Intern Resigns After Being Threatened By Male Colleague During 'Perverted' Game In Vietnam

Sexual harassment cases have been widely reported in recent times. Recently, a female intern in Vietnam had to put down her papers at her job after an older male colleague allegedly threatened to kiss her at the company’s team building event. The intern shared her story where she was forced to participate in a “perverted” game at the company’s said event.

As per South China Morning Post (SCMP), a female intern shared that during her internship last year, she was part of a mandatory event with a company in Hanoi. She was forced to participate in a game at the boozy event, which led to her resigning from the company as the incident made her feel anxious and terrified. Reportedly, she could not face anyone at the office post the incident.

What had happened?

In an interview with a local Vietnamese news outlet, the female intern shared that the company hosted a team-building event which was mandatory for all. It was a seaside trip and had she skipped it, it would have resulted in penalties or extra work. She further added that she and her colleagues were on the beach participating in a water-carrying competition and she began to feel tired. As per her, the weather was “scorching” hot and she was quite drained out from hauling buckets of water. She noticed that when a female colleague sat down to rest for a bit, a male colleague playfully pushed her back into the sea. The intern called it to be a “torture” and not “team-building.”

After the competition ended, the intern shared that her team leader suggested a drinking game with everyone. One of the male colleagues, who was her father’s age threatened her that if she did not finish three glasses of alcohol in a go, she would have to kiss him. The intern was left feeling distressed and called it to be a “weird and perverted game”. To further worsen the situation, the male colleague walked up to her, grabbed her hand and pushed her to drink. She claimed that she burst into tears and was very scared since he kept getting close to her face. It was only when she downed three glasses of alcohol that he stopped and moved to the next girl.

The whole incident created havoc on the intern as it left her terrified and anxious. She even could not face anyone at the company. Finally, she decided to report the incident to her supervisor, but received no response from their end and then resigned from the company.