P, a Chinese national who graduated from a top US University was employed by the Singapore office of an international bank. P was recruited as part of an elite group of graduate trainees and had signed on to a one year contract with the bank. She was contractually obliged to compensate the bank if she terminated the contract prematurely.
P was forcibly french-kissed and molested by her senior boss after an office party. He continued to harass her for a few months by touching her waist, shoulder and neck and making inappropriate comments about her dressing and his lust for her.
P was distressed and upset by the constant harassment and experienced repeated nightmares and insomnia during this period.
P wanted to resign but felt trapped by her one year commitment and the penalty she would have to pay for premature termination.
P told her direct supervisor about the harassment. The direct supervisor told P that she could not do anything about it as the harasser was "too senior" within the firm and very influential in the industry.
P consulted a lawyer who advised her that there was little that she could do legally and that she should report the case to the Police.
P did not want to report the case to the Police as she wanted to continue working in the industry and did not want to risk having a "bad" reputation.
P then came to AWARE who assisted her to report the case directly to HR. She managed to get some monetary compensation from her employer but was so disillusioned by her experience that she left Singapore and her job to start afresh in a new country.