Tag: sexual abuse

Two Sides of Sexual Assault

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The Two Sides of Sexual Assault

T.K. McNeil

Motivated Hashtags

Most hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception.

Most hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception

Most politically motivated hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception. The #MeToo movement is a social reaction against sexual harassment and sexual assault. Few hashtags, other than those associated with the “Arab Spring,” have had the same sort of real-world results.

Support the Victim

It is both interesting and disheartening to watch how the conversation and narrative has shifted on the issue of sexual assault. Mostly for the negative. I don’t think this says anything negative about the hashtag itself. Because the hashtag really is about supporting the victims of sexual assault.

Going Viral

Social media erupted sending the hashtag viral. The explosive growth in size and importance of the hashtag went beyond what was expected, or perhaps, even intended. The problem with a bandwagon is that anyone can jump on board. The most shocking turn, at least to me, was the statement that #MeToo is for “women and victims, not men and perpetrators.”

Empathy not Agreement

I can empathize with the frustration behind such a statement, particularly in the context it was first made. The answer was given in response to questions about what the movement will do to help any men unfairly accused of sexual assault. There is, however, a much deeper implication and assumption to the statement which is wrong, by which I mean incorrect, in a fundamental way.

It Just Takes a celebrity

Alyssa Milano used the MeToo in a moving video and Twitter question

Alyssa Milano used the MeToo in a moving video and Twitter question.

On 10/15/17 film star Alyssa Milano in response to the media uproar over the sexual assault and harassment charges against Harvey Weinstein tweeted the following: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted write “Me Too” in reply to this text”.

The Big Response

Within 24 hours social media was flooded with more than 12 million stories of sexual assault, and sexual harassment. #MeToo quickly became a way for users to talk about their experiences of sexual violence and just as importantly, stand in solidarity with other survivors. Despite gaining steam in light of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse case, this is not actually where the hashtag started.

Tarana Burke

The true progenitor of the phrase that would gain both fame and notoriety is African-American social and civil rights activist and community organizer Tarana Burke. Burke began using Me Too in 2006.

Tarana Burke, African-American sexual assault activist and civil rights organizer began using #]MeToo in 2006

Tarana Burke, African-American sexual assault activist and civil rights organizer began using #MeToo in 2006

Canada Too

Kelly Oxford is a Canadian humorist and blogger who in April of 2017 wrote a collection of essays in which she relates many of the worst things that have happened to her through her life in a funny self-reflective “When You Find Out The World Is Against You”, drew thousands of #MeToo replies within the first few hours.

Clearly a Creeper

Oxford’s accounts of sexual assault do not take a “men are evil” tone, which some #MeTooer’s have done. The closest thing is when she recounts a doctor, who was clearly a creeper, gave her an unnecessary breast exam when she was 14. The most egregious case, however, an attempted rape when Oxford was in high school, was stopped by the intervention of the assailant’s much smaller male friend.

Reasonable Reactions

Stories of intervention and help by men and boys are told far too rarely in the context of sexual assault. We all know at least one person who has been sexually assaulted. We also know at least one or more stories of men either intervening in the middle of an incident or supporting someone in the aftermath of an attack. Clearly, most men are appalled by sexual assault. Continue reading

Sexual Assault Is On Everyone’s Mind

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Sexual Assault Is On Everyone’s Mind

D. S. Mitchell

How do we explain the last half of 2017? It is as if a huge segment of America’s women stood up in unison and screamed, “enough,” drawing a line in the sand. Sexual harassment will no longer be endured silently. No longer will abusers operate unrestrained.

There seems to be a recent rejection of men dominating the decision making centers of business and government. Have we come to a time and place in our history where the accuser’s story will be believed and the accuser will not be re-victimized by people who pick through their lives like hyena’s in search of red meat.

In the United States the accused remains innocent until proven guilty. With that in mind, the onus seems to be shifting to those who have been accused of heinous acts, by people with nothing to gain but to bring some sense of personal retribution and public justice.

The court of public opinion has been convened. Beware of moral flattening, where years of predatory behavior requires the same punishment as a poor choice of words, or a thoroughly vetted news article is given the same weight as a Twitter comment.

The hand of public opinion is severing the heads of many people we admire for their art, athletic prowess, government policy, and leadership. But recent events are showing that rich and famous people can no longer hide their bad behavior. They are going to be made accountable.

The toppling of Harvey Weinstein has become a watershed moment in this movement toward equality. Harvey’s fall brought out a tsunami of charges against a series of powerful men including, Kevin Spacey, John Conyers, Al Franken, Louis CK, Charlie Rose, Mark Halerin, former presidents George H.W.Bush and Bill Clinton. And just this morning, Matt Lauer was fired after sexual harassment charges made against him were made public.

Politics does seem to be at work, as we have all arrived simultaneously at the crossroads in our evolution as a society. Trump’s victory, despite his deeply problematic relationships with women, and the released ‘Access Hollywood’ tapes where the future president of the United States brags about sexual assault seems to have fed a slow burning fire. Charlotte Alter writing for Time magazine described the Trump victory this way, “the 2016 election was a referendum on what women could achieve and what men could get away with.”

But before Trump’s election, for the last couple years, beginning in the television and movie industry there has emerged a trend toward demanding recourse from powerful men. The first big show business name that comes to my mind is Bill Cosby, who’s criminal behavior began coming to light in 2014. Following Cosby came Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly, both at Fox News. Fox News is currently under federal investigation for encouraging a “culture” of sexual harassment.

A majority of Americans will no longer stand by the results of that national election, and want immediate action to remedy the situation. On January 21, 2017 2.6 million concerned citizens took to the streets with the Women’s March. A new pressure, a mounting pushback seemed to be coalescing around Trump’s election.

The movement isn’t just about sexual harassment and assault. It is about a fair society in which all viewpoints are weighed and considered, and women are not held down when they resist sexual advances by bosses and clients of power.

Our houses of congress are obvious bastions of male dominance. That truth is witnessed every night on our television screens as the old white men trudge into focus. There is little semblance of equality. Women are organizing, speaking up and demanding that sexual harassment come to a halt, now.

It is important that women seize this moment and demand access to the seats of power. Women must run for office. The gender break down of the current US congress is 19% women 81% men. This poor representation in Washington, DC comes at a great cost, policy wise. Women if they want equality, must take a larger role in government. Women’s issues will not be seriously addressed until women take their rightful and equal place in our government. Women should represent their gender needs in government at the same proportion as on Main Street.

Run baby, run.

Let’s make 2018 the Year of Women. Vote Blue. Stand up for your mom, your sister, your niece, your wife, your friend. Women know women’s issues. Let’s stop the abuse, let’s make our voices heard.

Calamity Politics is a progressive on-line political news magazine bringing the action of our government into your living room. Join the Resistance.

Dar