Ariana: Justice On Hold: Why sexual harassment in the workplace often goes unreported

Shortly after starting a new job in September 2016, Winnie Leung's* supervisor became fixated on her. He hovered around her at work and repeatedly expressed romantic feelings. Leung coped by deflecting his advances and trying to maintain some distance. But instead of backing off, his actions became increasingly physical and predatory.

In March of the following year, Leung found herself alone in a conference room with her supervisor. Inching closer, he began touching her shoulders before sliding his hands down her body without her consent.

"I immediately left the room, but I still felt very uncomfortable," Leung says. " Just because he wants to be with me doesn't mean he can just touch me like that."

Leung considered filing a report, but her harasser also happened to be the most senior figure in the company. She eventually sent him a stern email, accusing him of harassment and threatening to resign if he didn't stop. 

"He knew I had no one else to whom I could report. He controlled my fate when it came to my salary, so he acted flippantly [when I confronted him in person] and carried on," Leung says. "He didn't treat no as a no."

The email had the opposite of her intended effect. In the months following, he would touch her thighs or her breasts when they sat in front of a computer in one-on-one meetings.

Later that summer, he tried once again to coax her into a relationship. The supervisor called Leung into the conference room and expressed his desire for her. She again refused his advances and tried to leave, but this time he pushed her back.

Leung fell and hit her head; amid the chaos, she escaped and went to the police. Leung left the company soon after, frustrated that nothing had been done about her supervisor's behaviour.

Nearly two years on, Leung is calm and matter-of-fact when recalling these events, but at the time, she was highly distressed: "I wanted to keep working there but I couldn't stand how much pressure I was under every time I went into the office."