Bullying caused woman's suicide, inquiry told

[panzerfaust]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Oz)

...Ms Hodder, after enduring years of bullying by male colleagues at Cowra ambulance station, where she was the first and only female officer, hanged herself on her child's swing in April, 2005, a parliamentary inquiry into the NSW Ambulance Service has heard.

She could not even leave her car at work because the tyres were let down, her toilet at work was urinated "all over" and she
was constantly ridiculed by fellow officers in front of patients, her mother-in-law, Carolynn Hodder, has told the inquiry in a
written submission. She believed her death was the culmination of sustained victimisation by colleagues since she started at Cowra in 1999. She said the bullying went up the line to management and was ignored.

... "Every high-ranking ambulance person I spoke to was quite happy off the record to say this is really, really bad … and told me
that they don't see that much is going to happen ," Mr Hodder told the Herald. "This is why it nearly took me as well …I've only just survived."




Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/07/08/1215282835387.html

---

It is LBN because the report is of the Parliamentary inquiry which is - finally - being held into this event.

It was previously investigated by the NSW Ambulance Service, with the recommendation that "...staff receive training in workplaces free of harassment and bullying, that the service should explore how to change the behaviour of staff, and that no female officer be appointed to Cowra for six months." No officer was disciplined.

Perhaps Parliament will be able to take effective action to safe-guard women from one of Oz's less endearing national traits: incredible male chauvinism.

Then too, perhaps a Tasmanian Tiger will be found next month.

[raccoon]

1. What a tragedy. I hope some changes will be made that won't allow such egregious bullying

to go on and on, and the perps get off scott-free and the management just ignores it. Of course, this kind of bullying is by no means limited to Australia.

RIP, Ms. Hodder.

[Randomthought]

2. that's a broad brush

All Australian men are chauvinist?
why didn't Ms Hodder find another job?

[Heidi]

4. With all due respect, the OP does not say all Australian men are chauvinsts.

It says that incredible male chauvinism exists in Australia. :hi:

Further, why should Ms. Hodder have had to find another job? Perhaps those who can't work in a climate of diversity without resorting to bullying and vandalism should find jobs better suited to their limited skill sets.

[Randomthought]

7. How do you know?

Do you have direct experience?
I have visited Australia and plan to go again. I stay with friends there and I am exposed to regular people not just tourism workers and male chauvinism is no worse than in the US.

Secondly Ms Hodder needed to get out of that work environment it was dangerous and then sue the socks off them if it is possible under Australian law. Sorry if I sounded as though I was blaming the victim but some sense of self preservation is necessary to surviving.

[Heidi]

8. How do I know what? I only clarified to you what the OP said. (nt)

[panzerfaust]

11. "...male chauvinism is no worse than in the US."

The facts are not on your side - though I guess it depends upon what part of the US you are referring to.

I've not been to Oz, but I know a lot of Ozzies and a "...culture of male dominance" is casually evident amongst them.

To continue to the does-so/does-not:

Here is a link to a WSJ (not known as a big supporter of women's rights) article from which the following quote is taken:

...Fresh off the plane from California, it was "just so noticeable, so different" from what he was used to. "I actually rang up some of my Wells guys and said, 'hey, remind me, what's the share of branch managers that are women?' " The answer was that, at the time, about 65% of Wells Fargo's branch managers were women. By comparison, a paltry 5% of Westpac's branches were managed by women.

With global competition forcing industries in Australia to lift their game, chief executives are now looking to promote women as a way of imposing a more performance-based culture on their companies. According to recent figures compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, women make up more than 40% of the country's employees, yet they represent just 20% of managers, excluding those who manage family farms. The contrast is even starker on Australia's corporate boards, where women make up 6% of directors, says executive recruitment firm Korn/Ferry International...

No one has claimed that ALL Oz males are pigs, but there is a perception that many of them are.

Also, when one is embroiled in a situation, it is hard to see alternatives (especially for a woman? - for the dense this is what is called :sarcasm:). Likely, if someone had just happened by that day, and she had talked with them what could well have been a momentary impulse to escape into the soft embrace of death could have passed.

Why did she put up with this for so long? I do not know. It sounds as though she was going to school, working, had a family - and had had some faith that the management would live up to their responsibilities and end the bullying.

My take is that unrelenting male bullying, supported by - or at least ignored by - managers with a similar view of women is what should be examined and stopped: Not a single woman's response to it.

The group always wins.

[Randomthought]

18. Excuse me but

I quote from the person who started the thread -not the article "Perhaps Parliament will be able to take effective action to safe-guard women from one of Oz's less endearing national traits: incredible male chauvinism."

If that is from the article it should be credited

[Randomthought]

20. Momentary Impulse!!

I doubt it-there is a something very sick about hanging yourself from your child's swing set.
I would like to hear some interpretations of that act from mental health professionals.

[ForrestGump]

34. You're wrong

There's a long and entrenched tradition of male chauvinism in Australia. I'd say it's far worse than the United States.

I've lived Down Under.

[MUAD_DIB]

16. I agree. Why should anybody have to leave a job simply because

they are harassed?

It doesn't change anything except to tell the bullies that they win.

[marshall]

32. Since Australia doesn't seem to have laws against this, she had no choice

One would have grounds to sue in such an instance here in the US.

[MUAD_DIB]

33. Well, that's how laws come into being, I guess.

Maybe the Aussies will consider a non-harassment law.

[raccoon]

41. Do you really think so? I disagree with you there,

"One would have grounds to sue in such an instance here in the US."

I know you could try to sue for a hostile work environment, but winning the suit is another thing.

Also, that's assuming she could get a lawyer to take the case on contingency. IME, this isn't as easy to do as most people think. Without a job she probably wouldn't have money to pay out to lawyers.

[marshall]

42. I didn't say she'd win, just that she had grounds and it was possible

Apparently it's not even an option in Australia--it's put up with it, quit, or kill yourself down under.

[np33]

35. Also

leaving a job isn't always the easiest thing especially if you have a family you are supporting hell even if your single with no dependents it can be difficult.

[rhett o rick]

5. Good, blame the victim.

What about the next female that tries to work there? Everyone is entitled to a harassment free work place. Or do you disagree?

[CrispyQ]

6. "why didn't Ms Hodder find another job?"

She could not even leave her car at work because the tyres were let down, her toilet at work was urinated "all over"...

A better question is, "Why are these men allowed to behave like mean-spirited, moronic assholes instead of decent, respectful adults?" Their behavior is totally unacceptable.

That said, in her position, I would have done just what you suggested -- found another job. Sadly, that validates their vile behavior -- they got the results they wanted & they'll do it again in the future. Shame on them. How would they feel if someone treated their wife/sister/daughter this way?

Fucking assholes. :grr:

[Randomthought]

9. yes get out of a dangerous situation

Honestly if the woman had so little self-esteem that she could be "driven to suicide " by forces outside herself then she probably couldn't had stood up in a legal battle.
I feel sorry for her but honestly why did she stay in that situation for 6 years +

[whathehell]

13. "why didn't Ms Hodder find another job?"

What if it were Mister Hodder -- and he were Black or Latino...Would you offer such a cavalier response?

I think not.


Having one's possessions vandalized and "urinated on..all over"??

These are EXACTLY the kind of hate actions perpetrated on people of color by racists....When they're perpetrated on women, by mysogynists though, the margin of sympathy narrows remarkably...And that says a lot.

[Lorien]

22. Well said. With women, it's always "blame the victim first"

and even women often do this to one another because they are conditioned to!

Welcome to DU, BTW!

:hi:

[whathehell]

26. Thank you!....I'm glad to be here. n/t.

[XemaSab]

25. You make a great point

but she KILLED HERSELF!

I mean, I know you're supposed to be strong in the face of bullying and all that shit, but she should have quit and gotten another job.

And I say this as someone who changed schools because I was being bullied due to my race.

Not everyone can be expected to fight all of society's battles by oneself. :(

[yardwork]

15. We don't know that it was possible for her to get another job.

She doesn't seem like a person who had problems with self-esteem. She formally complained twice. That implies to me that she was taking proactive measures to improve her situation, but none of them worked. She and her husband had a young child. Presumably they had a mortgage, debts. She was in nursing school. It's possible that there were no other jobs in her region.

Suicide is often caused by depression. It sounds as if this woman was so beaten down that she eventually became depressed and took her own life. Yes, I hold her supervisors responsible for letting her complaints go unheeded for so many years.

[Lorien]

21. Maybe it was the only job she was trained for

and maybe she didn't have the money to move to a new town...who knows. That's not the point; the MEN are responsible for their bad behavior. As someone who had endured bullying for four years on the job myself, it's like psychological warfare after a while. Even the strongest can be worn down by it-especially if no one stands up for them. She is not at fault here. Bullies need to be called out and relived of their positions if they can't or won't act like professional and decent human beings.

[Zuiderelle]

23. Why don't women leave abusive husbands? Why don't women never travel alone?

Your argument is ridiculous. You don't know the facts behind this. Maybe this is all she was trained to do that could generate the pay she needed to support her family, and maybe she was looking for other positions but couldn't find them, which REALLY wouldn't be surprising given the paltry number of women in such a male-dominated profession there. I'm sure it would be nearly impossible for her to find the same job (or even similar job) anywhere near her.

Maybe things were improving over the past 6 years and she had the strength to endure, paving a path for other women. Maybe she hoped that other women would be eventually hired so she would not be the only one. Maybe it was just one thing that drove her over the edge that day, that up until then had not been exhibited. Maybe it wasn't a "dangerous" situation until that day.

It's awfully easy to stand on the outside and judge.

[girl gone mad]

28. The things you are saying are really hateful..

and ignorant of the facts in this case.

[tblue37]

29. That might well be exactly how THEY treat the women in their

own lives.

[CrispyQ]

38. True, but those types usually get belligerent

when someone doesn't treat their 'property' with respect. It's ok for them to be nasty to their women, but someone else better not be.

Our planet is infested with these types. They are taking us to the brink. Will we follow like lemmings?

[LanternWaste]

14. Maybe for the same reason

"why didn't Ms Hodder find another job?"

Maybe for the same reason Rosa Parks decided the back of the bus just wasn't good enough...

[Randomthought]

17. Cowra is a tourist area

there were probably jobs and why did she subject herself to this treatment for 6+ years and only complain twice -come on people I'm a woman and as liberal as the rest of you more than most of you and this story reeks! Suicide indicates mental illness. Her co workers were asshats but still that's no reason to commit suicide.

[LanternWaste]

19. It's neither morally incumbent upon her to leave her job...

"there were probably jobs"

It's neither morally incumbent upon her to leave her job OR meekly accept degrading behavior from or due to co-workers. It is however, incumbent upon *them* to change their behavior.

And there are no presumptions, probables, or qualifiers in what I emphatically state.


"there were probably jobs and why did she subject herself to this treatment for 6+"

"...there were probably other seats in the back of the bus and why did she subject herself to those seats for so long...?" Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

[np33]

36. And

what do you think her job prospects would be with a very negative work referral hmmm? No one here is denying that she was probably mentally ill but that does not negate her former employer's culpability and I think also being extremely simplistic in just saying that if your employer's treating you bad then just quit and find a new job.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Randomthought]

31. I was fighting for equal rights

before most of you were born so cut the insults. You don't know what happen and neither do I but anyone who hangs themselves from their children's swing set has some very serious mental health issues.

[MissB]

39. And from reading this thread, it seems like you've forgotten what you fought for.

Step back and read your posts.

[raccoon]

40. Maybe it was a good paying job with good benefits and it's hard to find such jobs in Australia.

It sure as hell is in the US of A, at least in my neck of the woods.

I don't know Australian law, but in the US it would be deucedly hard to get an employer on workplace bullying, since there is no law strictly against it. And even if she could, she'd have to make a living in the meantime.

[Heidi]

3. "She felt that nobody cared and there was nowhere she could go. Nobody listened,"

This is incredibly sad.

Rest in peace, Christine Hodder.

[fascisthunter]

10. All Too Often do Others Let Bullies, Bully

people need to step up for others who are scared, confused or otherwise unable to stand up for themselves.

[panzerfaust]

12. A failure of Cooperate Culture, a Failure of Management

At least one person, now claims, that he tried to help:

"Last week Christine Hodder's former colleague Phil Roxburgh gave evidence that she had been victimised, that management ignored her complaints and that he himself was bullied when he tried to support her."

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. Chauvinist = bullies.

[RamboLiberal]

30. Same kind of crap has happened here to women

or other minorities who are in what is perceived as male only or white male only jobs. Read some of the stories from women firefighters, steel workers, miners, police officers, etc. They went through "winked at" hell.

It's up to government regulation and to those in charge to not allow this crap to happen to women or minorities. I think everyone has a right to try for and to hold a job they are qualified for w/o allowing the bullies their jollies.

[nomorenomore08]

37. Dear God... Just when I thought my faith in humanity couldn't fall any lower...

People are such fucking assholes. Grown men acting like elementary school kids with behavior problems? Just goes to show bullying never stops, no matter how old you are. I also tend to think that people who bully others as children are attracted to certain careers, like law enforcement, as adults, but that's another discussion...