Since the very beginning, the Jian Ghomeshi scandal has had two distinct allegation streams -- sexual assault and sexual harassment.
The former allegations resulted in criminal charges last week. Now the latter allegations are coming under increasing scrutiny, thanks to a CBC "Fifth Estate" doc that aired on Nov. 28 and today's Guardian article written by former "Q" employee Kathryn Borel.
She is third of now 15 accusers to come forward publicly, after actress Lucy DeCoutere and author Reva Seth.
Borel was the anonymous accuser who, it was reported in the Toronto Star on Oct. 26, said that Ghomeshi had told her he wanted to "hate-fuck her to wake her up" (after yawning during a meeting) and that he had fondled her rear end.
She elaborates further in the Guardian:
"After that, there were the uninvited back massages at my desk to which it was clear I couldn’t say no, during which my host’s hands would slide down just a little too close to the tops of my breasts. A year into my time on the job, he grabbed my rear end and claimed he couldn’t control himself because of my skirt. Occasionally my host would stand in the doorway of his office when no one was around and slowly undo his shirt by two or three buttons while staring at me, grinning. He once grabbed my waist from behind – in front of our fellow colleague, at the office – and proceeded to repeatedly thrust his crotch into my backside. There was emotional abuse, too: gaslighting and psychological games that undermined my intelligence, security and sense of self. Sometimes that hit harder than the physical trespassing."
But Borel doesn't stop there. She explains how she approached her union rep ("he didn't take notes") who passed her onto "Q" executive producer Arif Noorani ("[he] told me that Ghomeshi was the way he was, and that I had to figure out how to cope with that").
The rest of the article is spent addressing the CBC -- in particular union and management reaction to her allegations.
She also comments on an internal investigation into Ghomeshi's behaviour by CBC Radio boss Chris Boyce ("none of my former colleagues were contacted, nor was I"). Borel's account was supported by a Globe and Mail report today that CBC Radio exec Linda Groen denies she was "ever instructed to to conduct such an investigation, formally or otherwise."
Concerned that CBC is trying to "hush" up the scandal and deflect institutional blame, Borel concludes that the current independent investigation needs to look beyond one host or one executive producer. "We need real accountability, and real introspection. If not, more monsters will be created, and more people will be hurt."
Twitter users have come out strongly in support of Borel.