outerwings

[outerwings]

“Guilty until proven innocent” is NOT the way to go with Sexual harassment allegations

If you haven’t been living under a rock you are probably being bombarded with news of sexual abuse allegations being leveled at famous men almost on a daily basis. There is an almost manic, ‘creepily’ predatory character to the entire narrative, with mainstream media salivating at the prospect of culling its own. It has also, unfortunately, started seeming more and more like the Salem witch hunts.

 It is clearly unprecedented, not because of the nature of the allegations, but because of the swift manner in which the employers of the men accused hastily dumped them. It is also very unsettling, in that probably for the first time in popular memory, there is no trial, no discussion, no debate, no back and forth about the process of these firings; save for the snap calculation that the bad publicity from the social fallout outweighed the commercial advantage of keeping these individuals on board.  

 No matter what your position on the issue, it is hard to argue there is any moral high ground in supporting the principle of ‘guilty until proven innocent.’  An accusation (no matter how serious) is in the end… an accusation. In a fair world, it should have no repercussions for someone’s career or life (woman or man) unless backed by thorough inquiry. The corporate entities which are firing these people in response to alleged unbecoming behavior, are setting a horrible precedent to protect their own public image, a precedent where an accusation alone is enough to end someone’s career.

 Now let’s be clear. If a man or woman publicly admits to harassment without any external pressure to do so, then he or she absolutely should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. However, many of the accused men in this case, have publicly and vehemently denied these charges. They have however still, been separated from their jobs and projects while disregarding their statements. This sets an extremely dangerous example, where every famous man or woman is fragile enough to be brought down by a story planted by an adversary or the scorn of an ex or jilted lover.

 The ways in which this new social paradigm can be abused is limitless. It provides infinite ammo to detractors of a political or entertainment figure to manipulate and blackmail him or her through the use of a planted story or propaganda piece. It sets the stage for a murky culture of politics centered around scandal, fear and victimhood.

 It is also a particularly undesirable social understanding to arrive at both for our personal as well as our social lives. It’s a world where we are constantly on the lookout, hypersensitive, reactive to any perceived social or sexual slights. In an environment where relationships between women and men are already complicated with transforming gender roles and the upending of society that comes with it, the #me too train (its noble intentions notwithstanding) inadvertently threatens to drive an even deeper wedge in a society where men become fearful of even interacting with women thinking ‘any’ or ‘every’ one of their actions may be perceived as harassment.

 Worse, untempered, the initially noble campaign has the very real potential to undo decades of progress made by women in the workplace by spooking companies which might have initially been interested in hiring more women.  What if there is a sexual harassment lawsuit down the line? What if the individual decides to go to the press before they go to HR? “Women are too much trouble” or “Women are potential landmines” could just as easily replace slogans like “women are empowered” or “women bring value to an organization.” The last thing we want to see coming out of this entire episode is resurrecting of the specter of the ‘hysterical female’ that society has taken a long time to (thankfully) put to rest.

 Let me repeat once again in case you missed it: Sexual abuse should not be tolerated in any shape or form. It is something extremely uncomfortable for the person affected by it and it poisons the work environment while simultaneously dragging down productivity. However, it is never justified, to make compromises on the fundamental principles of justice, fairness, equality and ‘due process before the law’ that all of us recognize as basic human rights. The very real problem of sexual harassment should not be allowed to be hijacked by political opportunists and vested interests who might use the same principles against us when it suits them. The same people rooting for the heads of the accused individuals on a platter might one day find themselves in a similar situation. Social movements and ideologies have this funny way of turning on their creators.