I haven't felt safe here since the maintenance man deliberately entered the women's locker room, knowing full well it was occupied and his presence was both unnecessary and unwelcome. I already knew he was creepy because last summer he started showing up on the pool deck to chat with coworkers and ogle women. Then last December I was in the locker room when I heard him asking if it was occupied. He was already standing inside the entrance looking at me when he asked, and still he didn't leave until I told him twice. Then he waited until another member and a female employee entered and we were all busy looking for the member's belongings, and then he reentered. At that point we were directly in front of him, but he didn't stop, apologize, or back out. Instead he peered into each of the changing stalls and bathroom stalls before touring the showers. He had no interest in the lockers or anywhere belongings would be stored. He only cared about places where undressed women or children would be. Thank God no one else was present.
I reported him to the director, who said she'd handled it but couldn't tell me anything. After months of not seeing him, I thought she'd done the right thing and fired him. Nope. I ran into him in September and soon afterward, I was in the locker room alone when I heard a walkie-talkie go off very close by, followed by the sound of keys jangling as someone quickly walked away. The maintenance man is the only one with a walkie-talkie and ring of keys. The sound was so close, he was either right outside the locker room or inside but hiding behind a corner. Given his past behavior, I'm guessing he was inside the room.
I expressed concern to the new director and asked her to at least keep the doors to the women's room closed or install video cameras showing the entrances. This was her whole response: "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Your concerns have been addressed with the leadership team." In other words, she won't do anything at all, not even shutting the doors.
I canceled my membership. Leadership has consistently demonstrated my safety and privacy don't matter. They're not willing to take even small steps to prevent harassment. Their motto of social responsibility rings hollow when women and girls are such a low priority.
Note: I'm using a pseudonym for this review because harassment is very personal. If the Y responds and uses my actual name, I will consider it an act of retaliation, which is illegal. read more