‘EVERYBODY KNEW’
This week, Concordia University’s creative writing program was in the spotlight over accusations that certain male professors hit on their students. Last week, it was Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company, where the artistic director resigned amid allegations of workplace sexual misconduct.
Since October, the Weinstein effect has shown no sign of letting up. But this is not about one man or another, even if there is a certain schadenfreude in seeing tables turned.
Suddenly, what is being widely acknowledged is the unacceptability of something women have faced for generations: being preyed upon by men taking advantage of a power imbalance — physical and otherwise. This is not only an occupational hazard for Hollywood starlets.
As the #MeToo movement has illustrated, such abuses have been pervasive. Far too many men — and yes, they are usually men — have used their ability to advance or undermine a woman’s career and/or livelihood for their own selfish ends. Sadly, the idea that a professor might be hitting on his (usually much younger) students surprises no one. Nor does the idea that a boss might behave unprofessionally with an employee. That sort of thing has been going on for a long time, and rules and laws, where they have existed, have not been enough to stop it.
It may sometimes appear as if the women involved are willing to try to advance their own careers in this way. But it is not unusual for young women lured into such relationships to end up feeling used and abused. Free consent depends on the absence of a power relationship that leaves one person more vulnerable on account of depending on the other for their livelihood or career advancement. It is up to the person with power not to exercise it inappropriately, and for that person’s employer or board to hold him accountable. But tellingly, most of the recent allegations have been followed by choruses of “everybody knew.”
Meanwhile, many other women are anything but complicit, but don’t report assaults for fear nothing will result but damage to their own reputations, as organizations prioritize protecting their institutional interests.
Is the torrent of allegations going to sweep away predatory behaviour? The threat of public exposure might now act as a deterrent.
But because what is at play here is a broader societal power imbalance, ultimately, the remedy is to be found in creating balance.
Women’s continuing advance into positions of power — where they set legislative priorities and corporate policies, for example — is cause for optimism. The days of men misbehaving with impunity, protected by the boys’ club, cannot end too soon.