Melbourne woman sets out to fight against sexual harassment

34-year-old Annie Mifsud Gregory was bullied and sexually harassed in the workplace to the point where she nearly took her own life.

“My experience ended my career. It took away my trust in others; it damaged my relationships and my mental health,” the mum-of-two said.

“I felt ashamed and afraid to speak up, leaving me completely isolated.”

However, what shocked Gregory even further was the large number of people she met who were experiencing exactly the same thing.

“What was worse, throughout therapy, I was devastated to meet others as broken as I was.”

“Research shows half of all Australian women and one in four men have been sexually harassed in the workplace,” Gregory says.

”That's not bloody right.”

Often, victims of workplace harassment feel far too intimidated to speak up and if they do, are often labelled a ‘trouble maker’.

“Enough is enough,” Gregory says.

“We need to combat the issue of workplace bullying until victims have the strength to feel empowered to report and heal.”

And that’s exactly what the mum-of-two is setting out to do.

Leaving her home in Melbourne in December, Gregory will walk, cycle and catch transport in a solo journey around Australia with not much more than the clothes on her back to raise money for mental health charity Beyond Blue. The Melbournian is calling her campaign ‘The Penelope Project’.

While Gregory hopes to meet with interested employers keen to implement strategies to deal with workplace bullying, her greatest goal is to support others who may be suffering what she went through.

“We need the victims of workplace bullying to feel empowered to work with organisations to reform policies and take a stance on tackling these issues.

“But to help these victims we need to fight back. The Penelope Project campaign is set out to ensure every employer understands what they can do to help prevent harassment at work.”

Despite struggling with everyday mental illness, Gregory is determined to advocate change.

“If every company makes simple changes, we can end the harassment for both men and women in the workplace, which has happened for generations.  We all have a right to be protected in our workplace, no one should be a victim or suffer in silence,” she said.

“I don’t want my two daughters to go through what I did to just have a career.”

To find out more about Gregory’s journey and follow The Penelope Project visit, https://www.thepenelopeproject.com.au/

Gregory will travel to a number locations including:

Byron Bay, NSW

Snowy Mountains, NSW

Nimbin, NSW

Jervis Bay, NSW

Port Stephens, NSW

The Hunter Valley, NSW

Bondi Beach, NSW

Northern Beaches, NSW

South West Rocks, NSW

Blue Mountains, NSW

Sydney, NSW

Budderoo National Park, NSW

Lord Howe Island, NSW

The Pinnacles, WA

Monkey Mia, WA

Mount Augustus, WA

Jewel Cave, WA

Horizontal Waterfalls, WA

Esperance, WA

Margaret River, WA

Scarborough Beach, WA

Broome, WA

Denmark, WA

Fremantle, WA

The Kimberly, WA

Turquoise Bay, WA

Ningaloo Reef, WA

Great Barrier Reef, QLD

Daintree Rainforest, QLD

Cairns, QLD

Surfer’s Paradise, QLD

Lamington National Park, QLD

Tamborine Mountain, QLD

Fraser Island, QLD

Fitzroy Island, QLD

Bundaberg, QLD

Toowoomba, QLD

Mossman River, QLD

Moreton Island, QLD

Glass House Mountains, QLD

Heron Island, QLD

Whitehaven Beach, QLD

Stradbroke Island, QLD

Longreach, QLD

Mackay, QLD

Hinchinbrook Island, QLD

Carpentaria, QLD

Cook Town, QLD

Cradle Mountain, TAS

Wineglass Bay, TAS

Hobart, TAS

Launceston, TAS

Stanley, TAS

Coles Bay, TAS

Southport, TAS

Bruny Island, TAS

Uluru, NT

Kakadu, NT

Darwin, NT

Alice Springs, NT

Kata Tjuta, NT

Larapinta Trail, NT

Tennant Creek, NT

Coober Peedy, SA

Nullaboor, SA

Wilpena Pound, SA

Murray River, NSW, VIC, SA

Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island, SA

Adelaide, SA

Broken Hill, NSW

Warrnambool, VIC

Portland, VIC

Geelong, VIC

Ballarat, VIC

Bright, VIC

Melbourne, VIC