All women know they are prey – and that no one with any authority seems to care
I suggest reading the whole Article; it is free.
To all those who could be found pointing out that “we” have to remember these are extreme cases: thanks for dialling in. They are extreme, yes – but they are part of a continuum of male harassment and the fear of it that women experience every day of their lives. Women are constantly, constantly performing risk assessment. Dare I pass down this street at this time? Is this the routine sleazy comment that turns into something worse? Is he going to keep walking or will he turn around? To make a troubled peace with it, we have to euphemise this lifestyle as “being sensible” or “taking care”, but it’s really just a statistically justified fear as part of daily life. Every woman has experienced various things along that continuum.
This holds true for anywhere I go in the world.
The onus is put on the women [read the article].
- What were you wearing?
- Were you drunk?
- Why were you there?
- Why were you alone?
This is even before the legal defence paints you as a slut/whore.
How often do we hear excuses for “minor” offences?
- He only touched you once.
- It was normal in his generation, you have to take this into consideration?
What is forgotten.
How often do women have to deal with this “normal” every day?
The Criminal Justice System: Statistics
The Majority of Sexual Assaults Are Not Reported to the Police
Only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police. That means more than 2 out of 3 go unreported.1
- Individuals of college-age2
- Female Students: 20% report
- Female Non-Students: 32% report
- The elderly: 28% report3
- Members of the military: 43% of female victims and 10% of male victims reported.4
Sexual harassment at work?
For a couple of decades most organizations and executives felt good about this: They were dealing with the problem. But sexual harassment is still with us, as the #MeToo movement has made clear. Today some 40% of women (and 16% of men) say they’ve been sexually harassed at work—a number that, remarkably, has not changed since the 1980s. In part that could be because women are now more likely to use the term “harasser” than “cad” for a problem boss. But given how widespread grievance procedures and forbidden-behavior training have become, why are the numbers still so high?
Outside work?
Worldwide, statistics show that 80% of women endure at least frequent street harassment, 45% feel that they cannot go alone to public spaces, 50% have to cross the street to find alternate routes to their destinations, 26% claim that they are in a relationship in order to avoid harassment, 80% feel the need to be constantly alert when traversing local streets and 9% have had to switch careers to escape the area in which harassment occurred.[10] This problem is not only transnational, but also transcultural and affects people of all identities, races, and ages—everyday.[11]
It’s not only women, yes, but the vast majority are.
Once again, I’ll repeat.
It is all about power.