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Further #MeToo fallout : Key leadership figure suspended in FH case
Ramisha Ali
May 4th, 2023
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This article is more than 1 year old.
With an investigation underway, it was deemed that Michael Jacobsen’s links to Lizette Risgaard were too close to ignore
Lizette Risgaard announced her resignation on Sunday morning (Photo: FH).
The Danish trade union confederation FH has suspended its director Michael Jacobsen in the wake of Denmark’s biggest #MeToo case involving a female offender.
The news of Jacobsen’s suspension comes after FH launched an external investigation into allegations that FH boss Lizette Risgaard behaved inappropriatly towards several young male staff members for years.
Jacobsen has long been a close ally of Risgaard and his suspension was a move to ensure that the investigation remains credible and balanced.
“There are no suspected violations by Jacobsen so far. However, the suspension is to avoid possible disqualification and ensure a credible framework for the investigation. It will continue until the organisation’s legal investigation completes its course, which is expected to occur in mid-June,” wrote FH.
READ ALSO: Union boss accused of inappropriate behaviour
Risgaard’s right hand man
Jacobsen has been the organisation’s chief administrative officer since January 2023. Before that role, he was the management secretariat’s head of the department.
His responsibilities included advising Risgaard regarding political and organisational issues, and assisting FH’s political leadership in setting a direction for strategy and policy.
FH made urged other employees to come forward to shed light on the case, but due to Jacobsen’s close links to Risgaard, it was important that he was not in a position to interfere.
An investigation by Politiken revealed that Jacobsen had been made aware of previous #MeToo cases involving FH employees coming forward in regards to Risgaard.
One employee emailed Jacobsen about an issue in January 2022, informing him of Risgaard’s actions. However, the employee recieved no response and no actions were taken.
READ ALSO: Responses to Denmark’s latest big #MeToo scandal range from disbelief to anger
New chairman coming soon!
Anja C Jensen, the head of HK union, revealed that she had recieved about a dozen emails and texts from men who have come forward since the news broke about Risgaard.
“All these stories invovling other men who have had similar experiences started ticking in to my inbox,” Jensen said on TV2 program ‘Lippert’.
Morten Skov Christiansen has taken over from Risgaard as the interim head of FH and a permanent leader is expected to be found sometime ahead of summer.
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