"My work blamed the sexual assault I experienced on my hormones", caller tells shocking story
25 February 2020, 14:59
This caller opened up about the shocking sexual assault she experienced at work and how it has left her terrified of men - her work's only response was to blame it on her "hormones."
Anne said she was still trying to get over the sexual assault she experienced at work in a restaurant 20 years ago, where a male colleague stuck his hand down her trousers and groped her.
"I just froze," she said, "the girls in the restaurant, he was doing it to them as well, but they never came forward.
"They didn't believe me, I got the police involved and everything but the case never came to court," Anne said, "to this day I can't hold down a relationship." She had been married with children at the time.
"I'm so scared to even think about going back into any environment because I'm fine when there's women and I'm fine walking around the streets going about my daily life.
"I've lost my trust in men," she said.
Before she left her job, she shared that the company's solicitors said, "It's my hormones. I'm in my thirties, I'm a grown woman, I'm married with two children... I'm nearly crying on the phone to you, I really want the case reopened."
Shelagh said that unfortunately the statute of limitation may prevent the case from being reopened. Anne did say the Me Too movement has encouraged her to open up about the sexual abuse and all she's asking for is acknowledgement.
"I really want him to know that it's affected me for the rest of my life."
