Sexual harassment case emerges after man rehired

A female journalist’s renewed complaint of sexual harassment in the workplace is hanging in the balance, as the attorney general in Cyprus is being called upon to decide whether a long-forgotten issue ought to go forward after the alleged suspect was rehired.

According to local media, a woman who worked at Sigma television network in Nicosia had complained to the station’s administration back in 2020 that she was being sexually harassed by a male colleague.

Reports said the journalist had told the administration that she was on the receiving end of messages with sexual content being sent from a male journalist who was her supervisor.

The man, according to the female journalist who said she initially brushed it off, became persistent and manipulative, prompting her to raise the issue with his superiors.

According to a Sigma statement, the man argued the allegations against him were malicious but he was forced to resign. The woman reportedly did not wish to press forward with the matter at the time and accepted the resignation while she also left Sigma a month later.

But in early February 2022, the station said a sexual harassment complaint had been filed with police.

It later emerged that the man was rehired, with Sigma saying he had applied for a job at the station and was rehired based on his qualifications and the presumption of innocence.

“The station rehired him as he also had no complaint against him and was presumed innocent,” a Sigma statement said.

But reports said the woman filed an official complaint with police after she got wind that the man was back on the job.

Police prosecutors have reportedly asked the attorney general for advice on how to proceed with the complaint. CID Nicosia is currently investigating the case.