#MeToo and its repercussions

[Sriram]

Hi everyone,

Here is a BBC article that raises very pertinent questions about #MeToo.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42200092

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That whispering you hear from American women right now? It's not elation, it's anxiety; the fear of a backlash.

There are women who say it's been so unfair for so long that if a few innocent men get wrongfully accused, that's a price they are happy to pay. I'm a lot more comfortable with the first half of that sentiment than the second.

The biggest backlash risk is a fake accusation that will undermine genuine accusers. Whether for personal, vindictive reasons or for political, strategic reasons, a woman will falsely accuse a high profile man of sexual misconduct, the story will get attention and then when it's proven to be fake, the backlash will begin. The response will quickly be: "You see, all these stories aren't true. Women are making it up."

The next fear is that men will get so nervous that they're going to be accused of harassment that they will simply stop hiring, meeting or socialising with female colleagues. There are reports this is already happening.

The question of who stands as judge and jury is also a cause for concern. There's often no corroborating evidence in cases of historic abuse, no witnesses or photographs. We are all still learning how to distinguish what seems credible and what doesn't. Women's stories of harassment should be believed, and they often haven't been in the past, but they should also be able to withstand scrutiny.

The final reason is also the most complex because it raises the thorny issue of relativity. Are all incidents of harassment the same and equally egregious? Do some apologies count for more than others?

The backlash fear here is that if all cases of bad behaviour are treated equally this could quickly become a vendetta in which lots and lots of men are implicated and punished. Men will be seen as the bad guys simply for the crime of being male.

And we're finding out that in harassment, as in most areas of life, what initially seemed such a simple case of black and white, actually has shades of confusing grey.

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A very balanced article, I think.

Cheers.

Sriram

[Nearly Sane]

I think it raises a lot of valid points, though I would suggest that the questions were raised almost instantly because it has always been grey, rather than black and white. The big question is how we deal wit the widespread culture of sexual harassment and assault, something that is not recent and not unique to one country or set of countries.

[Owlswing]

The same criteria apply to the so-called witch-hunt among TV celebrities, Rolf Harris, Paul Gambucini. Cliff Richard etc.

All the Hoo-haa about the searching of Cliff's house and the silence - he is still @under suspicion' and his accuser is still anonymous.

Not a great state of affairs.

[Rhiannon]

What I find sad is the division it is causing. We know of the impact that the fear of false accusations has had on education - fewer male primary teachers, staff afraid to hug distressed children etc. It is entirely possible that men wont meet with female colleagues, or that women wont be hired in the first place. My mother wouldn't have been able to have her career on a mostly male world - it just wouldn't have happened.

It's already been established that men are victims too, of harassment, of abuse, of domestic violence. How is this narrative going to eb taken forward to that both sexes come together to deal with what we go through?

[Udayana]

Don't think it will go forward. Women will be replaced by sex robots that only complain enticingly.

Soon after, humans will become extinct.

[Owlswing]

What I find sad is the division it is causing. We know of the impact that the fear of false accusations has had on education - fewer male primary teachers, staff afraid to hug distressed children etc. It is entirely possible that men wont meet with female colleagues, or that women wont be hired in the first place. My mother wouldn't have been able to have her career on a mostly male world - it just wouldn't have happened.

It's already been established that men are victims too, of harassment, of abuse, of domestic violence. How is this narrative going to eb taken forward to that both sexes come together to deal with what we go through?

The $64,000 question.