Sexual Harassment: The Latest Water Cooler Talk

Sexual Harassment: The Latest Water Cooler Talk
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The issue of sexual harassment is the latest water cooler talk. We are outraged momentarily, but we must get this right as we’ve been here far too many times. We must seize the moment for the masses to move from talk to action! Sexual harassment is a form of sexual violence and is just one aspect of sexual violence, in a larger framework of rape culture. For many, Hollywood is a dream, and conversely, the casting couch is a nightmare for victims and survivors everywhere from Compton, to East Los Angeles, to the South Side of Chicago. Rape culture describes a setting where rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. This setting is reinforced by norms that allow exploitation and the imbalance of power to persist so that the powerful can continue to prey on the vulnerable. Sexual harassment exists on college campuses, in the workplace, and is overall systematic. Far too often, victims and survivors are forced to stay in an environment of sexual violence. They ultimately drop out of college or leave the workplace, which then impacts their economic viability.

No matter where the virtual casting couch is, we need to make perpetrators, offenders and harm doers accountable for their actions. Bystanders are crucial to stopping these behaviors. Bystanders have key roles in the persistence of sexual violence, which includes sexual harassment. Bystanders aid and abet these norms when they look the other way or play into the schemes and system that perpetuate rape culture. Bystanders can use their power and influence to stop and prevent sexual violence by standing up, speaking out, and changing attitudes around gender and sexuality. This isn’t the sole responsibility of one individual or one case of sexual harassment. We must focus on the culture that allows sexual violence to happen and commit to change that leads to ending sexual violence once and for all.

The question isn’t how survivors can prevent sexual violence, rather, it is how we change the imbalance of power and prevent sexual violence as an ally and change makers in any community, industry, and society. We need to treat victims and survivors with respect and create spaces of safety so they feel comfortable to come forward. We must have a balanced workforce hierarchy that represents the population. We must also seek to remedy this situation and forever bury this ugly and egregious action that has plagued our society for far too long.

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