My metoo moment.
Seeing me too trending triggered trip 2memory lane. Remembering that senior & powerful academic w his hands all over me in public at conference in Aix en Province. Me smiling brightly but going, 'WTAF', in my head. I should have been celebrating.

I had just landed an Associate Professorship in Paris 2 yrs aft my PhD. I had worked so so hard to land that job.
The next 2years proved 2b v difficult. From stress related ulcer, insomnia (commuting ev week Paris-Wales & not sleeping at all for days) to dangerous workaholism.

From ridiculously expensive gifts (jewelry mostly, lingerie (yep), bags), to flowers sent to my home (Man threatened to fly to Paris to break his jaw) to that attempted Berlin trip. Basically he bought 2 plane tickets to a conference I never agreed to go,

booked 1hotel room for us, I said no, next thing I know uni HR/account demanding I reimbursed ticket bec they been told I agreed&changed mind last minute.
Next step was stealing 2 of my chapters (yes, it was one that was part of my PhD so could prove I had written it years bef).

That was the turning point. I became that loud, no f... given dragon and he turned nastier and mad sure I was shun by powerful colleagues. I turned to other disciplines & they welcomed me.

Next thing I knew I was part of this grant (he tried to convince the PI to replace me with him!).* From then onwards career Skyrocketed.
Dude became ill, wanted us to put things behind us. Make peace. He convinced me. We talked, he was even sweet.

He seemed so fragile so I agreed to accompany him to hospital to get the last results about experimental drug he had been taking for cancer.
They basically said to him it hadn't work.

We walked out, he lashed out, told me as he going to die, he was going to settle the scores. He said I was a little sh... who would never amount to anything unless I learn to open those legs, & put that mouth to good use ... and how he could have helped me achieve greatness.

I was in tears not bec I believe him but bec a dying man's last words were pure venom & I just took everything silently. The last person who had died in my arms, literally, was my Nan & she always said if you really can't find anything good to say about a person, just keep quiet

Within a couple of weeks he was dead. Took me a year to recover and accept that proximity to death doesn't make us better humans.
I had other metoo experiences but that one was the most traumatic.