~ No written policy in place to deal with cases of sexual harassment. ~
PHILIPSBURG: --- A civil servant working in the Ministry of VSA has filed a criminal complaint with the St. Maarten Police Force (KPSM) and with the Personnel Affairs of Government (P&O) regarding constant sexual harassment that has been committed by senior staff of the same Ministry.
Relatives of the victim, who studied overseas and has returned to St. Maarten to serve her country, told SMN News that the victim, who prefers to remain anonymous, has been harassed by two colleagues since she returned home, the first they said backed off when the victim rejected his sexual approaches. However, the second predator whose identity has been provided to SMN News is a female senior staff member who has refused to back off even though the victim opted to block her on all social media, including WhatsApp.
According to the information provided to SMN News, the alleged sexual predator within the Civil Service opted to use the computer and email address of the government of St. Maarten to send an email to the victim with her continuous harassment. “This is bigger than anyone else would imagine; there is sexual harassment and stalking, none of which have been addressed by the authorities. I also would like to know what the government is doing when it comes to taking disciplinary measures, especially as outlined in the government handbook and LMA, and what exactly the government is doing to protect the victims of sexual harassment?”
The evidence collected by the victim was provided to the Personnel Department and KPSM when the victim filed the complaint. However, Personnel Affairs has since informed the victim that it was her department head who had to safeguard and protect her against the alleged sexual harassment claims.
SMN News further learned that the Government of St. Maarten, including Personnel Affairs, does not have any policy to address the issues or cases of sexual harassment. Even though the LMA mentioned sexual harassment, there are no written steps within the law to address cases of sexual harassment.
Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina and the Minister of VSA were made aware of the case; to date, they have not put the victim at ease.
When SMN News contacted the Minister of VSA Richinel Brug last week, he said he was not officially made aware of the situation, and he was informed via two media outlets. It should be noted that PNO met with the Secretary General of the Ministry of VSA, and no report was submitted to the Minister of VSA when SMN News contacted him.
Brug said he asked his senior staff for a report on the matter but did not provide an update on the case. SMN News tried contacting the Minister on Monday morning, but he could not be reached by telephone.
SMN News also tried contacting Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina, who is responsible for government personnel, but he could not be reached.
As soon as the authorities provides a comment on this case, this article will be updated.
