Exposed!

harassement

Sexual harassment has been a much talked about issue in 2017, not only in Pakistan but also in the West. You! takes a look...

Harassment has always been a common problem in almost every part of the world, yet it is brushed under the carpet. Many important and famous men have been accused of sexual harassment including one of our politicians who was recently accused of sexual harassment by a woman leader from his own political party.

According to reports, the former female leader accused the chairman of sexual harassment, claiming she had evidence. In a society that has yet to grasp the meaning of harassment and sexual harassment, this allegation against the party’s chairman caused a lot of noise and the media hounded her. Almost everyone, including women politicians of her own party called her out and everyone waited for the evidence that would prove the chairman’s actions.

The evidence was never shown - only damaging the ongoing struggle of a small section of society that is trying to make people aware of sexual harassment, and how victims suffer. The former female leader’s inability or unwillingness to share the evidence has not only harmed this cause, but has also scared away anyone who was trying to gather courage to speak up. Now numerous victims will continue to suffer in silence empowering the aggressors to continue preying on more people without any fear.

Interestingly, sexual harassment has also been in the international news following a New York Times’ story published on October 5, 2017, which said that American film producer, Harvey Weinstein, had been accused sexual harassment. The NYT story reported how Weinstein had allegedly been harassing woman after woman - including some famous actresses - giving the proverbial casting couch a real identity.

Following Weinstein’s case, many other stories began surfacing about how men in important positions, especially in the media, used their power to prey on people.

Then news came in, that Fox News - an American news channel - had sacked a renowned anchor after allegations about sexual harassment emerged. Later, it was as if the floodgates had broken and more stories emerged, and former child star, Corey Feldman, spoke about his ordeal at the hands of sexual predators. Feldman not only talked about his own experiences, but stated that there were many other child stars like him who were constantly abused by paedophiles.

Similar stories of sexual harassment in the media emerged in the United Kingdom. Popular British TV personality, deceased Jimmy Savile was accused of sexually abusing more than 500 people during his extensive career. Savile seemed to always get away with it despite some of his victims speaking about their ordeal. According to a story in The Guardian (2014), “Investigators now believe the late ‘Top of the Pops’ host preyed on around 500 vulnerable victims as young as two years old. Since his death in October 2011, a string of official inquiries have been launched into his offending at hospitals, schools and the BBC.”

Also recently, The Washington Post published a footage from 2005 (in 2016) of the US President, Donald Trump, in which he had passed highly inappropriate remarks about women. And since he became president, many women have accused him of not only inappropriate behaviour, but some have even accused him of sexual harassment.

All this led to a social media movement with the hashtag #MeToo in October 2017, through which women shared stories about sexual harassment and violence. Many celebrities also supported the movement. The campaign highlighted the magnitude of the problem and helped many victims to get closure by speaking about it without being ashamed.

According to a study conducted by CNBC All-America Survey in December 2017, “19 per cent of American adults said they have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Among men, the figure was 10 per cent, while among women it jumped to 27 per cent.” Another survey called the ComRes poll for BBC Radio 5, conducted live in October 2017 and in which more than 2000 people participated, revealed that half of women in Britain and a fifth of the men had been sexually harassed at work. The BBC survey added that 63 per cent women who had been harassed didn’t report it, while 79 per cent male victims kept silent.

Experts say that sexual predators have many ways to trap a victim. They usually prey on people younger than themselves. Middle-aged men having affairs and sometimes marrying girls half their age are also sexual predators who use different methods - love and threats - to trap the younger person in a relation. These criminals are very attentive in the beginning which is all part of the plan to make a victim feel comfortable. Such people and their sexual advances initially come across as normal. They use manipulative language - making the victim feel at fault, and even though many people are aware of the person’s sexual harassment, they keep silent for various reasons. Some of them become comfortable in their role as a sexual predator, that their behaviour becomes bolder and they are no longer afraid to openly harass the vulnerable usually younger victims. Often, predators play with the victim and they never take the blame for anything and can use techniques such as coercive control and blaming the other person for everything.

In a conservative society like ours, the mere mention of harassment or sexual harassment is still considered a taboo. In this regard, The Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, was passed in 2010, which is not only restricted to workplaces, but is applicable to all public spheres. And even though, Pakistan’s legislators have done well and passed this important law, the questions remain; how will it be implemented to help the victims of harassment - be it in the workplace, public and private spheres? Who to turn to if one needs help? What steps to take? Points to ponder...