A dentist was ordered by France’s top appeals court to pay damages for sexually abusing a female assistant after the man was cleared of related criminal charges.
In a milestone ruling last month, the Cour de Cassation said that the bar is lower for proving harassment in civil lawsuits than in criminal cases, where intent is key.
The judges said that the dental assistant was entitled to unfair-dismissal damages after complaining about her boss’ inappropriate language.
The dental assistant filed a labor lawsuit after being fired by the dentist in 2013, saying that she had been sexually harassed by her boss.
Two years ago, an appellate court awarded her damages over the dismissal, but the dentist appealed.
HELPING VICTIMS
The ruling creates a clearer path for victims of abuse to seek compensation.
While sexual harassment is seen to be widespread in France — affecting as many as one-third of women, according to an Ifop poll two years ago — it has historically led to few criminal convictions.
Paris lawyer Zoe Royaux said that the ruling might encourage victims of sexual harassment to consider civil and criminal avenues.
“Don’t be afraid to use the different strands of the law,” said Royaux, a spokeswoman for the Fondation des femmes, which promotes gender equality. “Lodging a criminal complaint can sometimes lead to a disappointing outcome, that’s a known fact.”
The court’s ruling is a reminder that the criminal code does not always trump civil rules, Royaux said, adding that she finds points of comparison between the dentist’s case and the Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandal that unfolded in the US about a decade ago.
Strauss-Kahn, a former managing director of the IMF, and the maid who accused him of trying to rape her agreed to settle her civil lawsuit even after criminal charges against him were dropped.
RULING
The dentist, who was not identified in the ruling, had argued that the assistant had only complained about harassment after she was dismissed.
However, the court said that the hierarchical relationship with her boss was complicated by her need to finish her studies, “preventing her from leaving the dentist’s office without also forfeiting a chance to get her diploma.”
That had “logically and naturally restrained her from complaining,” the judges said.
“Moreover, she told the police officer when lodging a complaint that when she wanted to talk to her employer about his language, he had told her she should ‘loosen up,’” the judges added.
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