YOUR SHOUT

Fiona, regarding the abuse of women in the workplace, I wish to draw attention to the fact that abuse of men occurs too.

I was a shift manager, and one of the ladies working on the shop floor would stand so close to me that her hand would ‘accidentally’ touch my crotch.

After working at the company for some time I realised she did this to all the men, so I felt I couldn’t do anything about it. It was ‘Oh, that’s just the way she is’.

A number of years later I had to caution this woman about work matters. She stormed through the office telling senior management that I was aggressive and had verbally abused her. I was called into a meeting and asked for my version of events.

I told them I had nothing to answer as I had acted professionally and this person was lying. I was demoted, lost my previous wage and finally my sanity. I had a breakdown and contemplated suicide. Still do.

Being respectful and considerate to people is very important to me. At my age it is not easy to leave and find another job, so I’m trapped.

This woman destroyed 40 years of graft with one lie. It has had an effect on my whole family. She got what she wanted with no remorse, has taken early retirement and is enjoying life.

I do understand that sadly there will still be many more women abused than men, but occasionally I feel the need to shout out. Mike, via e-mail FP: Thank you for sharing Mike; it’s important to hear your take on this. You sound like a very decent man. I think you need counselling to get this out of your system, as feelings of shame and injustice are clearly still affecting you.