Another case of “she dressed and behaved in a provocative manner”

Too disgusted to say anything other than how disgusted I am.

I read The headline is sexual harassment - woman gets £90,000 after bottom smacked at work. Later it’s said it was alleged she dressed and behaved provocatively. I assume that’s the ‘defence’ for what was clearly sexual harassment.

I’m beginning to believe sexual harassment and misogyny is worse now than it was in the seventies. How can any male manager believe he can ask a female employee to stand, turn round then hit her backside with a ruler. I wonder if he was dismissed. Indefensible behaviour.

It does seem to trivialise it, I agree, because it wasn't just the incident, but how she was treated afterwards in the process of her calling it out.
More proof of a "laddish culture" that still has to change may many places, as we can see from the parallel thread on GN referring to the London Fire Service report.

He did go Iam64, its down the end of the article.

It really makes me wonder how these men can (presumably) split off what they feel they can do at work and their feelings for their female partners and children?

He wasn’t sacked, he resigned - therefore not on his CV

Sure makes your heart sink ......... sigh.

I think it has always been there in one form or another. Colleagues of my husband would often not leave messages with me the wifey when DH was not around.
My hands were often smacked at work and after returning from Italy aged 15 ,I was asked by my mother what all the bruises were on my bottom, I had been nipped while walking down the street,
Someone I know was asked out for lunch after getting a promotion, they were jumped by the chap on the way to the cars. Payment for lunch? Only a couple of years ago.

Wyllow3, some of them find it very easy to put compartments into their lives. A chap at work, who was openly involved with his assistant (we all joked about the 'assistant' job title) explained his take on it:

'It should be obvious that my wife doesn't have time for a really good sex life. She's far too tired from looking after the children!'

He made it sound like he was being considerate and doing her a favour by meeting his needs elsewhere.

I knew someone like that Hetty58, he came home from a 'lads". holiday only to find his wife had left taking all her things to an unknown address. It must have been planned for months.
Another thought he was getting away with taking his secretary most holidays to a very exclusive hotel on Loch Lomond, leaving his wife to cope with the children. His wife did her homework cancelled the holiday on the day of travel and arranged to have all her locks changed. He came home to find all his belongings on the lawn. One Canny wife.

Yammy, great to hear those stories. A golfing friend of my late husband was very comfortably off. In his forties, he suddenly left his wife and children for a girl in her 20s - typical mid life crisis.

His former (huge) home was sold and the ex wife got maintenance, child support - and a very decent 5 bed home with pool. He had a similar house with his new wife - and they had a couple of children.

Fast forward ten years, in his mid fifties, his still young and glamourous wife left him for her personal trainer (also young). Again, the house was sold, everything divided, funds for the children - and he ended up quite cash-strapped living in a one bed flat. She did to him exactly what he'd done to his first wife, dumped him for a newer model!

It seems imaginations on here go into overdrive. We don't actually know what this woman was like. She may have been awful! Just because she's a woman doesn't make her a victim. I wouldn't sit in judgement on this case from reading just a few brief words in the press.

Chestnut

It seems imaginations on here go into overdrive. We don't actually know what this woman was like. She may have been awful! Just because she's a woman doesn't make her a victim. I wouldn't sit in judgement on this case from reading just a few brief words in the press.

Are you saying that it was OK for her boss to smack her because "we don't know what this woman was like"!!! Does that mean that you think if a woman is wearing a short skirt it is her fault if she is attacked! How about if a woman argues with her husband - is it OK if he slaps her around? Really can't believe your thought process

she dressed and behaved in a provocative manner
I’ve seen that written more succinctly as “She was asking for it!”
If they felt her behaviour was inappropriate they should have said so, not responded with some equally inappropriate behaviour of their own!

I don’t care if the woman was ‘awful’, there is no way that manager’s behaviour was acceptable. I’m astounded that even on Gransnet someone thinks she might have been ‘asking for it’.

Personally I’d have had difficulty restraining myself from punching him in the face.

If she had been dressing inappropriately she should have been told in a professional manner, probably by HR, to wear something more suitable.

But what is 'appropriate' dress to be treated like that? It is appalling behaviour on the part of the manager, and not a case of us not having enough information - the tribunal found in favour of the woman.

£90,000 wow!

This sort of behaviour from men has gone on for far too long. It happened when I was young and my teenage GD says there are inappropriate comments made to her and her friends when they go out.
At least these days men who act in this way can be punished as in this case.

There is no need for imaginations on here to go into overdrive. Reading the link it was found to be a clear case of humiliating sexual harassment, which was then exacerbated by not being dealt with professionally by management.
Good for her that she had the guts to fight it……and win.
The BBC headlines do them no favours either.

Did I say it was okay for her boss to smack her ? NO
Did I say she was asking for it? NO

You can see why there are so many spats on these boards because people put their own spin on everything. 🤦‍♀️

To be fair, Chestnut, you did imply that there might be more to the case than a simple case of It Was Wrong, and saying that the women might have been awful does suggest that there could have been mitigating factors.

So what is the point of speculating if she was awful then? I know loads of awful people I dont hit them with a ruler.

Chestnut "We don't actually know what this woman was like. She may have been awful!" Your words!

How does this justify a boss "smacking" her? It doesn't matter if she was the worst employee in the world - his actions were inappropriate.

I will try and explain. No matter how ghastly this woman might be it doesn't justify smacking her with a ruler. But it might explain why it happened. None of us know what this woman was like, how she dressed or behaved. None of us were there. Of course the men were wrong to do that, if they had a problem with the woman's behaviour they should have dealt with her through the proper channels.