[Alishia88]

I only now started talking to my T about the relationship to a ballet teacher I used to have. I was very vulnerable at the time because my father had just died. I thought more about it and wonder if some things that happened might count as sexual harassment.
What also needs to be said about this teacher is that he was an alcoholic and sometimes drank in between classes and a few times showed up to class so drunk, we couldn´t do class and had to leave.

So once when he hugged me goodbye, he squeezed my butt. Once he kissed me on the lips when saying goodbye (though not a "real" kiss, more like a peck like you´d give your mother), he asked me about my first sexual encounter saying it had to do with the way I could express my emotions in my dancing and he once said, !though it was meant as a joke!, that next time I should come to class naked. But this was because he said I shouldn´t wear warm-up wear in class and I said I was more comfortable this way.

I need to add though that at the time I was over 18 already. Anyways he said that if he wasn´t my teacher he would ask me to go out for a drink. It needs to be said he was about 65 and had a wife who was also teaching that was about 30 or so...

My therapist thinks that there were some oedipus complex things going on there, because in spite of everything I always wanted him to like me best etc...

All these things said, I need to also point out that he was graduate of a world famous Russian ballet school and had extremely great knowledge of Russian classical dance and method... which is why I stayed with him in the first place.

I would say SH is anything outside of professional boundaries, from what you describe it sounds like it to me.

[Apathy123]

I would say that counts as harassment.

[pegasus]

Hello Alishia88, this is a link to the Equality and Human Rights Commision Sexual harassment: your rights | Equality and Human Rights Commission this is geared towards the UK but the rights I believe are worldwide. In a nutshell, yes this is sexual harassment, he was 65 and abused his power as a professional, 'squeezing your butt' is definitely sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can be verbal as well as physical.

[avlady]

i also think this was sexual harrassment. you should not have been treated this way-its not your fault either.