Sexual Harassment
“For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up.” Today I will be telling you about a very important problem, that is just now being addressed and confronted. Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment has recently been the center of discussion all over the news. I know a lot of people, including myself, would like to be a part of the film industry. But seeing these stories about women being sexually abused by fellow actors and directors really scares off anyone who wants to be a part of the industry. It’s very important that we, as kids going into high school, and out into the real world know about this problem and know how to address it and stop it. Seeing Oprah Winfrey give a speech about the problem at the recent Golden Globes really touched home with many of the viewers, which is why I’d like to share this topic with you today.
As I mentioned before, Oprah Winfrey gave a very inspiring speech about stopping sexual harassment and standing up for yourself and others. She was receiving the Cecille B DeMille award, for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”. Oprah included a story about a woman named Recy Taylor. In 1944, Recy Taylor was on her way home from church, when she was kidnapped and raped by six white men. They left her tied up and blindfolded on the side of the road. She was eventually found by her father. Even though they had threatened her and told her not to tell anyone, she knew telling the authorities was the right thing to do. After telling the police, her case went to court, but the men were found not guilty, even though the six attackers ADMITTED to their crime. Even the seventh member of their gang admitted to seeing it and being a bystander. This obviously did not sit well with Taylor. She told her story and continued to seek justice. She finally got an official apology for the injustice she was served by the Alabama state police in 2011, 67 years after her attack. It’s sad to see how long it takes people to realize their mistakes and apologize. This is still a problem with more recent sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood. In Harvey Weinstein’s case, it took 27 years for his victims to step forward and say something.
In early October of 2017, an article in The New York Times was published. The article told about the first time multiple women came forward and accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct. In the next month, over 50 victims came forward, all accusing Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Harvey Weinstein’s accusers opened the floodgates. Allegations came pouring in from celebrities and civilians alike, claiming to have been harassed by Weinstein. Many other famous celebrities have been accused of sexual misconduct and rape, such as James Franco, T. J. Miller, Matt Lauer, Ryan Seacrest, Melanie Martinez and many others. But sexual harassment isn’t just something that happens in Hollywood. It can happen anywhere. Over half of the women in Canada experience sexual harassment at work, and fewer than 30 per cent report the incidents. Workplace harassment usually takes place in a predominantly male workspace, such as construction sites, where women are seen as weaker. Also, women in low wage jobs are also seen as lesser, and weaker because of their status. These women often don’t come forward and report the harassment because they are afraid of what might happen to them if they tell anyone. They will either not be taken seriously because of their status in the workplace, or the abuser has told them not to tell, and threatened them. But harassment isn’t just in a workplace, or in bars. Many women get called crude names in public, and sometimes that moment is aired on live television. Many women journalists get yelled at when interviewing people, and doing on site reports, and most people don’t do anything about it. Recently in Hamilton, a reporter named Britt Dixon was interviewing a police officer. During their conversation, a man walked behind her, and yelled profanities at her. The worst part about it? It was the third time it had happened that week. And even though she was interviewing a police officer, she had to ask him if he was going to do anything about it. He then went and confronted the American tourist. The tourist’s excuse? Everyone in the States says it! I emailed Britt Dixon to ask what happened to the man. She said he was charged with causing a disturbance, and he is still before the court now.
The official definition of consent is “giving permission for something to happen or agreement to do something,” which means agreeing with someone for anything to happen. Consent is very important in relationships. If it’s a manipulative relationship, one partner might say yes, but not mean it, in fear of the other partner. That is usually the case for sexual harassment victims. The harasser usually never asks and does whatever they want. But when victims are asked, and they say no, the harasser just does whatever they want anyways. Consent is just one of the things that women fight to make a social norm. Many women participate in marches that help bring awareness to consent, and many other problems. I’m sure lots of you know about the march that took place in Washington last year on January 21. Originally, it was to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration, but since then, it’s taken on a bigger meaning. On that day, there were marches in every big city across the world. There were even marches in smaller towns, proving that there are women around the globe that are willing to stand and speak out.
Along with women’s marches, there are many other ways that women have spread the message of equality. Just a few months ago, the hashtag #MeToo became very popular. Women and men around the world used the hashtag on Twitter and Instagram to show that they were victims of sexual harassment, and that they are standing up. Another phrase being used is “Time’s Up,” to portray the message that sexual harassment needs to end, and that no one should tolerate the behaviour. These movements made more women want to come forward, tell their story, and seek justice. Recently, over 150 women and girls came forward in court to tell their story of how a man named Larry Nassar abused his position as a doctor. Most were student athletes who were young girls, including Olympic gymnasts. He was sentenced to 175 years in prison. It’s amazing to see so many strong women stepping forward and doing the right thing during a difficult time in their life.
In the last few months, it’s been hard to not see this problem growing in American news, Canadian news, and in our own government. What pained me the most about writing this was that there were so many stories I couldn’t tell. Not only that you wouldn’t be able to hear their story, but also, that there are so many people who have had to endure this pain and this suffering. There are many ways you can help put an end to sexual harassment. You can retaliate by joining forces with other women and men, and participate in marches, and have an online presence, and speak out on social media. Another way you can help is by donating and helping not-forprofit organizations that help victims of harassment, such as the Ending Violence Association of Canada. I’ll mention again, it’s important that we know about these facts, and know about these issues, because we will soon go out into the real world, and sadly, we may have to face these problems. But if we address this now, by the time we are adults, sexual harassment will be a thing of the past. You can help stop sexual harassment by spreading the word and helping. “No one has ever become poor by giving.”