Recently there have been a spate of
ladies coming forward saying they have be subject to unwanted sexual
advances ranging from verbal suggestions to actual physical touching
or 'interference'. It is difficult for me, a 70 year old happily
married (for 40 years) MALE to fully understand both the mindset of
the male who forces themselves upon a woman and the woman who does
nothing about such actions for years. There is no doubt that some
individuals, both male and female, can and are intimidated by their
partner, colleague or boss be they of the opposite sex or not, or
that unwanted sexual activity is not acceptable both inside and
outside the workplace.
That said I am troubled by the
assumption, particularly when it comes to individuals in the public
eye, that any such activity did in fact take place as published in
various print or online media and / or social accounts. It seems that
in order to destroy an individuals political, corporate, medical or
personal life it is only necessary to make public 'allegations of
inappropriate sexual activity' and its game over for that individual
who is then faced with months if not years of attempting to clear
their name though the courts at great expense both financial and
personal. Lets be clear I am not attempting to excuse or protect
those who have indeed forced themselves upon others but the implied
assumption that they are guilty as soon as the allegations become
public is equally troubling.
“In
the #MeToo age, once accused of sexual
misconduct, you are merely a passenger. The only thing you can
control is the damage — and even then, only barely.”
In keeping with the general focus of
this blog I wonder how many of such allegations towards political
figures are (directly or indirectly) politically
motivated, certainty here in Canada (but not so
much in the U.S. it seems) it seems to be a good way to eliminate the
competition. Allegations of political malfeasance abound but rarely
have any lasting effect (at least not until investigated) but accuse
a politician of sexual inappropriateness (even 10 or more years after
the all edged incident) and he or she is done in short order!
“.....no one should celebrate a
political climate in which any and all allegations, with
no investigation or analysis, deliver career
ruin. “
One final though on this, unless those
that are unconformable with the actions of a colleague or others
speak out at the time and let those around them know where their
personal line lays as and when such actions occur then perhaps they
are condoning further 'unwanted touching' or actions. For some a hand
on a shoulder or a hug to thank them for something is natural and
acceptable, for some it is not, anything beyond that is obviously
unacceptable without specific consent and should be met with a firm
NO.
