Through decades and centuries, the behavior of the two sexes—male and female—have drastically changed and new roles and identities have evolved. A familiar stereotype that was implemented some thousand years ago turned out to be more problematic than people might have thought. The idea of women being inferior to men became a deal breaker when sexual harassment found an egregious way to pry into the norms of society. Despite all of women’s efforts to speak out on sexual harassment, there are many men out in the world who are complacent to objectifying women and taking the opportunity of making unconsented contact with her. Sexual harassment forms as a result of the normalization of harassment in general, or rape culture. From there, its components—either similar or more serious—can be exacerbated and eventually make a situation deadly. This progression of events is best represented by a pyramid of sexual harassment, starting with verbal harassment, and assault, and lastly rape as the apex of the pyramid.
Verbal harassment can go beyond the boundaries of saying insensitive things to someone that can hurt feelings. It can attack one’s sense of privacy and make someone feel singled out when things like sexual comments, jokes, text messages, wolf whistling, and catcalling are thrown into the mix. In an article submitted by New York Times author Susan Chira about the MeToo movement, a movement of advocates who spread awareness of the dilemma of sexual violence and bring a sense of recovery into victims’ lives, surveying men and women on whether or not they ever experienced verbal harassment. 77% of those women surveyed stated that they considered themselves victims. (Chira) It can be concluded that street and workplace harassment are widely accepted as well, for about two thirds of women had experienced verbal sexual harassment in public and one third of women found themselves a victim in the workplace. (Chira) According to these statistics, it can be inferred that the workplace is one of the most common sites where women are more prone to realize their inferiority to men. Gender wage gaps and discrimination against women who want job positions that would be considered “built for a man” are problems as well, but harassment takes the center of attention in this case. Women in the workplace can unintentionally become an enabler for their offenders for fear of losing a job or needing its financial support. Victims will remain silent about these events, and as a result the situation can escalate even further and offenders will take a step further, moving onto the next pyramid level: assault.
Almost every woman is familiar with the incite of discomfort or fear that accompanies assault. Most of the time there is never consent, and there are always those people who do not take “no” for an answer. Bringing attention back into the workplace, more than verbal harassment can be found there. Unwanted contact and, in some unfortunate cases, rape go hand in hand and can also occur as well. Beyond the workplace, you can find that assault and rape exists in the Hollywood industry as well. Celebrity sex scandals have been on the rise recently, and Josh Rottenberg and Amy Kaufman of the Los Angeles Times bring a very fundamental point as to why women celebrities remain hidden in the dark about their assaults. In accordance with the Harvey Weinstein case, the two authors wrote that, “These women say they either felt too embarrassed or afraid to tell their stories earlier. They anticipated potential repercussions for their careers or felt that their complaints would fall on deaf ears.” (Rottenburg and Kaufman) This is one of the uncertainties that women have over speaking out on their offenders, and a lot of them most likely fear wrecking their career. Michael Tarm of the Staten Island Advance Newspaper who wrote “Accusers Face Risks in Breaking Nondisclosure Agreements”, provides another reason why women hesitate to discuss their harassments. Nondisclosure agreements are agreements are usually signed before an accuser sues or before a lawsuit gets to trial. They entail guidelines that are meant to buy the victim(s)’ silence, and they are asked to erase all evidence that correlates with the crime. (Tarm) For instance, Bill Cosby used a nondisclosure agreement against one of his victims: Andrea Constand, a woman who said Cosby had drugged and raped her back in 2004. The Bill Cosby case has led people to believe that the accusations put against him are more and more believable as people have come forth. It’s said that a substantial amount of women—fifty to be exact—have accused Bill Cosby of rapes or sexual assaults as early as the 1960s and stretching for decades beyond. (Tarm)
Let it not be misunderstood that rape culture is the only reason why sexual harassment is happening to women. There are people who say a woman's choice of fashion or her physical appearance alone is an invitation for men. People will argue that “she was asking for it”. Shaila Dewan of the New York Times points out five arguments people would make against victims who accused those that harassed them, and proposes evidence that corrects the misconceptions of them as well in her article “5 (Misguided) Reasons People Doubt Victims of Sexual Misconduct”. Four arguments stood out the most, and are the most commonly used to say why sexual harassment continues today. The first is that the victim doesn’t act like one. Dewan says that “There is no one response to sexual assault. A trauma victim can as easily appear calm or flat as distraught or overtly angry.” She continued by saying that later on victims might start self-medicating, becoming disconnected with loved ones and society, and participating in more sexual behavior. (Dewan) The second reason is that the victim remains friendly with her abuser. It was emphasized how others tend to believe that the woman is “willingly” accepting of their offender if they remain in close contact with them. (Dewan) The reason for this, as stated earlier (Rottenburg and Kaufman), has to do with their fear of what others will think, even if it wasn’t their fault. This also goes hand in hand with the third reason: the victim didn’t fight back. People interpret this as the woman complying with the offender’s intent. Following this was an objection, stating, “Neurobiological research has shown that the so-called fight-or-flight response to danger would more accurately be called "fight, flight or freeze." And even after that initial response, victims can be rendered involuntarily immobile, becoming either paralyzed or limp as a result of the brain and body's protective response.” (Dewan) The most insensitive reason that argues why sexual harassment continues is that the victims do not come forward right away. “Offenders encourage confusion and shame and exploit people's reluctance to identify themselves as victims”, (Dewan) She adds, “Negative consequences are not the only thing to keep victims from coming forward. Experts point to a more paramount issue: When the perpetrator is someone they trusted, it can take years for victims even to identify what happened to them as a violation.” (Dewan)
Whether people believe the blame is on women or men, sexual harassment always leaves a heavy burden to carry. Some men use patriarchy to their advantage to justify their actions, but the truth of the matter is that behaviors like this are unjust and shouldn’t be seen as normal. The lack of knowledge of what is considered sexual harassment and what is not is yet another problem that is in dire need of being addressed. When sexual harassment is deemed a norm, that is when society creates a rape culture that can make women feel confined and ultimately helpless. There is a lack of empathy amongst those men, and because of it women have to face the sometimes unavoidable consequences and their repercussions, and will always be known as a victim for the rest of their lives. It is vital to ensure the safety and integrity of women’s well-being for future consequences. We can educate people on where familiarity draws the line, and how to change the bias of those who are proponents to sexual harassment.
Works Cited
Allred, Gloria. "End the Ticking Clock for Rape." Los Angeles Times, 02 Sep, 2016, pp. A.17. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
Chira, Susan. "Why #MeToo Took Off: Sheer Number Who can Say 'Me, Too'." New York Times, 24 Feb, 2018, pp. A. 17. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
Dewan, Shaila. "5 (Misguided) Reasons People Doubt Victims of Sexual Misconduct." New York Times, 12 Dec, 2017, pp. A. 20. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
Rottenberg, Josh, and Amy Kaufman. “Hollywood's Dirty Secret Gets Exposed.” Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct, 2017, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
Tarm, Michael. "Accusers Face Risks in Breaking Nondisclosure Agreements." Staten Island Advance, 01 Dec, 2017. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.