A second woman to come forward alleging she was raped by colleagues while working at the CBI has said she had “nowhere to turn” because there was a lack of support from HR.
The woman spoke to the Guardian newspaper about an incident that she says took place while she was employed at an overseas office of the lobby group, alleging that she was raped by two male colleagues after a night of drinking.
The CBI has been mired in controversy for weeks after allegations of bullying, harassment and sexual abuse – including that a woman was raped at a boat party in 2019 – led to the departure of director-general Tony Danker.
The second woman claimed she woke up with the two men in the same room as her, but had no recollection of consenting to any sexual activity. However, physical signs on her body led her to believe she had been raped.
She told the paper that the men had later made remarks in the office suggesting she had engaged in sexual activity, and she was presented with an image of herself where she seemed to be unconscious with a penis in her mouth.
She claimed a lack of human resources support in the overseas office, which has not been named to protect her privacy, had left her feeling like there was “nowhere to turn”, as HR operations outside of the London headquarters were often informal and disconnected from central operations.
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She told the Guardian: “Lots of people get raped. I don’t blame the CBI for being raped. I was really young and people took advantage of me after a night of drinking.
“I blame the CBI for an atmosphere that was allowed to feed into people’s sense of confidence. That they could act in this way and afterwards feel no worries, no fears of consequences. That they could feel somehow proud, in an office.
“That there wasn’t a person for me to speak to in HR who I knew of and could trust. I want to say to other women or men at the CBI that they do great work. I hope they understand why I wanted to speak about it; what happened to me.”
The City of London police has launched an investigation into a series of allegations made by more than a dozen women about misconduct at the business group.
Law firm Fox Williams is also conducting an independent investigation into the workplace culture at the group, which is reported to be published “imminently”.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Late yesterday afternoon the CBI was made aware of additional information relating to a report of a serious criminal offence. We have passed that information immediately to the police, with whom we are liaising closely and who have asked us not to comment further on potentially criminal matters. Recognising the need for confidentiality, we urge anyone, including the media, who has further information in relation to any alleged offence to also report that to the police.
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“We are anticipating findings from Fox Williams on the matters it has been looking at imminently. The board will be communicating its response to this and other steps we are taking to bring about the wider change that is needed early next week.”
