The Voice of Women Say, “Time’s Up!”

It is a great beginning to the New Year. Prominent women and men in Hollywood and London have launched a movement to end sexual harassment in the workplace and society. They aim to challenge every act of sexual harassment and abuse that comes to light. It is called “Time’s Up.”

Months ago, it began with the hash tag “MeToo” tag that encouraged abused women no matter their station in life to speak out and challenge their abusers. It is now a defining moment in history. Since the human race began, women were always considered by men to be inferior, the so-called weaker sex, which was a way to establish, falsely of course, that they somehow had lesser rights than men and were expected to be docile and subservient. It gave permission for the males to dominate them and to do much as they pleased especially when they were in positions of ascendency and power over the women.

The women suffered and endured the humiliation and harassment and feared if they complained they would be further discriminated against, harassed and even fired from their job or their careers would be stymied. The slogan was, it seems, “play along or pay the price.”

Now no more will western women have to “play-along” and cover up their anguish, intimidation and feelings of humiliation and being exploited and used as the play things of abusive men. The “Time’s Up” group is composed of well-known producers, actresses, writers and studio executives. The action has raised as much as US $13 million for legal cases against individuals who are accused of harassment or companies who allow or ignore such harassment in the workplace.

The legal fund will help the poorer women and men and youth in low-paid jobs who are sexually molested and abused and are afraid and unable to take legal action due to the high costs. They are usually afraid to speak out and are likely to lose their employment. But the movement has a strong following and is there to help everyone in need.

The “Time’s Up” is to challenge the gross indecency and silence that surrounds the culture of sexual harassment. It has gone unchallenged for centuries. It’s a defining moment in the age of women’s freedom. The “Time’s Up” movement published a full-page letter in The New York Times and the Spanish newspaper La Opinion to declare that  “Time’s Up” for the abusers and they will be challenged, exposed, and forced to step down from their preeminent pedestals of power.

One of the gagging techniques the abusive men used was to get the victims to take money and sign a non-disclosure agreement and threatened them. This ensured the silence of the victims. This is now being targeted to totally discredit the practice and have it banned.

Those abused are encouraged to never to sign anything but to seek the help of “Time’s Up.” It is an encouraging and historical time for the rights of women to be vindicated and protected and justice be done and be seen by all to be done. Thousands of men prone to commit acts of lasciviousness, sexual abuse and harassment can quake in their boots if this really takes off. Not only is the name-and-shame campaign empowering women to take a stand and point their accusing finger but it is backed up with legal action.  Others take a more subtle approach to their empowerment and survival.

Are women smarter than men? You would imagine that they are still subservient to men in Afghanistan as some of the women are seen to walk five meters or more behind their husbands or male guardians. Normally it is a humiliation. I read somewhere the following story. A woman’s rights advocate visiting her friend in Afghanistan said, “After all this struggle for equality of women, you still walk behind your husband.” “We are much smarter,” the woman replied. “How is that so?” the perplexed advocate asked. The woman smiled and looked at the advocate and said one word. “Landmines.”

So the day is fast approaching when there will be some change in the western world when women speak out for their rights and expose the harassment and abuse they endured. But it will take a long time for it to enter the mainstream of other cultures and change them forever. But change comes slowly like a river eating its way through a canyon. We have to take legal action and enforce the rule of law to protect women and children.

Preda Foundation has been promoting and supporting the new proposed law in Ireland. It will be presented soon in the Dail, sponsored by Maureen O’Sullivan TD and other parliamentarians that will effectively curb the travel to foreign developing countries of convicted pedophiles. In Australia, where such a law is in place, it was revealed that as many as 800 convicted pedophiles travelled to poor countries before it was enacted. These are countries where the children are vulnerable, poor and easily available for abusers and law enforcement is weak. But stopping them may indeed be the only way to protect the children. Who could be against such a law?  We need the same for the UK and the EU. Ireland can give the lead and then it will be a much safer world for children.

Political Power and Sexism

Fury, anger and outspoken protest was registered by a group of French women politicians in France demanding an end to the sexual harassment and sexism among male politicians and government officials which they  themselves were subjected to. 

They directed their sharp criticism at an enduring attitude and what could be described as male political entitlement to sexually harass female politicians and journalists. 

A few weeks ago, they stood outside the French parliament with placards and megaphones and riot police on standby demanding a stop to the daily practice of male politicians- their colleagues- physically touching, groping, harassing them with sexist talk and in some cases, sexual assault by the male politicians. 

But that is not all. Last 2015, a group of female journalists spoke out in public demanding the same respect for their status, dignity and rights. Many have come out openly describing they were sexually assaulted by male colleagues. 

At least 40 of the female journalists wrote an open letter to the Libération newspaper to protest the abuse and outrageous sexism of French officials and politicians who tell them, “It was just a joke.” 

In 2011, French presidential candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged in New York for allegedly sexually assaulting a hotel maid. After weeks of humiliating court appearances, the charges were dropped by out of court agreement. 

The female politicians signed an open letter condemning the practice so prevalent as if it is a machismo right for males to behave in that way. In this day and age when we have recently celebrated International Women’s Day, this behavior in the presumably civilized and sophisticated French capital is truly outrageous. The abuse by male politicians of their positions of power challenges all of us to review our own attitudes and what values we hold regarding the respect for the dignity and rights of women in all of society. 

We need to reflect and find an understanding of what is behind male domination besides crass ignorance and disregard for the dignity and rights of women. The first possible explanation is not reason, not rational, but it is desire and the demanding nature by some insecure and appetite-driven men to have sexual gratification whenever they want. The sexist remarks, touching and harassment is a foreplay and crude invitation for the female to cooperate and satisfy their desires. 

When rebuffed child-like, they can resort to retaliatory measures and get what they want by assault and even rape. They tend to belittle and downgrade women as punishment for failing to gratify their appetites for sexual stimulation. The drive to gain political power may also be motivated by the same basic instinct to have domination  over others and women in particular. It’s more animal instinct, it seems, than human rational that is at work in the abusive politicians. 

Philippine Catholic Bishops and family life advocates were shocked and at disbelief when the presumptive president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of Davao City, announced that when he would be president it would cost the state nothing to maintain his three mistresses since he kept them in cheap boarding houses and took them to cheap hotels to have sex. That just gives the go signal and presidential approval to the Philippine male population “to do as I do.” It impact on an increase in broken families and abandoned children has yet to be seen. 

His next contribution to the joke arena did not go down so well. Some think that he is the hope for women’s rights in the country, others abhor his disparaging attitude and remarks to women when he told a group of women rights advocates, “You go to hell!” after they filed charges against him in the Commission on Human Rights. 

They did so after his remarks when he viewed the body of a murdered and raped Australian Missionary who died in a prison riot in Davao. “She was so beautiful, as mayor I wish I had been first,” he told a laughing crowd. But it was only a tasteless joke he said later and apologized under pressure. 

The protesting Filipino women did not appreciate the joke. They wrote a letter to the commissioner on behalf of all members of their respective organizations. They said in the letter of complaint that  “women (were) insulted, shocked and outraged” by the sexist joke of the mayor and that he was allegedly violating the Magna Carta of Women. 

This attitude, they said in their letter, put “in peril the future of many children and young women who are potential victims of violence against women.” They also wrote: “What protection and redress would they expect in a society where men tolerate such violation?” 

The Philippines and Southeast Asia is the target for the sex tourists the world over. The tolerance and cooperation of politicians is outrageous. They grant operating permits to thousands of joints, sex bars, massage parlors which are fronts for both child prostitution and human trafficking. Young women and children are forced into these establishments. 

The politicians have the power to stop it but do not have the interest, respect and political will to act against them. Instead they foster and promote them. Again the sexist attitude of the male species dominates and exploits. That’s what they want and that is what they get no matter who suffers. 

This we must oppose united and determined. Otherwise there will never be true gender equality but together we can help change it.