A Note from Anna Carugati: Tragically, This Is Nothing New

The charges of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein and his subsequent firing have spurred countless conversations among media insiders and people in the general public.

The reaction has been understandable outrage and disbelief and the conversation will continue, as it should, but as it continues, talk and analysis must also focus on the fact that this stomach-turning behavior is nothing new. Tragically, it’s been going on for a long time. I know. It happened to me. Early in my career, I worked in the U.S. and Italy, and in both places—on the job—I was harassed repeatedly and even sexually assaulted, though not raped. One incident in a hotel room was eerily similar to what has been reported about Weinstein’s tactics. I was young, inexperienced, intimidated, scared. I reached out to female co-workers, who sympathized—many of them also victims—but they always said, “It’s your word against his. If you talk about this, you will only be humiliated.” One older woman, who had heard these complaints from younger girls over and over again, tried to cajole me out of it, “Oh, this happens all the time, it’s happened to all of us. Don’t let it get to you; you can’t do anything about it anyway.”

After the assault, I was so outraged I went to a superior, a man, and reported the incident—an excruciatingly difficult and embarrassing experience. While he sympathized, he basically said the same thing: it was my word against the perpetrator and I really had no recourse, no one had witnessed it.

Today there are laws on the books, and from what I read the victims are both female and male. Harassment on the job continues and it’s certainly not limited to the media business. But for victims, even with laws that offer them recourse, the road is far from easy.

Only a few people know what happened to me and as I write this, I am shaking. There is still fear, still shame, still anger. While silence provides an immediate sense of safety, in the long run, silence becomes the biggest enabler. When harassment happens in the workplace, people know, and not just the victims. The Harvey Weinstein case is extreme because of his notoriety, wealthy lifestyle and power in the industry. Let’s face it, a lot of people made money from his movies, and apparently kept their mouths shut. We’ve read about Fox News and Silicon Valley and God knows in how many other businesses in how many other countries harassment takes place routinely. I recall the woman who told me, “It happens all the time.” Apparently and disgustingly, it still does. Co-workers know and they must help the victims.

I just reopened a painful wound and my fear persists, but not for myself. I think of my daughter. She is beautiful. She is young. She is inexperienced and needs to start building her resumé. She will be working next summer. The laws may have changed, but I doubt human behavior has.