Over the last year, at an ever increasing pace, revelations of sexual abuse, misconduct, and harassment have been uncovered in virtually every sphere of society – churches, businesses, schools, the State House, Congress, finance, film, technology, music industries ….. At this point it looks like that if you turn over any big rock you’ll find some nastiness crawling under it.
Given that, it would seem that it’s incumbent on virtually every organization to take a hard look at itself rather than wait for someone else to turn over their rock. Questions every organization should be asking themselves at this point:
Do we have a problem with sexual harassment / sexual abuse anywhere in our ranks?
How would we know if we did?
What have we done, what can we do, to insure that any potential victims will be confident enough in the organization to come forward with uncomfortable information, particularly if it involves someone with substantial power in the organization?
What can we do to instill in ALL members of our organization the belief that part of their job is to report incidents rather than look the other way … particularly when it involves someone with substantial authority. ?
- How can we ensure that those coming forward will not pay a price for their uncomfortable honesty
These are not easy questions. There are not easy answers organizationally. Yes, it’s straightforward to create an organization that can handle a case where a lower level employee does something wrong. It’s a much more difficult for an organization to protect employees from those above them in the organizational chart.
Given the overwhelming number of cases unveiled recently it’s clear that no organization is immune to these kind of problems. It’s also clear that these kinds of problems are devastating for those involved and have a corrosive effect on the entire organization.
I know Newton is a very special place, but we’re not that special. What is Newton’s city government doing to address this issue within itself? What should it do?
Jerry- I greatly appreciate you taking a leap to start this conversation.
I am not sure I completely connect with your rock analogy- in a sense the behavior was never under a rock- to a certain degree it was out in plain sight, (we all watched Matt Lauer humiliate Anne Hathaway during an interview on national TV-when it first aired I had a strong reaction to it- but assumed I was over-reacting as this was America’s favorite Dad!). https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/29/16714790/matt-lauer-anne-hathaway-2012-sexism-sexual-harassment
The behavior has existed and been tolerated, and the perpetrators have been protected. I have been thinking a lot about this moment- and is this a real turning point? I want to believe it is, but I am not entirely convinced.
In 1991 I was glued to the TV during Anita Hill’s testimony, only to be in shock and despair when Clarence Thomas was sworn in.
The look on my daughter’s 13 year old faces after they learned that a president who had gone on TV and admitted to sexually predatory behavior and then went on to be elected will be forever burned in my brain- their shock, sadness and confusion.
Currently both democrats and republics are making excuses for elected officials, leaders if you will, who have engaged in sexual assault, harassment and abuse.
These are the moments that stand out when I consider, are we truly changing? Are things getting better, (safer?) for women? Is this finally the moment where we say enough? Where we take a hard look at our workplaces, leaders and role models and hold them accountable?
I would like to think so- but change has to come top down, and currently the leader of the free world is setting a dangerous tone, that when you are famous,” they let you do anything you want.”
@Brenda Noel – You’re right that the general problem is there in plain sight. I guess the hidden-under-a-rock analogy is referring to the various previously trusted individuals and organizations (Bill Cosby, the Catholic Church, the Olympic Team, etc) that turned out to have had rampant problems for long periods of time, without the public ever suspecting.
My thought was that from what we’ve seen recently, even if there is no apparent problem, unless someone goes and turns over the rock we won’t know what’s there.
As for starting the conversation, I’ll give that credit to Isabelle Albeck who has been very actively talking to people about this issue and put the bug in my ear.
Much to my surprise there’s crickets here on this thread – Brenda Noel not withstanding.
Maybe this lack of responses (besides Brenda’s) means nobody knows what is happening at City Hall. Is reporting any reprehensible behavior among employees encouraged? Are there seminars or training sessions already in place that make clear which behaviors are considered harassment?
Does the city have a responsibility to educate students and get them ready for the real world? After the DARE program and the Understanding Handicap program, a No Harassment program?
I think it means that many of us are so exhausted by all the things to be outraged about that we don’t have any energy left to go looking for more. Doesn’t mean we don’t care about these things, just that so many are coming out without searching for them. :(
I agree with Meredith. There have been so many tumultuous revelations in the past two months that there’s a real risk of exhaustion and maybe even backlash. Precisely because these are such hard questions (how to prove who knew what, and when; how to deter the culture of harassment; how can institutions police themselves in a trustworthy way) and there are no easy answers means that many folks may just give up. I mean, look at the Alabama Senate race.
@Meredith & Ted – I don’t disagree. It’s been a bit overwhelming.
That said, I do hope every local organization, including the city, is internally wrestling internally with this rather that just relying on the status quo and hoping for the best.
@Jerry – I agree with you completely. I just don’t have the energy to have a discussion on it right now.
Jerry, thanks so much for posting this. Violence against women is a men’s issue and we need to do the work to change. This ted talk makes the point well:
https://www.ted.com/talks/jackson_katz_violence_against_women_it_s_a_men_s_issue