Janet Merlo’s story of harassment and discrimination over the course of her 19-year career with the RCMP is a deeply disturbing one.
Two years after she finally fled the noxious environment at her British Columbia detachment, the former constable went public in 2011 with claims that she was propositioned, singled out for rude pranks and reprimanded after requesting a maternity leave. In one notable incident, she says, a dildo was placed on her desk.
Merlo’s account was, as it turns out, hardly unique, but her willingness to speak out and initiate a class-action lawsuit against the police force in 2012 opened a gap in the wall of silence that had surrounded the issue of on-the-job harassment. A torrent of pent-up frustration and anger promptly came gushing out. More than 360 former and current female RCMP employees have since added their voices to Merlo’s. – READ MORE
