Black Cube and Retaliation Against Victims of Sexual Harassment.

Harvey Weinstein Used An Israeli Private Investigation Firm Called Black Cube, to Gather Information on Victims He Harassed That Were Taking Legal Action.

Actress Rose McGowan, one of the most prominent victims of Harvey Weinstein — the founder of Miramax Films — reported being targeted by an Israeli private investigation firm called Black Cube. She was approached by a woman named Diana Filip — actually an Israeli staff member at Black Cube, Stella Penn Pechenac — a so-called official at Reuben Capital Partners. The offer made was for her to speak at an event, which was part of an initiative called “Women in Focus”, helmed by the organization. Although the initial contact was formal and official, it led to the development of a friendship — one where McGowan was duped into thinking that she had been part of an initiative to bring forward women in business.

The organization was hired by Harvey Weinstein for 1.3 million dollars, to conduct espionage on McGowan, and to obtain a copy of her memoir, in which she planned on sharing her account of sexual violence and harassment at the hands of Weinstein. Black Cube worked systematically to obtain information about not just McGowan, but other victims of Weinstein, in a bid to silence them and prevent their accounts from going to the press. This included using agents who posed as corporate executives, or as journalists, who then went on to befriend victims, such as McGowan, and obtain sensitive information. This information also included potentially private information about the victims.

This led to McGowan taking Weinstein and this firm to court, citing harassment and attempts to intimidate her. This was one of many attempts by Weinstein to discredit his victims, silence them through intimidation, and harass them for having come forward in the first place.

In one study conducted in the United States, upto 75% of sexual harassment victims faced retaliation for having formally made complaints about the predators. This reduced the number of complaints filed by victims against predators in their environments — in workplaces, only 6 to 13 percent of all victims filed formal complaints against the predators. 1 in four women reported having been sexually harassed in the workplace, in the same survey, meaning that more than 3 women remained silent even after experiencing sexual harassment.

Weinstein had 87 accusers and was known for being a serial predator that would threaten his victims with career sabotage in the entertainment industry. This meant that until the complaints were released to the media, most of his victims avoided making legal complaints about his harassment to prevent him from retaliating against their professional careers. However, he is also one of the individuals who retaliated against his victims even after they had released their accounts to the media, through private intelligence — setting a harmful precedent for predators.

Although Weinstein had wealth and connections to undertake such a massive assignment of retaliation against his victims, retaliation itself is an act that has suppressed victims of harassment from coming forward. In fact, it is the biggest barrier to victims coming forward with their complaints against predators. The potential retaliation that victims endure is what they foresee as being far greater than the act of complaining against a predator. This is a critical tool that predators are using, to silence victims and reinforce their ability to further harass victims in their professional and personal environments.