, and for language. Thanks to Mary Kelly for tipping us off about this film. Anyone looking for a TV program which addresses sexual harassment should watch Boston Legal which is on CBS at 9:00 on Tuesday nights Central time. The attitude towards sexual harassment is not very sympathetic, but it does bring some of the aspects of sexual harassment to light. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perpetrator Is Fired After Harassment Complaint ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The environment of my work place was dysfunctional. Many women had openly had relations with male staff and management and were in favorable positions. When work confrontations occurred, the General Manager (perpetrator) was always the arbitrator and exhibited extreme and unfair bias. In my case, no touching occurred, however there were isolated instances of verbal sexual comments, harassment and several instances of implied physical contact and threat. I was put in a position to obtain a ride home alone in a car after an employee event where I was indirectly propositioned. After I declined, my position was threatened, my work was challenged and I became an outcast professionally. I obtained a lawyer, then a 2nd lawyer, In discovery, my lawyers uncovered a pattern of abuse, harassment and lawsuits that stretched back 13 years and through Several corporation changes. After a six month ordeal, where I was still employed and facing scrutiny/pressure everyday, we settled and I signed a confidentiality agreement. Afterwards, spin doctors trashed my reputation and it was exceedingly difficult to obtain work. The perpetrator managed a TV station, was on several arts & community boards and was active in both the industry and community. Age, over 20, Married, 3 kids, Average looks & weight, Income Over 100,000 and involved in industry and community activities. I was being treated during the lawsuit up to the limit of my health insurance. Afterwards I suffered depression, PTS and anxiety disorders. It's taken me years to recover and I still suffer lingering effects. Undiagnosed fatigue, PTSD, insomnia and migraine headaches which have all subsided. Although stressful situations still have an impact on my energy levels. I sued a major corporation and suffered the consequences of going up against deep pockets. Their strategy was to wait me out until the situation and environment was insufferable and I could not bear the load. At the time of settlement, I signed WHATEVER was in front of me. The alternative was to show up the next day for work as if nothing had happened. At that time I was practically numb with emotional exhaustion so I signed. I was in NO SHAPE to sign... the confidentiality agreement was egregious and extreme in nature. Two years later, the General Manager who perpetrated the harassment wasfired. I'd like to think I had something to do with it. Please forward ANY cases, information you have in regard to facing corporate institutions and the onus of confidentiality agreements. If anyone has such information, please send it to me and I will forward it to the victim (for obvious reasons). janetleih(bleep)washrag.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Opportunity for Venting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For those of us who have held down jobs, there often is some woman around who is in a relationship with the boss who is causing us problems. I can think of a couple of situations I experienced that were almost operatic in their idiocy. Or many women are experiencing the same harassment, and share their experiences with the victim. But when the victim files a complaint, they turn on the victim and actually testify against her. I found this item in Dan Poynter’s newsletter, this might be a chance to vent: We are writing a book about WOMEN BETRAYING WOMEN. We are looking for personal stories of how a woman has felt betrayed, wronged, or oppressed by another woman to include in our book. Please send us your stories anonymous or otherwise to include in our book if applicable. Thank you for your personal time. Please send all stories to: females2gether(bleep)yahoo.com We are in the process of moving washrag.org to a new host and registrar. We have been constantly victimized by hackers and hijackers on the previous hosts and registrars. What has impressed us most has been the total lack of responsibility forthe problem. Nobody is policing the internet, it is a criminal free-for-all. We encourage anyone with resources to address these problems to pass them on to us. We are posting a narrative of some resources at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenAgainstSexualHarassmentNational. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WE’RE ON THE WEB http://www.washrag.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This on-line version of THE WASHRAG is being sent to you free. A print version can be obtained by subscribing. In the US, send $10.00 to Women Against Sexual Harassment, P. O. Box 164, Canton, SD 57013-0164. Outside the US, send $20.00 to join. For a sample issue, send a #10 sized SASE. For a Publisher print module, e-mail janetleih(bleep)washrag.org with issue number in subject. E-mail comments can be sent to JanetLeih(bleep)washrag.org. To sign up for a free e-mail subscription to the W.A.S.H. Ragjoin the group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenAgainstSexualHarassmentNational If you do not wish to receive further copies of this newsletter, unsubscribe going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenAgainstSexualHarassmentNational and removing your name from the list ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ copyright 2005 Tesseract Publications, P. O. Box 164 Canton, SD 57013-0164 (605) 987-5070. ISSN: 1068-2449