ELOISE ROWE, TANNUM SANDS

IN the “battle of the sexes”, some males take it literally!

Third millennium women from every culture and every nation on Earth are still exposed to an undercurrent of inappropriate personal risks of the abuse of power, regardless of age. Social media exacerbates and promotes the denigration of women in a male-dominated world.

In developing countries and nations where women are regarded as second-class citizens and devalued, de-individualised and subject to oppression and abuse, even from home, the threat of attack for females is high. Rape and violence are weapons of war – in the home and in public, even in Australia.

Whether it is high court judges, film directors, boyfriends, fellow workers, peers, family members, politicians or police abusing their roles and power, women cannot become complacent with their personal safety, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown.

All have the potential to be predators, some with impunity, where a patriarchal system of law and order deem females subordinate.

Opportunists are on the lookout for unsuspecting targets.

In WA, the recent sexual abuse of a 93-year-old woman alone in her home by a teenager displays contempt for women per se, by males who can physically overpower the “weaker sex”.

In our third millennium world, women still have not achieved equity and social justice, because it suits the 49 per cent to keep them in their place for their own ends.

Change will not come until it is a level playing field. Children learn what they live.