First published in French on L’Affranchi.info
Impunity… that’s what sexual harassers and abusers expect. In Spain – as in many other countries – judges often rule in their favor. The forced kiss imposed on the women’s team striker by Luis Rubiales, President of the Spanish Football Federation, is just the tip of the iceberg of a macho and authoritarian “culture” present in many circles. As one post on social networks put it: “If a world champion has to put up with this, imagine a waitress. ”
When a female worker tries to assert her rights by denouncing her hierarchical superior, the situation often backfires. In 2021, in Granada, a sommelier at FRANKFURT’S BOCANEGRA bar denounced the manager who, among other offenses, had sent her a photo of a penis in response to a question about working hours. Supported by the CNT-AIT trade union, the harassment she had suffered was denounced in court, but the judge ruled that the evidence provided was insufficient, and the case is currently under appeal.
Following this initial ruling, the manager and the company filed a complaint against the worker and the union secretary for defamation. Both face fines of 30,000 euros and two years’ imprisonment. CNT-AIT activists, supported by other trade unionists and activists from the Unitary Feminist Assembly, have already set up several “information pickets” in front of the establishment. This mobilization continues.
We reproduce below the contents of a double CNT-AIT poster which analyzes the situation and refers to other cases of repression, which concern both those fighting for their rights and trade unionism as such.
It’s yet another example of the scandal of talk of so-called “false denunciations”.
Victims must first bear the emotional burden of a very long process. They have to present documented evidence that is generally difficult to obtain, without ever knowing whether the judge will deem it sufficient. They have to sacrifice their time and their health to prove the violence they have suffered; they have to put up with constant questioning, when they see how this type of aggression is repeated on a daily basis; they have to endure an ordeal to defend their most basic rights as women and workers.
We cannot allow this event to set a precedent. It is unacceptable that reporting sexual harassment (with the difficulty it implies for a female worker to dare to denounce her boss, under unequal conditions, with the risk of losing a job on which her livelihood depends) should be considered a crime. We cannot allow this case to dissuade future victims from filing a complaint to defend their rights.
Unfortunately, this case comes as no surprise. We know that the alliance between patriarchy and capital is a criminal one. It’s no surprise that sexual harassment and harassment in the workplace go hand in hand.
On the other hand, we are once again confronted with a clear case of union repression. On countless occasions we have been confronted with this form of violence, which is nothing more than yet another strategy by which the bosses, in collusion with the state, attempt to reduce and stifle those who oppose their interests.
In recent years, we have witnessed numerous cases of anti-union repression, such as the four SAT (Andalusian workers’ union) trade unionists sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for having withdrawn basic products from the Mercadona supermarket, to protest against price rises in a context of crisis; or the six CNT trade unionists in Gijón who are facing three and a half years in prison, for having exercised their union activity in defense of a worker in conflict with the “LA SUIZA” pastry shop; a worker who, like our comrade, had denounced sexual harassment in addition to a series of abuses in working conditions. Our case is just one more.
Finally, we’d like to emphasize FRANKFURT’S BOCANEGRA’s responsibility: throughout this process, despite all the evidence, the company has kept the person in charge in his position, without questioning him, tolerating and reinforcing this type of conduct; as well as the responsibility of the court which admitted this infamous complaint aimed at criminalizing unionism and the struggle of women workers.
The original text of the Granada CNT-AIT and its demands can be found here :
https://www.granada.cntait.org/content/campa%C3%B1a-contra-frankfurt-bocanegra
CEDAS-ASCED 