The issues surrounding sexual assault and harassment are clearly divisive, launching a range of different arguments and counter arguments about what they mean and methods of dealing with them or even if they’re an issue at all.
Whilst harassers and assaulters all over the world, such as Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein, are being called out on their actions, their behaviour is still being reinforced with high profile celebrities and politicians refusing to criticise or even engaging in it without repercussions.
Such a figure is the now President of the United States, Donald J. Trump who routinely uses twitter to insult and degrade women. In the now famous Access Hollywood tapes featuring Donald Trump released during his 2016 Presidential campaign he graphically described ways in which he could assault women such as “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women, I just start kissing them” and “grab them by the pussy, you can do anything”. Later, after the tapes resurfaced, many news organisations featured guests dismissing the comments as “locker room talk” and downplaying their significance.
Access Hollywood Tapes – The Washington Post
Union President at Manchester Metropolitan University, Amie Atkinson who campaigned on a basis of being “a massive advocate for women’s rights” claims that even as union president she still experiences cat calling on a regular basis. “I’ll be walking though campus from one building to another and I’ll have comments made about me as I pass” she said, “over the years I’ve learnt to just ignore them rather than challenge, but now that I’m in a position to make a difference, that’s exactly what I intend to do”
Atkinson went on to state that one of her key focuses as Union President is to create “a more friendly environment, where women don’t feel uncomfortable. An environment where abusive behaviour in called out…” because “…a refusal to condone comments like those from Mr Trump sets progress back decades”.
MMU Feminist Society representative, Mila Nixon, also weighed in on the issue saying “our current political climate can feel intimidating and sometimes it can be hard to see a future, but when people band together we can change things, starting with our university community and our city”
Nixon adds that the most important tool in the fight against harassment and assault is education. “A lot of the problems we face are down to the lack of knowledge surrounding them. If we start educating men and boys from a young age about consent then in later life we can potentially avoid continuing this harmful trend that’s remained a constant for generations”.
Despite the frustration of young women, older feminists are still critical of modern movements. In a recent interview with Al Jazeera Germaine Greer, renowned for being one of second-wave feminism’s major voices, criticised the Me Too movement as not doing enough, saying that it was “going nowhere” as well as challenging the notion that women who experience rape suffer from PTSD.
PREVIEW: Why does influential feminist Germaine Greer say #MeToo has “gone nowhere”? @mehdirhasan challenges @TheFemaleGreer on her controversial views on the movement and sexual assault.
Watch it on Friday August 10 at 20:00GMT. pic.twitter.com/HzPF5011Uq
— Head to Head (@AJHeadtoHead) August 8, 2018
Germaine Greer Interview – Al Jazeera (Twitter)
It’s clear that not everyone within a movement can agree, nor their views align and the turbulent nature of these issues will continue to divide people, but with the views of the younger generation being one of hope and change, the future is still bright for those that want to change the culture of harassment and assault.
To keep updated on the campaign you can follow us on social media:
Facebook – @changetheculturecampaign
Twitter – @changethecultu3
Or make your mark by signing our petition:
CHANGE THE CULTURE 