reporting it in the workplace
a few months ago, i was sexually assaulted by a coworker.
my work situation is weird. we spend 90% of the time away from our homes and are sent to places where we might not know anybody who we don't work with. we are put up in hotels or corporate apartments (where we live with coworkers often). it's a high stress job and inevitably, we end up socializing mainly with coworkers because we are far from friends or family.
i had a romantic relationship with another woman coworker, but i pushed us to take it slow (as in, not have sex right away) bc we were coworkers and i value this job and the work that we do. red flags began to pop up in our relationship, but i ignored them for a while because i had previously had only good experiences with other queer women and only dealt with abusive/scary/red flag behavior with men. i found out through another coworker that the person i was dating had violated another coworkers consent before i met her. that was the last straw for me, so i decided to break it off.
however, the night that i was planning on breaking it off, she showed up at my apartment in the middle of the night really drunk. she got really mad when i rejected her advances and kept pushing herself on me. she kept going back and forth between saying horribly offensive things and trying to have sex with me.
right after that night, she got sent to another location (by coincidence), so i felt safer in the immediate time. but with our big staff retreat (that includes 2 overnights and free alcohol) upcoming and the general possibility that we could get placed in the same area at some point, i have finally reported it to my supervisors (a few months after the incident). after an initial email saying they will take it seriously and investigate it, i haven't heard anything (i reported it almost a week ago).
i guess where im at now is that i have support of a few coworkers who know about it and have helped guide me through the initial reporting process, but i don't know anyone who has ever reported something like this in the workplace. i have so many thoughts and feelings that i don't think my coworkers get and i dont know who to talk to. i feel guilty for basically trying to get someone fired, i feel guilty for being in that circumstance to begin with, i feel exposed for having told my supervisors about my personal life and trauma, etc. and i know that logically, it wasn't my fault and i shouldn't feel guilty, but i still have these feelings. i want to be able to be proud of myself and feel empowered and strong and feel like im doing the right thing, but i don't. this almost feels harder than the incident itself. i really wish i knew somebody who has reported this at a workplace before. will i be able to continue to work here or should i look for another job?
Hello milesblueivy,
Unfortunately I don't know anybody who went through what you are going through, but I know a few people who have reported a boss or a coworker in their work place. They all have gone through the guilty feeling and fears that you are describing, so I guess that it is something you have to work out, probably a counselor could help you for that, don't you think?
What I also could see is that it required a huge courage for the people I know to make the decision to report their coworkers' or boss' behaviour. At the end of the process they always were feeling good that they did it, because they had respected their own feelings and behaved according to these, knowing that they were right to do so. After all, they were abused, not the abusers.
I don't know if my words were helpful to you in any way, but I hope so. Again, to seek some counselor's help and opinion could be helpful for you.
I wish you the very best on your path, please take care,
Gilles