Lisette Risgaard admits she ‘crossed the line’ with many young men and makes a public apology for it
The leader of the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions, Lisette Risgaard, announced on Sunday her resignation, following accusations of harassment and inappropriate behavior by several young people.
The 62-year-old chairwoman of the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (FH) stated on her Facebook page that “information spread by different sources” has become an obstacle to the union struggle: “That is why I decided to resign from the position of chairwoman of the FH. It was one of the hardest decisions in my life.” .
Risgaard also requested that they not make “hasty judgments based on newspaper articles, rumour, public opinion or social networks”, despite their earlier apologies and partial acknowledgment of groping.
The scandal erupted on Thursday, when several media outlets published allegations from co-workers who claimed Risgaard had over the years touched them in an unwanted way and even touched their buttocks.
“For example, when I hugged them, I rubbed my hands on their backs for a long time, touched their buttocks and danced close to them,” the head of the union admitted, after two media outlets published information on dozens of cases.
After the scandal, the FH decided to investigate internally the behavior of Risgaard, who initially wanted to stay in office, but criticism from several unions in the federation forced her resignation.
Risgaard is one of the most powerful women in Denmark, where since 2015 she has been at the helm of FH, which represents around 1.3 million workers in the public and private sectors.
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