Letting one’s libido run wild has never been as consequential as it is today.
Harvey Weinstein’s downfall was the first domino, followed by a number of public figures worldwide with the “#MeToo” campaign storming through social networks, encouraging victims of sexual harassment to come forward.
A pattern has emerged of how harassment is linked to power. From studios in Hollywood to universities in China, offenders exerted the authority of their positions to silence their victims, explicitly or not.
“Hierarchical power dynamics are at the root of sexual harassment”, the American Psychological Association (APA) said in an article in November.
Not just perpetrators, however, but also society failed the victims, by silencing them while letting offenders slip away. With conventional channels being blocked off, movements such as #MeToo sprung up to seek justice. But they may be solving old problems by bringing in new ones.
What is needed now is a systematic rethink so that the powerful can no longer prey on the vulnerable.
TESTOSTERONE AND POWER
Harvey Weinstein, American film producer now a "poster boy" for sexual harrassment. VCG Photo
One of the most disturbing revelations in the recent scandals has been the lengthy gap between an incident happening and it being reported.
US actress Ashley Judd, whose allegations against Weinstein rekindled the “#MeToo” campaign after it was initially launched in 2006, only went public with details of the incident two decades after she fled his hotel room.
The potential damage to their career and personal life has discouraged many victims from exposing the inappropriate behavior of powerful figures.
“I am a 28-year-old woman trying to make a living and a career. Harvey Weinstein is a 64-year-old, world famous man and this is his company. The balance of power is me: 0, Harvey Weinstein: 10”, read a 2015 memo by Lauren O’Connor, a former employee at Weinstein’s firm.
The fact that the entertainment industry has become a major source of scandal may have surprised few, but it is hardly the only domain where this has happened.
In China, Chen Xiaowu, a well-known scholar, recently lost his job after former students disclosed on social media that he had sexually harassed them while he was their supervisor. Luo Xixi, one of the seven accusers and the only one willing to be named, said her case took place 12 years ago. Chen also “threatened” one accuser after a telephone recording of him making sexual advances to her was made public.
Woman or man, whoever happens to be lower in the hierarchy can fall prey to unwanted sexual attention.
US TV star Terry Crews, a 6'3" former American football player, admitted on Twitter he had stayed silent after an unnamed “high-level” executive groped him, for fear of being ostracized, adding that the experience made him “understand and empathize with those who have remained silent”
SOCIETY’S FAILURE
A protester holds a sign up during a #MeToo demonstration outside Trump International hotel in New York City, NY, U.S., Dec. 9, 2017. VCG Photo
“In study after study, we’re seeing that power makes you more impulsive. It makes you less worried about social conventions and less concerned about the effect of your actions on others,” Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at the University of California at Berkeley, told the Washington Post.
Institutional checks are needed. But delayed justice, combined with the cost - perceived or real - of coming forward have together shown that the social safety net is not always deployed properly in the face of corrupted power.
A New York Times investigation found that previously undisclosed allegations against Weinstein “stretched over nearly three decades”.
“Organizational climate is a strong predictor of workplace sexual harassment and can include situations where men outnumber women, where supervisors are predominantly male, and where there is a sense among employees that complaints will not be taken seriously”, according to the APA.
The fact that offenders are predominantly men poses an even bigger problem in places where gender equality is rarely talked about.
“In Japan, rape tends to be considered something that only happens in movies or faraway places”, said Shiori Ito, a former Japanese reporter who sued a former superior last May for rape. The “thoughtless” way in which police officers grilled her over the tiniest details made her feel “as if they thought she was lying,” she said. She is still waiting for a court hearing.
Victims have also struggled to get themselves heard by traditional media.
Luo, now living in the US, told the BBC that the #MeToo movement encouraged her to go public with her allegations and evidence on China’s social media first, before it was picked up by news outlets.
#METOO: BEGINNING OF AN END?
People carry signs addressing the issue of sexual harassment at a #MeToo rally outside of Trump International Hotel on Dec. 9, 2017 in New York City. VCG Photo
In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, millions have taken their complaints to the Internet, most recently sweeping up the likes of Aziz Ansari and James Franco, both winners at the recent 75th Golden Globes.
Social media has proven to be a crucial channel through which victims can make themselves heard, and has raised awareness worldwide about the scale of the offence.
However, there is concern that this does not go far enough.
The cases making headlines have largely involved high-profile people in Hollywood and the media, Louise Fitzgerald, a psychologist at the University of Illinois, told the Washington Post.
“Will that have an effect on the woman being harassed at her job at Walmart or on the factory floor?”
According to Buzzfeed, more sexual harassment claims in the US are filed in the restaurant industry than in any other, where “as many as 90% of women and 70% of men reportedly experience some form of sexual harassment.”
Observers also worry that in some cases, accusations – and the wrath of angry netizens – may take down innocent people.
Where exactly the line should be drawn in social occasions varies as well. Global data-analyzing firm YouGov conducted a poll last October about Western attitudes towards sexual harassment. The findings suggest that consensus is not always clear.
Half of British women under 30 found wolf whistling unacceptable, compared to less than a fifth of women over 64, according to the survey. A quarter of French women under 30 meanwhile reported that even an offer to have a drink could count as harassment; almost none of their counterparts in Britain and Germany held the same view.
One thing the #MeToo movement can change at least is attitudes towards inappropriate behavior. To solve an issue of this scale, admitting that the problem does exist is already a start.
