I wasn’t sure what my intentions were when I called her or even when we met and I told her my story. Or were most women in a similar situation, Sandeep?I can’t confirm whether other female employees were going through what I was. I personally had no idea who he was and had to google him before the interview. The latter point is something I hope changes. I felt restless, scared and weak (like a coward). Yes, I was ecstatic, because everyone told me that this was the opportunity of a lifetime; a couple of years as his assistant and I could be promoted to a junior executive, or go get my dream job in fashion. But that was then! Like Malala Yousafzai says, “If one man can destroy everything, why can’t one girl change it?”.” If I did quit prematurely people would talk — why did she quit, what happened, was she fired… If I quit then told people the truth, I was scared no one would believe me and how would I prove it? And some of the obvious — bills to pay and, again, being Punjabi, I worried a great deal about how my parents would react if I quit. When he took sexual liberties with you (like groping your butt and thigh) and referring to you in such a derogatory manner, were you ever tempted to slap the man? (I’m sorry if this sounds insensitive, but it would be a good eye opener for working girls in India too). He objectified, harassed and demeaned me with his words and eyes daily. The shame and fear of people not believing me or saying it’s my fault, was enough to make me want to lock everything in a box never to be remembered or discussed.

It’s more important than ever for me to raise my son to be kind, caring, and sensitive — to teach him how to respect women. Was there anyone at all that you could confide in at your workplace. A couple of months after resigning, I moved across country and married someone (on purpose) who had no idea who HW was. It’s so sad and I feel a tremendous loss.I went home and took a long shower. This went on for days, when out of nowhere I found my attorney, Genie Harrion’s information and called her. I was staring at the laptop screen and my fingers remained still on the keyboard. Then, in October 2017, on every channel there were the headlines I thought I would never see. But like I said above, I really wasn’t.Just reading about this makes me so angry. Titles like, ‘Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades,’ I thought, “wow, I am going sleep great tonight. His name and affiliations was everywhere — when watching Netflix, flipping through fashion magazines and in conversations.Have you emotionally recovered from your traumatic experience of two years? Did you need to undergo any kind of therapy given the fact that were (and still are) so young?From 2015 to 2017, I pretended like I was fine.How has this experience changed you on a personal and a professional level?As a woman, I am still recovering. You ask if I was ever tempted to slap the man — that man striped me of my confidence, strength, integrity, authenticity, and happiness. I am curious to understand what made you hold on for two years? I can’t imagine how tough it must have been for one so young. I felt stuck.” I was too ashamed to tell my younger sister who looked up to me that I was trying to wash the ‘yuck’ off.Just offering my ear to the others was a form of consoling. For an example, while dictating an email he would stop and say “you better not f**k this up, Sandeep! You don’t know what I am capable of. I can remember saying to myself in my head, “do something, say something, scream!” But I was paralysed.  HW not only killed a piece of me, but he took away the passion I once felt for movies, actors, and fashion (via Marchesa). Each day, for two years, I just added to it. But to be clear, nothing explicit was ever offered on either side. I had to and still am reinventing myself. I have been paralysed by what HW did, but I have decided that I will not live a smaller life as a result. It would be harmful to my career — I had heard him say to people “you’ll never work in this town again. My friend told me HW’s office was hiring and thought I would be a great fit. Harvey Weinstein had the audacity to call me a ‘c**t’ and I didn’t have the privilege to walk out of that office never to return again. But keeping it all inside, and to myself, made life debilitating. I think I wanted to deliver a message to HW — shame on him, not me and it was time for him to fear the consequences, not me. I witnessed this in the office and while traveling with him, which made me feel even more helpless and trapped. I’ve promised myself I will not be sexually harassed and dis-respected again, nor I will let any other woman around me feel uncomfortable. Internal executives, board members, big shot agents all normalised his behaviour. As a mother to my 14-month-old son, I have made it my job to be aware.The touching, exposing himself to me and vulgar language kept happening, and so many times I had made up my mind to tell HR to stop, but he would often threaten me.What finally gave you the courage to not only speak up against Harry Weinstein, but more importantly to file a legal case against him?When I resigned in 2015, I thought leaving his office and company would mean a Harvey Weinstein free world (for me).How did you land up with this job as PA to the movie mogul? Did it feel exciting when you initially joined as you were only 26 and he was the biggest producer in Hollywood?I was friends with his wife, Georgina Chapman’s second assistant (at the time). Why? Shame, fear and denial. I buried what happened to me inside myself and tried to pretend I could live with the secret. And after that there was no looking back. Before this she never felt comfortable talking to anyone about ‘these’ things. She works in finance and all of the VPs and managers are men. I didn’t ask for this huge responsibility. And that’s a lot of pressure.Since you have quit and filed the case, have you had an opportunity to chat with other women who have also been in a similar situation?Yes, mostly family members. My sister (who lived with me) asked me “what’s your deal with showering as soon as you are home. Words cannot describe how painful and belittling it was to live in a Harvey Weinstein world for two years. His reputation was known throughout TWC and the industry. I wanted to do more than just slap him.” But that’s not what happened. But that’s the extent of it. I heard phones calls he made instructing girls — his “special friend” or “assistant,” to come to his room for a massage. For a few reasons  — I was in denial, financially it wasn’t an option, and I’m Punjabi, and “we” don’t believe in therapy. It was like reliving everything daily — over and over. I passed her my resume, the director of his office called me, I met HW and I had the job.” She turned red when telling me this.Sandeep’s Parting WordsThank you to Deccan Chronicle for allowing me this opportunity and I’d like to leave you with this — I was sexually harassed, verbally assaulted and retaliated against by HW, and unprotected by TWC. They said there was no ‘job description’ for what they were doing.Instead of exploring job options in the industry, I did everything to run away from it. I want justice, I want to see him in court, look him in the eye and have the last word. But the majority of the entry level personnel are young attractive females. Or complimenting them on last night’s massage.”

And the few things I did tell Human Resources about, with evidence, were not kept confidential, which made my life in his office even more difficult. Much like a lot of people in India, my parents believe the daughter carries the family’s respect and pride with her and something like this would tarnish all of that. For a few reasons. My healing process started on October 5, 2017. In fact, every day after work, I went home and the first thing I did was take a shower.Did you talk about this with close friends or family? If yes, what was their advice, if no, why not?I told family and friends how demanding he was, sometimes in anger I referred to him as a ‘sick pig’ and that I didn’t think I could do this much longer. She told me, “When the skinny blonde and bubbly girl next to me was hired, I saw my manager fist pump another male colleague under the glass conference table.Most women are afraid of talking about sexual harassment in the workplace as they feel that their more powerful bosses might harm their careers besides sacking them immediately. I want to raise him without gender stereotypes. I can, however, recall a handful of times when female assistants from the London or LA office sat in front of me in tears expressing the toll the job takes on you.

Everything seems easier in hindsight — I should have done this or that, but the first time he slowly ran his hand wholesale whirlpool tub up and down my thigh in the car, I froze. No, I didn’t seek any therapy. In my home, I am changing the language of masculinity. He was dictating emails while doing it, but I couldn’t type. Thinking about it now, my naivete shocks me. Avoiding his movies, cutting out old colleagues, with whom I had formed friendships with, from my life and changing my career path because of this one man is far from fine. For two years, I was in what he called, “The Harvey Weinstein University,” and everyone was telling me this is just how it is, deal with it!Also, I come from a conservative traditional Punjabi family. For some it is a matter of earning their salary as their livelihood depends on it. My cousin just the other day shared with me things that currently go on in her office.

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