“Sources close to Mr Brogden said Lucy’s father, former Liberal Party state treasurer Frank Hooke, advised him to move 25-year-old Suzanne Tulloch out of his office in 1999 because colleagues had begun to speculate about their relationship.”

This is why every woman should not tolerate sexual harassment or assault anywhere, but especially not in the workplace.
You are highly likely to be moved on (which sometimes means ‘made redundant’ and sometimes means ‘to another section’), you will have all your skills devalued and you are likely to be shunned by colleagues who assume you slept your way into your position.

Suki, it’s obvious that more than a few young women are not quite clear on the practical function of sexual harassment which, as you describe, invariably results in women being disadvantaged in the workplace through no fault of their own.

The SMH reports: “Erin Ricketts, 20, a student from Scotland Island, was glad Mr Brogden remained in Parliament and hoped he would “do good things” for the northern beaches. “If he pinched some girl’s arse and said the wrong thing it shouldn’t reflect what he does politically,” she said. “This whole thing about social righteousness kind of annoys me. I think everybody is human.”

Can’t tell you how sorry I feel for the current crop of teen & 20-something women who are convinced that assertiveness and feminism are synonymous with hairy armpits and cheesecloth skirts. To my mind, feminism has always been about levelling the field, not being an unwashed hippiechick.

I heard a young woman not long ago insist that the use of the abbreviation “Ms.” is indicative that a woman has been married and divorced, instead of the correct meaning, which is a formal title that carries NO information about the marital status of the woman in the same way as “Mr.” conveys no data about the marital status of men.

As long as women allow themselves to be treated in the way that young Erin deems ‘human,’ sexual harassment will be rife… and women will continue to suffer.

I’m speechless!