*Please be aware, this story contains details of sexual assault
I worked for an exec in one of my first jobs in TV who ended up sexually harassing, and eventually assaulting me, over the course of three years.
Our relationship started off professionally. We would go for drinks with the team on a Friday, talk about work and how the show was going. Overtime any professionalism started to slip. Despite being twenty years older than me and married, he would invite me to the pub on my own. He'd tell me about his affair, and ask why I didn't have a boyfriend yet - frequently commenting on my appearance.
One time, when I was reluctant to meet him, he reminded me he'd helped me get my next job, so surely I owed him a drink? I was shy and young. I thought this was ‘networking’. He'd tell me we were friends and I believed him. One night, after he'd kept topping up my drinks and the pub had closed, he came back to mine for a cup of tea. We sat at opposite ends of the room, and I'd made sure my flatmates were in. Suddenly, drunkenly, he crossed the room and wrestled me to the floor. I felt shocked but I was also numb to this by now. I'd kept telling myself there was no one to report his behaviour to, and I just had to ‘manage’ him myself.
He lunged at me again, this time pinning me down and biting me so hard I was left with bruises, I then suggested he should leave. We didn't see each other socially after that, but I never reported his behaviour either. I've since heard that I'm just one of many who's experienced inappropriate behaviour from him. Victim blaming is still rife in this industry, as is the fear of speaking out and being deemed a ’troublemaker’. We need to do better.
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