TVNZ asking for information about historical sexual assault alleged by former employee

TVNZ is pleading for anyone with information to come forward following allegations a former employee was sexually assaulted.

Andi Brotherston, a former spokeswoman for the broadcaster, shared an incident from 2010 in which a senior manager assaulted her.

"He started sculling Peronis and kept telling me to keep up with him ... all the while asking me why I never wore low cut or tight tops," she said.

"I went to the loo, he followed me in, pinned me against the wall and started trying to grope/kiss me and said he'd booked a motel room across the road.

"Thankfully I was able to shake him off. I ran out of the restaurant, down Parnell Rise and into a taxi … I tweeted that because this still happens every day."

Brotherston complained about the manager to a female member of TVNZ's HR department but was laughed away after they said no one would believe her.

I was sexually harassed by a senior manager when I working at TVNZ in 2010. He organised a lunch then cancelled all the attendees except for me. He started skulling Peronis and kept telling me to keep up with him... all the while asking me why I never wore low cut or tight tops.

— AndiBrotherston (@AndiBeeeee) March 2, 2019

Both the senior manager and the HR department member no longer work for TVNZ, 1 News reported this evening.

TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick said the company is open to hearing from anyone who has experienced similar incidents.

"We think that there is an opportunity to learn from that and where appropriate to apologise for behaviour that was unacceptable," he said.

Yesterday, a TVNZ spokeswoman told the Herald the company was "saddened" to hear about the harassment behaviour back in 2010.

"This is a matter we take very seriously," the spokeswoman said.

"We have zero tolerance for any form of harassment in our workplace and we're committed to providing a working environment that is inclusive and respectful."

"We will follow up directly with Andi to better understand what happened so we can learn from this and ensure it doesn't happen again."