Sexual harassment judgement confirmed

A man who was fined €2,000 after being found guilty of sexually harassing a female employee at the workplace, has had his punishment confirmed on appeal by a court which declared that the man had taken advantage of the woman’s ‘fragility and vulnerability.’ The 62-year old offender was prosecuted for having used inappropriate language and attempted several unwanted sexual advances in respect of the woman and her sister who were both his subordinates. In the course of the proceedings, it transpired that the woman used to confide in him about her family problems. The man allegedly showered her with gifts, including an iPhone, gave her financial help and regularly offered her lifts home, making sexual requests in return. The court of appeal, presided over by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, upon the evidence produced concluded that the decision by the Magistrates’ Court convicting the accused, had indeed been “safe and satisfactory.” Referring to EU Directives on Gender Equality, particularly the 2006 Gender Recast Directive, the court observed that “any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature” which violated a person’s dignity or created “an...