A survey of ballet dancers at the prestigious Paris Opera has revealed widespread complaints of bullying and sexual harassment, as well as separate management concerns over the leadership of dance director Aurelie Dupont. Director of Paris Opera and former star dancer Aurelie Dupont was backed by Paris Opera chief Stephane Lissner, who said she was "excellent". (Photo: AFP/Francois Guillot) In the anonymous survey seen by AFP, 90 per cent said they did not believe the company was being well managed and 77 per cent said they had suffered bullying or witnessed a colleague being bullied. Some 26 per cent of the 132 dancers questioned said they had been sexually harassed at work or witnessed a colleague suffering sexual harassment. Paris Opera chief Stephane Lissner expressed surprise that the unprecedented survey, carried out by an internal body that represents the dancers, had been leaked to the press. He said there was "zero tolerance" for sexual harassment and urged dancers … [Read more...]
Uber fires 20 employees after harassment probe
Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said on Tuesday it fired 20 employees and was improving management training following an investigation by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims at the ride-hailing company. Uber fired the staff following a report by law firm Perkins Coie, which Uber hired to look into claims of harassment, discrimination, bullying and other employee concerns. The law firm has been working in parallel with a broader investigation by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder into company culture and practices. Perkins Coie investigated 215 staff complaints going back as far as 2012, Uber said, taking action in 58 cases and no action on 100 more. Other investigations are continuing. Of the 215 claims, Uber said 54 were related to discrimination, 47 related to sexual harassment, 45 to unprofessional behavior, 33 to bullying and 36 to other types of claims. It said the majority of the claims came from employees based at Uber's San Francisco … [Read more...]
Daughter of Robin Williams returns to social media after online harassment
The daughter of the late Robin Williams has returned to Twitter after she quit the social media website over online harassment she suffered following the suicide death of the Oscar winning actor. The daughter of the late Robin Williams has returned to Twitter after she quit the social media website over online harassment she suffered following the suicide death of the Oscar winning actor. Zelda Williams, 25, an actress who is one of the comedian's three children, posted the words "thank you" on Twitter on Monday and linked it to a quote from actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein that appeared to take aim at online bullying. "Never be bullied into silence," the quote said. "Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." Zelda Williams announced she was going to quit using Twitter on Aug. 12, the day after her father's body was discovered at his San Francisco Bay-area house. She made the decision after at least two Twitter users … [Read more...]
Customs takes actions after reports on officers’ harassment at HCMC airport
Passengers have their luggage scanned at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre Vietnam Customs has asked its Ho Chi Minh City office for an explanation about a newspaper’s stories that its officers at Tan Son Nhat Airport bullied people into paying bribes to clear goods, an official said. Nguyen Van Lich, who is in charge of the agency’s anti-corruption hotline, was quoted by Tuoi Tre as saying that, following the newspaper’s reports about several alleged victims’ accounts, guilty officers would get the sack. A Vietnamese-American identified only as B.L. was quoted as saying that when he was checking in for a flight to Japan last Tuesday, a customs officer asked him for the receipt for a karaoke machine he was carrying so that they could collect tax of 10 percent of its value. He said the locally-made machine was a gift from his relatives, adding that he had made many trips to Vietnam but it was the first time he had encountered such a … [Read more...]
Chinese ships harass, rob Vietnamese fishing boats near Paracel Islands
Chinese ships repeatedly attacked and robbed Vietnamese fishermen near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in the East Sea, the Vietnamese term for the South China Sea, in the last 10 days, local media reported. At 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the fishing boat coded QNg 95431 hailing from the central province of Quang Ngai was chased after by a Chinese boat coded 4044 off the Paracel Islands, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported. Minutes later, the Chinese boat crashed into the Vietnamese boat. The Chinese crew reportedly attacked the Vietnamese fishermen and took away all the properties onboard. Nguyen Van Tan, the 58-year-old captain of the boat, informed a local fishing association of the attack, adding that one of the fishers was severely injured. Tan said he was turning the boat home to treat the injured crew member. Since then all contact with the boat has been lost. The same day, two other fishing boats from the province also reported that they were harassed by Chinese … [Read more...]
China urged to stop harassing Vietnamese fishermen
Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Hai Binh Vietnam has demanded China to stop its aggressive actions against Vietnamese fishermen, as Chinese vessels have been chasing them and threatening them with violence completely within Vietnam’s sea area. “Once again, Vietnam demands China stop its inhumane actions, endangering lives and damaging the property and legitimate interests of Vietnamese fishermen,” Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Hai Binh said on May 27 in response to questions from the media about the recent attacks. He asked the Chinese side to respect international law, punish those responsible in earnest, pay adequate compensation and prevent a repeat of the behaviour. Vietnamese agencies familiar with the situation have reported that since early May, many Vietnamese fishing boats have repeatedly been disrupted in their duties and driven away by Chinese ships, causing losses of property. Chinese forces have also been responsible for beating and … [Read more...]
How to stop school bullying?
Many students in Ha Noi are victims of bullying at school, including sexual harassment, according to a survey by the Institute of Social and Medical Sciences and Plan Viet Nam released this week. The surveyors questioned 3,000 high school students in Ha Noi and found that about 80 per cent had been victims of it at least once in their lives. More than 71 per cent said they had been bullied and 19 per cent said they had been sexually harassed this year. Mental bullying such as scolding, cursing, threatening, and lying about others accounted for 73 per cent, while physical bullying accounted for 41 per cent. Sexual bullying most often involved text messaging, touching, kissing or even rape. The bullies were students, or teachers or staff members, according to the survey. More than 31 per cent of male teachers out of over 460 from 20 schools in Ha Noi said it was acceptable for teachers to mentally and physically punish students by scolding and slapping in some cases. Were you bullied … [Read more...]
Sexual harassment on buses all too common
Third-year university student Duong Huyen in Hanoi has never been inappropriately touched by a stranger, but she has seen it happen. Passengers get on a bus in central HCM City “It was on a bus at about 10am,” she said. “The bus was full, and I saw this forty-something man who kept brushing himself against a young woman of 20-25.”The woman did not react and got off the bus at the next station, Huyen said. “The man then moved on to another young woman that was standing nearby and did it again. This time the woman yelled, and the man got thrown off the bus.”Sexual harassment, robbery and poor customer services are the major issues with the public bus system that were discussed at a recent conference on the effects of public sexual harassment, domestic violence and school violence on women and girls in HCM City, the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper reported.The teenage daughter of Phuong Thi Bich Phung, head of a crime prevention club in District 4, … [Read more...]
Online bullying: a curse of our time
by Khanh Van Two weeks have passed since young high schooler Quynh Anh from HCM City appeared on Viet Nam's Got Talent season 1. Being on television, especially for a newcomer, can be nerve-racking enough, even without an embarrassing faux pas. Unfortunately for Anh, the agony and ecstasy of appearing on the popular show turned into a nightmare when, after being voted out of the competition, her mother stormed onto the stage, snatched the mike and proceeded to enthuse about her daughter's talent to the audience while the young girl looked on mortified. To add insult to injury, the mother then berated the judges, and told them, in no uncertain terms, exactly what she thought of them. Who hasn't felt embarrassed by one's parents at some stage of other? But it's particularly horrifying when it happens in front or your friends, or those whom you admire, or both. Now imagine what this poor lamb must have suffered at the hands of her well-meaning, if not pushy, mother. Just remember … [Read more...]
Parents are vital in ensuring kids survive cyberbullying
This Week: Should the country impose a luxury tax on soft drinks? The Viet Nam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association (VBA) recently proposed that the State administration impose a 10 percent-tax on carbonated beverages, otherwise known as soft drinks. In a proposal sent to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, the VBA said carbonated beverages contain a level of acidity that is 100,000 times higher than normal water, which can lead to obesity. According to the document, a reaction between the drinks' saturated carbon dioxide (CO2) with acid in the body creates pressure on the stomach and intestines; and is especially harmful to those who suffer from ulcers. Currently, domestic beverage companies have chosen to focus on non-carbonated drink products, leaving the carbonated drinks to the production of foreign giants. Viet Nam's annual per capita consumption of soft drinks rose sharply in recent years, from three litres in 2007 to 23 … [Read more...]