An employee of the Saipan Mayor’s Office has been a victim of daily sexual harassment, according to her letter to the human resources director of the mayor. The letter does not name the alleged perpetrator.
However, the victim said, the Saipan Mayor’s Office has become an “unsafe work environment where sexual harassment has become a routine and relentless problem.”
According to the employee, who spoke to Kandit today, the level of harassment became so frightening, she had no choice but to report the crimes on September 14 to the HR director.
In her letter, dated September 27, she wrote to the HR director, “On September 14, 2023, I verbally reported and submitted a formal written complaint about the unwanted sexual harassment I experienced and have not received any response to my grievances, but experienced retaliation.”
According to the employee, the perpetrator is a superior, who began to maltreat her further after she made the September 14 complaint.
“I have been subjected to unwanted advances, vulgar jokes, and inappropriate comments on numerous occasions,” she wrote to the HR director. “Despite raising this issue with you … no concrete action has been taken to address the perpetrator or ensure female employees’ safety.”
The woman told Kandit that other superiors have witnessed the sexual advances, which added to the “indignity and embarrassment,” but that none of the witnesses would speak up for her for fear of retaliation against them as well. “They’re just telling me to ignore it, keep it quiet, but it’s too much!”
Fed up, she reported the alleged perpetrator to the Department of Public Safety, and made reports to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of the Public Auditor, and the Office of Personnel Management on September 27, as well.
“What prompted me to report it … they’re just squashing it. I think they’re trying to do something to cover it up.”
1 Comments
Russ Mason
10/02/2023 at 2:30 PM
Sexual harrassment, especially towards women, has been going on for ages. The problem in the CNMI is that good jobs are not easy to get, especially jobs that pay well and have good medical and dental coverage.
In the CNMI, [name redacted] had a similar complaint: rude and suggestive remarks were made to her directly. She quit. (I hope she waved a finger of farewell!)
Before that, Anita Hill testified under oath that Clarence Thomas made lewd and lascivious gestures and utterances to her. Clarence Thomas still became a justice of the Supreme Court, but now has been the subject of a probe for accepting “gifts.” I never liked the guy anyway.
My heart goes out to the employee in the Mayor’s office. She deserves better. Interestingly, when the mayor was elected, the former mayor, David Apetang, said he disapproved. I wonder what his reasons were?
In my humble opinion, there is far too much secrecy going on in the Commonwealth, especially within families. If a drunken uncle touches a child inappropriately, it’s hushed up.
Long ago I made the comparison between our local families and the Mafia. It’s closer to the truth than I first realized.
One reason I like Kandit News is that they expose the dirt that our Saipan papers won’t touch. Keep the gloves off, Kandit!