“Make the Abuse Stop”: When Dignity at Work Is Denied - November 2021

 “Woe to those who build their houses by unrighteousness, and their upper rooms by injustice; who make their neighbours work for nothing, and do not give them their wages.” Jeremiah 22:13

On 5 and 6 November 2021, I reached a point no worker should ever reach.

I was not writing as a professional.

I was not writing as an employee.

I was writing as a human being in distress — asking for the harm to stop.

“I can’t take it anymore… I can’t breathe… It’s got to stop… It’s so inhumane and cruel.”  

This was not a moment of weakness.

It was the predictable outcome of sustained harm — psychological, professional, financial, and social — inflicted in a system that was supposed to protect me.

This account reflects my lived experience, supported by contemporaneous records and communications.

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A Cry for Help in a System That Stayed Silent

In those pastoral messages, I described:

• ongoing victimisation and ostracism

• isolation from colleagues and even family

• escalating psychological distress without timely support

• repeated attempts to seek help — through legal channels, institutional processes, and community

And still, nothing changed.

“I’ve had no rest… uncovering systemic issues… on my own. Alone and frightened.”  

I was asking for:

• safety

• dignity

• compliance with the law

• basic human respect

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This is impact

What institutional harm looks like when no one intervenes. 

When support systems fail, isolation becomes the loudest experience.

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Faith Without Works

I wrote something that still captures the core of this experience:

“Faith without works is dead.”  

This was not a rejection of faith.

It was a call to live it.

Because what I experienced did not align with the very principles the institution publicly espoused.

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What Catholic Social Teaching Actually Says

The Catholic Justice and Peace Office sets out clear principles on work and dignity:

(Full reference: https://justiceandpeace.org.au/catholic-social-teaching-on-work/)

These principles include:

• Employees are people first — not units of labour  

• Work exists for the person, not the person for work  

• Workers have a right to safe working conditions and dignity  

• The measure of justice is how the most vulnerable are treated  

And yet—

What happens when a worker becomes vulnerable because of the workplace itself?

What happens when:

• psychosocial risks are not effectively managed

• injury management obligations are not implemented

• the worker is isolated rather than supported

• processes appear to operate in ways that compound, rather than resolve, harm

That is not just poor practice.

It raises serious concerns about injustice in action.

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Dignity Denied

Catholic Social Teaching begins with human dignity.

But dignity is not a concept.

It is a standard of conduct.

It requires:

• action

• accountability

• moral courage

Instead, what I experienced was:

• silence where there should have been intervention

• inaction where protection was reasonably expected

• processes that, in effect, prolonged harm

Silence in the face of harm can operate as a form of institutional collusion.

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A Line Was Drawn

On 6 November 2021, I made something clear:

“Everyone has a choice to do the right thing.”  

Because at some point, this stops being about misunderstanding.

It becomes about choice.

A choice:

• to act or not act

• to protect or to remain passive in the face of harm

• to uphold stated values — or depart from them

There are no truly neutral positions where harm is ongoing and foreseeable.

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The Reality of “Dignified Work”

The Church teaches that:

• work must support life, not diminish it

• working conditions must allow people to live as whole human beings  

But what I lived was the opposite.

Work became:

• a source of trauma

• a mechanism of isolation

• a driver of financial instability

• a contributor to ongoing psychological injury

That is not dignified work.

It reflects what can occur when systems fail to meet their obligations.

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A Question That Still Stands

I asked this then, and it still stands now:

“Which of you will choose to do what is right?”

Because systems do not operate independently of people.

Decisions are made.

Actions are taken — or not taken.

And when harm is foreseeable and preventable, the consequences are lived.

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Closing Reflection

This is a test of whether:

• legal protections for workers are meaningfully upheld

• institutions act consistently with the values they publicly promote

• dignity is something practiced — not just expressed

And ultimately:

whether justice is acted upon… or deferred when it becomes inconvenient.

Source: contemporaneous record of events - Document 213