The most viral hashtag at present- #MeToo. It was started by Alyssa Milano to spark conversations on the subject of sexual harassment and assault, and to encourage people who have suffered, to come forward, and give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. While it is an admirable effort and initiative, this should not have been needed to start conversations on this topic.
Women (and to a lesser extent, men) have been victims of sexual harassment for decades, at home, workplace, or even on the public street, and have been trying to speak up against it, whether to friends, family, law enforcement, or the media. And things are starting to change; stringent sexual harassment laws have been made and implemented, and there are organisations and initiatives which are supporting victims and giving them a voice. This should mean that sexual harassment should have been curbed, at least to an extent, right?
Wrong. The number of people posting #MeToo statuses is sadly not surprising. Most of us have been victims of sexual harassment at some point or the other, whether in the workplace, or (even more horrifyingly) by a family member, or on the street. The perpetrators are normally those with more power (generally imagined), and are bully or insecure enough to want to flex it to hurt seemingly weaker victims. And we have learnt to normalise it, to ignore and pass it off. This creates a vicious cycle where the perpetrators continue to terrorise their victims until they have no voice left, and somehow manage to persuade them that it was somehow "their fault".
#MeToo is a good start, but is nowhere close to enough. For a real change to happen, patriarchy needs to come down. That means:
1. The bosses who hit on their female subordinates, and blackmail them with a promotion hanging over their heads need to stop.
2. The guys forwarding "sexy" photos on WhatsApp to their "guys-only" groups or sharing them on Facebook need to learn that being "manly men" does not give them the right to objectify women.
3. Husbands (and sadly, in some cases, wives) sharing the so-called "wife jokes" so freely on WhatsApp, have to realise that demeaning jokes are really not funny.
4. Male colleagues at work taunting their female counterparts about the "reason" they got the promotion- Guys, eat the sour grapes.
5. "Slut", "Skank" "She was asking for it", and Rape jokes - These have to go!
6. Women are not property, in any sense of the word. Rape is rape, whether you're married or not. Period.
I have never been harassed. But I do know people who have, and situations where nothing has been done. I wish, with all my heart, that I had been able to do something more then. Silence or passivity isn't acceptable, under any circumstances. The world has to listen, and do something concrete now. It isn't too late.
Women (and to a lesser extent, men) have been victims of sexual harassment for decades, at home, workplace, or even on the public street, and have been trying to speak up against it, whether to friends, family, law enforcement, or the media. And things are starting to change; stringent sexual harassment laws have been made and implemented, and there are organisations and initiatives which are supporting victims and giving them a voice. This should mean that sexual harassment should have been curbed, at least to an extent, right?
Wrong. The number of people posting #MeToo statuses is sadly not surprising. Most of us have been victims of sexual harassment at some point or the other, whether in the workplace, or (even more horrifyingly) by a family member, or on the street. The perpetrators are normally those with more power (generally imagined), and are bully or insecure enough to want to flex it to hurt seemingly weaker victims. And we have learnt to normalise it, to ignore and pass it off. This creates a vicious cycle where the perpetrators continue to terrorise their victims until they have no voice left, and somehow manage to persuade them that it was somehow "their fault".
#MeToo is a good start, but is nowhere close to enough. For a real change to happen, patriarchy needs to come down. That means:
1. The bosses who hit on their female subordinates, and blackmail them with a promotion hanging over their heads need to stop.
2. The guys forwarding "sexy" photos on WhatsApp to their "guys-only" groups or sharing them on Facebook need to learn that being "manly men" does not give them the right to objectify women.
3. Husbands (and sadly, in some cases, wives) sharing the so-called "wife jokes" so freely on WhatsApp, have to realise that demeaning jokes are really not funny.
4. Male colleagues at work taunting their female counterparts about the "reason" they got the promotion- Guys, eat the sour grapes.
5. "Slut", "Skank" "She was asking for it", and Rape jokes - These have to go!
6. Women are not property, in any sense of the word. Rape is rape, whether you're married or not. Period.
I have never been harassed. But I do know people who have, and situations where nothing has been done. I wish, with all my heart, that I had been able to do something more then. Silence or passivity isn't acceptable, under any circumstances. The world has to listen, and do something concrete now. It isn't too late.
Very well written:) a hashtag can be a start but there's loads to do ..
ReplyDeleteTalking about it is a good start, but people, especially victims, need to be empowered.
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