Chronicles Of A Desperate Mother; Sexual Harassment

This is Serious.....

Hi H Plus,

Ok I need a serious advice because am going crazy on this one. Am married with 3 kids, I am a nurse by profession and I own a drug vendor known as chemist. I am the one carrying my family, all my children depend on me because my good for nothing so-called husband cannot provide for his children though he has a job that he stays away for more than 6 months before he comes back to see his family, he doesn’t even stay 4 days and he leaves again, Even when he returns, he will never drop money for up keep, children’s school fees, feeding, clothes etc. 

Sometimes he will be demanding money for his transport. One day I refused to give him and he became so angry that our neighbors had to hear him shouting. This attitude started since I gave birth to my last child Destined, that will be over nine years. Now as if what am facing already isn’t enough I now started having another encounter with my business.

 We chemists are expected to get a license from the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria to be able to operate as chemists and I have been going about this license for about a year now, I have been delayed since then. To apply for it you must go through an inspection, so I had to renovate my shop in order to be able to pass the test, notwithstanding the money I had to put into the unnecessary rebuilding my shop so I can qualify to get a license, I will also had to make some non-refundable payment for the inspection to the council.

Ok long story short Hplus, I have been going to their office at Secretariat since last year and it has been so hectic because it never becomes successful, just to get one form it will take the whole day sometimes 2 days while I lock my shop, there was even a time last year when they came to lock up my shop because I don’t have a license.

One of the directors who issue the license assured me that he will try his best to get me my license, this man suddenly started becoming nice and polite to me the first time we met in his office. Due to the way he was acting I sensed he wanted to take advantage to have sex with me, but I was avoiding any close contact with him, he will call me frequently, sometimes he will even call to ask some stupid and unnecessary questions but I will act polite to him because I needed to get that license.

Just last week I went to the office again to enquire about when my license will be out and I met this man again, he asked me to join him for lunch and I refused but he insisted. So I went with him and my hope was that he was taking me to an open restaurant but it was surprising to me that this old man was actually taking me to a hotel. I didn’t say anything I was just following him because I was very curious at this time and I wanted to know what this man had in mind.

We got to hotel and he went straight to the receptionist and discussed something with him, then he gave me a sign to follow him into a room he booked. I told him am not going in there with him so he said that nothing must necessarily happen that we can just sit there and talk, he tried to persuade me but I left.

Later that moment it dawned on me that the license I have been walking up and down to get might now be deprived of me, this business is my only source of income to take care of my children. I am desperate at this point and confused as well because a lot of crazy things are running through my head now and am thinking of confronting him at his office in front of colleagues and make a scene there.

Please any advice?

Hi madam,

We address relationship and dating issues here, but since you have arrived here seeking for advice. I should insisted that if you had collected evidence showing that the man tried to sexually harass you, it would have been a quick avenue to getting my license really fast. If maybe you had collected video or voice recordings perhaps.