According to image expert Zabeth van Veen, people are fairly forgiving in themselves, especially if discredited people don the garb. “Denying is often the first inclination, but if there is evidence, it makes no sense. An ‘sorry’ and therapy then work better and increase the chance of a comeback.”
Van Veen emphasizes that this does depend on the seriousness of the allegations.
The tricky part is that a lot of evidence is often not made public, or is only discussed much later in a possible lawsuit – insofar as there is evidence at all. In many cases these are one-on-one situations without witnesses. Last week, for example, actor Manuel Broekman became acquitted because there was too little evidence for the suspicions against him. He was accused by a 35-year-old woman of groping her while taking a selfie.
Temporarily banned
Not all reports of sexually transgressive behavior lead to legal proceedings. Marc Overmars entered into consultation with the rest of the Ajax top on Sunday himself as director of football affairs† There are currently no charges against him. De Telegraaf has suspended journalist Mick van Wely after an external investigation. Van Wely says he will resume his duties when he has “worked on himself”.
It is up to companies themselves to decide what to do if stories are being heard about transgressive behavior in the workplace, says researcher Simone Driessen. “Sometimes they act too quickly, that’s possible. But what if the stories turn out to be true afterwards? It’s a gray area, there is no clear answer to the question of what to do.”
According to image expert Van Veen, it can sometimes also be good to temporarily ban someone. “You don’t immediately kick someone out on the street, but first find out what is going on. This prevents unrest in your organization. You have that responsibility as an employer.”
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