Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
Sarah Adams (who I know through CJSW) wrote this article last week for CBC that sparked a lot of conversation:
Dismantle the sexual harassment 'otherworld' — or at least recognize it exists for women
Calgary's Sarah Adams challenges people to acknowledge and end the sexual harassment in their midst
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...pace-1.3420465
I have also discovered many women in the Calgary music scene knew about Ghomeshi and knew to stay away from him. |
I think we all need to recognize how pervasive sexual assault is, and how often it happens in secrecy. However, I don't agree that we live in a culture that is tolerant of sexual assault. In fact, if anyone can site some cultures that are
less tolerant of sexual assault, I'd like to hear them. Personally, I've never come across the scenario put forward in the article of women telling men about sexual abuse carried out by their peers, and the men not acknowledging it. Maybe that really is a thing. But I'm not really sure what kind of social pressures we can exert beyond what we already do to make it clear to men that this is awful behaviour. It's not as though we routinely see men openly boasting of rape. There's a reason it's kept secret - because it's morally repugnant.
I think some of the frustration stems from the naturalism fallacy - that we are inherently good and peaceful creatures, and it's only poor socialization (or 'rape culture') that makes men sexually assault women. That if we socialize men better, they will stop. While I think we can (and have) reduce the predatory behaviour of men, short of genetic manipulation or hormonal therapy, we'll never completely root it out. Which is why there has never been a culture where murder is unheard of.