How NDAs continue to silence women, like those accusing Mohamed Al Fayed of abuse

“It all starts with a confidentiality agreement.”

A former personal assistant to Harvey Weinstein sums it up nicely.

What is wrong in the workplace when it comes to widespread sexism, harassment and bullying, especially against women? The most serious consequence of this is sexual and physical violence, as outlined again by the alleged victims of a man with considerable influence.

Mohamed al Fayed is the latest in a long line of men accused of heinous crimescommitted from a position of power.

When does it stop?

That won’t happen as long as nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) exist, says Zelda Perkins. In 2017, she said she was sexually harassed by Weinstein and breached a confidentiality agreement to speak out about the disgraced film mogul.

“I think they are the entire root of the problem,” she says.

“They are one of the most used tools to not only enable abuse but also to perpetuate abuse because women cannot share their stories and therefore they do not know what is happening around them.

“They are completely isolated. They cannot warn other people.”

An NDA is a legally binding contract that protects confidential information between parties.

Of course, they have their legitimate place in the business world, including for private conversations, protecting customer confidentiality and sensitive information.

They should also be used to protect intellectual property (IP).

But Ms Perkins says: “Abuse is not a company’s IP”. She adds: “It is not a trade secret. And it is treated as such.”

The good news is that behind the scenes, campaigns are underway and work is underway to change the legal guidelines and regulations, and there are calls for legislation to support this.

Steps have been taken and discussions are taking place.

Read more:
Al Fayed ‘cherry-picked’ women
‘One of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation’
The Egyptian-born tycoon has never been far from controversy

The bad news is that so far nothing has gone far enough.

Until this happens, there will continue to be victims of abuse of power, in whatever form.

And the perpetrators get away with it.