BORDEAUX, Oct 2 — “You need the work, so you shut your mouth.” For women in lower-paid jobs, the #MeToo movement has yet to bring real change. Cleaners, secretaries and supermarket workers across France say sexual violence in the workplace remains widespread — but rarely confronted.

Yasmina Tellal, 42, spent six years picking fruit and vegetables in southern France. She recalled bosses creating “a system of fear,” harassing women during breaks and offering money for sex. In one incident, a supervisor forced her hand onto him in his car.

Originally from Morocco, Tellal came to France from Spain in 2011 expecting a fair wage and housing, but was underpaid and left to cover rent herself. Years of abuse and stress left her with multiple sclerosis, which she links to the trauma. “They ruined my life,” she said.

After a lengthy court battle, she won €32,000 (RM158,000) in damages in 2023, upheld on appeal in June.

Her lawyer called her a “whistleblower,” but cases like hers are rare. A 2019 Foundation for European Progressive Studies survey found six in 10 women across major European countries reported sexism or harassment at work, and more than one in 10 had suffered forced sexual relations.

From sexist jokes to rape

Marie, a medical secretary near Paris, was raped and harassed by a doctor she worked for. At first she dismissed the sexist remarks and groping until the assault left her in denial. The breaking point came when a younger colleague was targeted. “I realised that if I didn’t speak up, I was effectively complicit,” she said. She went to police last year after years of fear.

Lawyers and campaigners say women in precarious jobs — often single parents, migrants or undocumented workers — are especially vulnerable. “Sexual harassment at work is so normalised as a risk of the job that many women struggle to even label it,” said Tiffany Coisnard of AVFT, a group fighting workplace violence.

Even unions affected

Unions FO and CGT have faced their own scandals. In February, FO was fined nearly €250,000 for harassment at a Brittany branch. “What could have been tolerated 15 years ago is no longer acceptable,” said CGT’s Myriam Lebkiri.

Hotel cleaners revolt

Cleaners at a Paris Ibis hotel staged a 22-month strike that brought international attention — especially after one of them, Rachel Keke, was elected to parliament in 2022. But testimonies of sexual harassment during the dispute gained little traction. “The client is always protected,” said Keke.

Accor, which owns the hotel, said management had since changed and no new harassment cases were reported.

DSK scandal echoes

Experts say little has changed since Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then head of the IMF, was accused in 2011 of assaulting hotel worker Nafissatou Diallo. “All levels of the hotel trade are affected,” said Maud Descamps, who trains staff on harassment prevention. Precarious conditions and subcontracting, she said, “further water down responsibility.”

While DSK settled with Diallo in 2012, the stigma remains strong. “The social pressure on victims is still very hard to bear and the mechanism of shame and guilt remains pervasive,” said lawyer Giuseppina Marras. She represented a supermarket worker who attempted suicide in 2016 after colleagues defended her abusive boss. He was jailed for 10 years in March.

Marras said there has been progress in the courts. “Compared to a decade ago, there is a clear difference in the judicial handling of these cases,” she said. “Back then, bosses accused of rape often walked away with suspended sentences.” — AFP