Can We Stop Sexual Harassment?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Can We Stop Sexual Harassment?
Townhall, Dec 1, 2017, Linda Chavez

With each new revelation of sexual misconduct by a powerful man, I ask myself, "When will this end?" How is it that so many men have behaved piggishly -- illegally -- and the women they abused remained silent for fear that the humiliation they endured would only be worse if they came forward? How is it that powerful organizations, including those media companies we trust to uncover stories of such wrongdoing, turned a blind eye? And that question is the one that stops me dead in my tracks. Am I part of the problem, too?

***

I've always worked in male-dominated environments -- on Capitol Hill in the early 1970s, in the White House in the mid-1980s, in the corporate world since the late 1990s and in the media for the past 30 years. Several of the high-profile men who've been accused of harassment are men I've worked for, alongside of or been interviewed by, some on multiple occasions. When their names became public, I wasn't surprised. In each instance, my antennae were up when I was around them. These were not guys I'd allow myself to be alone with, certainly not in a social setting and especially not in their hotel room.


Read more: https://townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/2017/12/01/can-we-stop-sexual-harassment-n2416537

[Right_in_Virginia]

This will make some heads spin. 

[ConstitutionRose]

Most women aren't in that position. They're vulnerable, or they believe they are.
....
We can also help by letting women know that they, too, have power -- the power to set up barriers to protect themselves. Walk away when you feel uncomfortable. Say no to the first hint of improper behavior. Say it loud and clear and let the man know that what he is doing not only is unacceptable but may cost him his job. Don't get into a car at night if you don't know the man well. And never ever go to a man's hotel room. These rules won't protect you in every situation, but they will send a powerful signal. And remember that no job, no promotion is worth losing your dignity or risking your safety.

I never felt I lacked power to control the situation.  Is that an upbringing thing?  I don't know.

The last paragraph is just common sense.  Why don't women know these simple strategies?

[Bigun]

Simple answer! NO! We cannot. Especially in an enviornment where a simple thing like a "you look nice today" can be construed as harassment of ANY kind!

[aligncare]

Might as well try asking to put a stop to evolutionary biology.

[Bigun]

Might as well try asking to put a stop to evolutionary biology.

Yep! Or the calendar!

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Simple answer! NO! We cannot. Especially in an enviornment where a simple thing like a "you look nice today" can be construed as harassment of ANY kind!

It's like trying to end poverty.  There will always be poverty because people will always have a definition of poverty, even if it means you  didn't get the new apple phone until the day after it was released.

[RoosGirl]

After reading the article I feel like I just attended one of those presentations in the Junior High auditorium.   

[bolobaby]

Simple answer! NO! We cannot. Especially in an enviornment where a simple thing like a "you look nice today" can be construed as harassment of ANY kind!

If we can't stop women from wearing yoga pants to work - which is basically sexual harassment from a guy's perspective - then, no.

[INVAR]

After reading the article I feel like I just attended one of those presentations in the Junior High auditorium. 

Yes.  I remember those days.   Usually Sex Ed week when the 6th Grade would have to suffer through instructional films made back in the 1950s.

Like this one.  You remember:

! No longer available

[RoosGirl]

Yes.  I remember those days.   Usually Sex Ed week when the 6th Grade would have to suffer through instructional films made back in the 1950s.

Like this one.  You remember:

! No longer available

Did we go to the same Junior High?

[INVAR]

Did we go to the same Junior High?

I'm pretty sure all public schools in the country were mandated to bore and scare the student population with the same old black and white instructional films until VHS tapes became popular and porn was showed instead.

The black and white US Army-made films existing in an era before mandated videos of Barney the dinosaur was instructing kindergartners how to put a condom on a banana.

Come to think of it, it isn't a question of whether or not we went to the same Jr. High but if we live in the same country we grew up in anymore?

[RoosGirl]

I'm pretty sure all public schools in the country were mandated to bore and scare the student population with the same old black and white instructional films until VHS tapes became popular and porn was showed instead.

The black and white US Army-made films existing in an era before mandated videos of Barney the dinosaur was instructing kindergartners how to put a condom on a banana.

Come to think of it, it isn't a question of whether or not we went to the same Jr. High but if we live in the same country we grew up in anymore?

I'm positive the answer to that question is a resounding NO!

[Smokin Joe]

Simple answer! NO! We cannot. Especially in an enviornment where a simple thing like a "you look nice today" can be construed as harassment of ANY kind!

That is the seminal point. When the definition of what constitutes "Harassment" is a moving target, no behaviour is ever good enough by what the standard will be tomorrow. The only alternative is just not hiring women. 

[IsailedawayfromFR]

That is the seminal point. When the definition of what constitutes "Harassment" is a moving target, no behaviour is ever good enough by what the standard will be tomorrow. The only alternative is just not hiring women. 

Yes, standards without boundaries will never end it until total separation of the sexes occurs.

The way it is going, look for wives claiming husbands of sexual harassment.  There is no end game whatsover.

[GtHawk]

Simple answer! NO! We cannot. Especially in an enviornment where a simple thing like a "you look nice today" can be construed as harassment of ANY kind!

I miss the days of my youth, I worked as a cook in a restaurant where the waitresses, predominantly young college students, outnumbered the males and gave as good if not better than they got from the males and nobody cried sexual harassment over bawdy jokes and innuendo.  Of course we considered each other family so if anyone had gotten physical it would never have to make it to HR, the offender would have been dealt with......................in house so to speak.

[Frank Cannon]

After reading the article I feel like I just attended one of those presentations in the Junior High auditorium.   

I remember those....

[INVAR]

I remember those....

You must be a hell of a lot younger than me, or you were on the twelve year plan - because none of our informative, instructional middle school films in the 70's that were intended to scare us into good citizens were ever in color.

Lucky bastard.

[Frank Cannon]

You must be a hell of a lot younger than me, or you were on the twelve year plan - because none of our informative, instructional middle school films in the 70's that were intended to scare us into good citizens were ever in color.

Lucky bastard.

Our school didn't have a large budget so they showed us whatever the rich school was throwing out....

! No longer available

[INVAR]

Our school didn't have a large budget so they showed us whatever the rich school was throwing out....

! No longer available

Yup.  They made us watch that one twice a year.

I've been afraid of basketball courts, public bathrooms next to piers and delivering newspapers ever since.

Then Elton John and Queen hit the top 10 and I had to go and hide from the radio.

[RoosGirl]

Poor Jimmy, getting put on probation just for hanging out with and doing some odd favors for the homer up the road.

[Right_in_Virginia]

For me, one of the most shocking eye-openers from this sordid chapter from the world of NBC is just how many women did what they were told.  They willingly walked into hotel rooms and offices and then never yelled "stop!".  What the hell is *this* about?  There is no excuse for this --- especially with the laws currently on the books protecting women.  But no law is going to protect a woman if she will not first step up and protect herself.

I think Linda Chavez is trying to remind women that they are not powerless against the powerful; that they, too, have a role to play in stopping sexual harassment and sexual assault.  It's almost inconceivable that today's women have to be reminded of this, but apparently they do:

We can also help by letting women know that they, too, have power -- the power to set up barriers to protect themselves. Walk away when you feel uncomfortable. Say no to the first hint of improper behavior. Say it loud and clear and let the man know that what he is doing not only is unacceptable but may cost him his job. Don't get into a car at night if you don't know the man well. And never ever go to a man's hotel room. These rules won't protect you in every situation, but they will send a powerful signal. And remember that no job, no promotion is worth losing your dignity or risking your safety.