Sad story from today (privilege check)
I just can’t get this event from today out of my head and need somewhere to put this. I have been sexually assaulted before (not at work but relevant), and thank god where I work we have a strong and well enforced policy that no housekeeper will clean while a guest it present (for obvious reasons).
Well, today I’m doing a stayover clean and it’s in a suite with a whole separate bedroom. Suddenly I get the hairs on the back of the neck stand up and turn around and guest (M50?) is standing there watching me having come in super quietly. I immediately panic, he sees the fear on my face and says “Oh sorry! I just didn’t want to disrupt you!” And while I think he was sincere, it scared the hell out of me. I explain the policy to him - he understands but is taken aback when I tell him HK is frequently assaulted and acts like I’ve accused him and is baffled. I make a hasty exit and come back later to finish.
I’m just shaking my head all day trying to calm down from it. Then at break tell my HK supervisor, and she says “well at least you’re white, so you could say it happened and they’d believe you.” At the time I responded hastily and said “No girl, I’m a woman- they don’t believe us when it’s he said - she said”.
But it occurred to me after how right we both were.
It’s terrifying enough to be a woman in that position, but she was speaking from the perspective that I would still try to tell what happened to me. There is a chance I’d be believed -even if it wasn’t legally prosecuted. For her and most of my other coworkers, they don’t even bother to report because they know they’ll never get Justice or even understanding. It’s just accepted.
I’m so bummed out, but it was a perspective shift I needed. What a sad scary world sometimes. 😔