A call to good men …
Most men are good men, they respect and value women.
YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee exists “to be a spokesperson for women who have no voice.” As allegations of sexual harassment in the Tennessee House of Representatives swirl, two questions come to mind: First, how many women, working on our behalf within our state legislature, have had their voices silenced by fear, intimidation and unbridled power? Second, where are the good men who could stand up and help bring an end to this behavior?
Several years ago, YWCA embarked on an effort to make Nashville the safest city in the nation for women and girls by inviting men to be part of the solution. MEND is an innovative, primary prevention initiative dedicated to ending violence against women and girls by engaging men to educate boys differently.
Times are changing. Conversations about violence against women are public discussions, happening daily. More men are speaking up. More men are being held accountable for their illegal behavior, regardless of their stature or power.
Yet, far too many good men still stay silent, unknowing that their silence supports a culture that allows the violence to happen. Silence that supports a culture where an athlete believes anything he wants is his for the taking; a culture where an elected official thinks he can silence a victim of domestic violence; a culture where a state legislator imagines he is entitled to send inappropriate requests any time of the day or night to the women with whom he works.
If the culture of the House of Representatives allows for sexual harassment to happen to one woman, it is most certainly happening to others. And the good men who work there may know it is happening. Yet no one has spoken up to support the claims of women who can’t — for many reasons — defend themselves.
Sexual harassment is a violation of a woman’s human rights. It is workplace bullying and firmly occupies a seat on the continuum of violence against women we see every day at YWCA. Based on inequality, sexual harassment is about power, and the use of it to control others. Patterns of intimidation, emotional and economic abuse are prevalent. And finally in most cases, the responsibility for the crime is shifted, similar to domestic violence and rape, with burden of proof falling on the victim. (continue reading at Tennessean)