Sexually harassed woman wins record payout

Case could help victims in similar cases in future

A Danish woman has been awarded a record 3 million kroner in compensation after sexual harassment by a male colleague left her psychologically scarred and on early retirement benefits.

The woman, a parking inspector at the time of the incident, was continuously sent text messages at all hours of the day and touched inappropriately.

“This case is a milestone for our efforts,” Jane Korzack, the deputy head of the union 3F, told Politken newspaper.

“In the future, we can perhaps better help our members by taking on these cases, rather than accepting some rather paltry one-time compensation amounts.”

READ MORE: Danish women often the victims of violence

Still a big issue
These amounts rarely exceed 25,000 kroner, but the woman refused to accept the compensation offered by the City Council, her employer at the time. Instead her union FOA reported the case to the national board of industrial injuries, Arbejdsskadestyrelsen.

The woman still has memory issues, rarely leaves her local area of residence and suffers from depression that has been confirmed as being work-related.

3F and FOA revealed that 17-20 percent of their members have been exposed to sexual harassment.

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