By Laurie D. Willis
A week hardly goes by without another well-known journalist, entertainer, politician, or businessman being accused of sexual harassment or sexual assault. Some weeks, so many men are linked to such allegations that it’s hard to keep up.
As a woman who has experienced her share of lewd comments in the workplace over the years—though never any unwanted touches or requests—I’m glad women are speaking out about sexual harassment and sexual assault, which have gone on for far too long in the United States. Equally important to the fact that women are now speaking out, I think, is the fact that some men are starting to more closely examine their workplace actions.
A few weeks ago, I was listening to a segment about sexual harassment and sexual assault on NPR. Once the phone lines were opened, a man called in and questioned how he would know whether he’s doing or saying something that could be construed as sexual harassment. As I continued driving, I remember thinking that a grown man should know whether he’s committing sexual harassment—and certainly sexual assault, which is a criminal offense.
I mean, if the speed limit’s 55 and you’re driving 70 miles per hour, you know you’re breaking the law and subjecting yourself to a traffic ticket and increased car insurance premiums. Likewise, if smoking marijuana is illegal in your state and you get caught in an alleyway smoking pot, you know you’re breaking the law and may face jail time.
I guess what I’m saying is some things are clear-cut. So while I was glad the man thought enough to call in and pose his question, I was nonetheless struck by his need to do so. At any rate, I gave him props for making the call and for acknowledging that, perhaps in years past, he inadvertently said or did something to a female colleague that constituted sexual harassment or sexual assault.
But that man, sadly, won’t be joined by every man in America. Not by a long shot. You see, a lot of men are too arrogant to even think about their actions. That’s right. Even in the wake of this “sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace-revolution,” there are still many men who will continue saying inappropriate things to women on the job, asking them to do things they know they shouldn’t, and engaging in inappropriate acts in women’s presence.
It’s just like drinking and driving. Everybody knows the two don’t mix. Yet, according to statistics, 10,265 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in the U.S. in 2015. The same can be said for the dangers of texting and driving. Yet every day, teenagers—and adults—are seen weaving down the highway because they’re texting and driving, and some of them end up in the hospital or the morgue.
But back to my assertion: many men will continue conducting themselves in ill-advised ways on the job despite the fact that politicians have resigned—or suddenly “retired”—as a result of sexual harassment or sexual assault allegations; despite the fact that a two-time Oscar winner has checked into treatment for an unspecified reason after numerous allegations surfaced against him; and despite the fact that the man who is arguably the most famous “dad” in American history has been in and out of court for allegations that go back decades.
It’s my firm belief that some men won’t stop their harassing ways until they’re caught. They know better, but as long as they can get away with it, they’ll continue. To me, it’s no different than dirty, racist cops who commit acts of police brutality and murder against African-Americans and other minorities. They know it’s wrong, and they also know, given technology today, chances are somebody’s videotaping them on a cell phone while they’re committing their heinous acts. Even so, they don’t stop until they’re caught and brought to justice—if they’re brought to justice.
I suppose if anything good has come from all of the sexual harassment/assault allegations that have surfaced, and the subsequent firings and resignations that have followed in their wake, it’s that women are no longer affording men the benefit of their silence. Likewise, it’s good that some men are finally realizing they cannot continue treating women in the workplace—particularly those over whom they’re in positions of power—like mere objects with whom they can do as they please.
I also think it’s good that some corporations and businesses are being forced to admit that for years—or decades—they’ve looked the other way when men on their payrolls were acting unscrupulously or criminally, just because those men were raking in the dough for the shareholders and CEOs.
Maybe now that women across America are taking a cue from actor Peter Finch, who in the 1976 Oscar-winning movie Network famously stuck his head out a window and shouted,
“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore,”
perhaps men across America will get their acts together, too. Perhaps men across America—and across the globe, for that matter—will start treating women with the respect, dignity, and professionalism we deserve—just as they’d want their wives, daughters, mothers, sisters, aunts, female cousins, and friends to be treated.
