I watched the Anita Hill trial and I was breathless watching her speak. She had so much courage to come forward. I remember her stating that he put public hairs on a coke can on her desk. And I felt like getting. It is so disturbing on so many levels. First, he is jeopardizing the career of a black woman, and he himself is black, so he should have been in her corner. Secondly, he did get a seat on the Supreme Court and is still there. Do you want this guy to make decisions about your life? And thirdly, that underneath that judge robe is a very sick man who would go to any lengths to get what he wants. I was so glad to hear that she got a good job at Brandeis. I didn't know what would happen to her.
On another note, it isn't just the men who do the harassing, but it is also the segment of women who don't believe other women. I almost think that this is the bigger issue. Many women claim this has never happened to them or don't want to admit it because it would affect their lives in some way. Some truly have never experienced it. Some women are jealous and blame those women who have been harassed. I see this all the time.
I am dealing with this issue right now in my workplace. I have complained about a co-worker and he is still on my floor. What I really wanted was for him to be put on another floor but he already had a key! So I know I just have to be rude and ignore him. People here say I have a lot of power here, but if I did, he wouldn't be here!!
5
My own mother experienced this behavior at least a dozen times during her twenties, struggling to find and keep a decent job without child support or a degree. She once had an interview end when the man doing the hiring told her she had the job, as soon as she performed oral sex on him there in his office. That "career opportunity" was a minimum wage position as a gas station attendant.
Another time, when waitress at a club, her boss demanded that she wear something "sexy" and spend Christmas Eve at his home. He didn't care that she had a kid to be with, and she couldn't afford to lose the income. Turned out it was a small gathering that included his not-separated wife, who was livid about it but didn't say a word. To this day, my mom can't figure out what he was trying to prove – my best guess is that he simply knew he had power over both of these women, and decided to "punish" both of them to make sure they were well-aware of that power, too.
That's the kind of thing that I always think about when this topic arises. In a bizarre way, my mom was one of the lucky ones, because her awful circumstances still weren't so awful that she had any reason to take the gas station manager up on that offer. But the mere fact he suggested it shows that apparently he knew exactly how powerless the female applicants were, and I'm sure some of them did need work that badly. Nothing at all has changed down at the bottom end of things, I assure you. Poor women don't lean in, they lean away.
3
The women on the tv show who all indicated they'd been harrassed are dressed in sleeveless, short skits, many with "foot-wear" that I'd imagine many men would find provocative. Women news anchors are sleeveless. Why dress like that if they want respect? What would they (and we) think if the men dressed that way. I feel like many women are trying to have it both ways; dress provocatively yet complain when men respond.
2
Why hasn't sexual harassment disappeared? Obviously, because it works for the perpetrators. Women remain silent, passive, sometimes cooperative and the guy goes on his merry way.
1
When I was a teen, 'women's liberation' was a movement for change. I assumed that in the future women would have more rights than they did before the movement. I've seen progress, but not enough. The war is not over.
In the early women's movement, the relatively few female physicians, attorneys, university professors and business executives -- showed by example that women can do these jobs well.
My father was a professor in a university medical school. My stepmother was an M.D. and a professor. Through my stepmother I understood the difference between her and my mother, who'd been a lab technician and then a nurse.
My father regarded doing laundry, cooking, washing dishes or cleaning to be women's work. He'd practically break out in a rash if he had to perform any of these tasks. Yet, he was excellent at home repair, and worked with a professional carpenter to remodel our homes.
He always said of his second wife, my stepmother, that she was the smartest women he'd ever met -- extremely smart, he'd said. For a woman.
As a society, we need to reach out much more than we currently do to men to help them understand what is and is not acceptable.
To men: Don't expect the women in your life to do anything for you BECAUSE she is a woman and you're a man. Don't assume that you're right and she isn't. A woman is not an object for you to impose your will upon, to manipulate, ignore, to assume she's wrong or inferior, or to take advantage of sexually.
4
I think we always believed women. They would accuse predators without having any plausible improper motive for doing so.
The issue is the predators had more power than their victims, so they just shut the whole conversation down and everyone went along out of fear and apathy, or because they just plain hate women. But when something horrible like this goes on long enough, like say, sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, eventually there are enough horrifying personal accounts to make it hard to dismiss.
3
No, we haven't always been believed. Or if we sometimes had been, we were told that we had brought it upon ourselves. That hasn't changed.
4
"a quorum of indecency. Not to mention that a man who boasted of grabbing women by the genitalia sits in the White House."
How strange - Bill Clinton - who had sexual relations with an INTERN, is not mentioned in the list.
4
Give women "stand your ground" rights and let them shoot the guy. This would putt men on alert and affect their behavior, because nothing else seems to work. Men can shoot each other for no reason, so let women shoot men for good reason. NRA should approve as sales of guns to women would soar.
4
In America women are conditioned to dress sexually provocatively and then are stunned when they are sexually harassed.
3
What about the women who are sexually harassed when they're dressed modestly? Are you willing to punish that or do you just hate women?
4
You need to get out more.
2
It's funny how there isn't any analogous epidemic of lesbian and bisexual women behaving this way. They're around all these same women who, according to this mentality, just magically provoke sexual harassment because they leave the house looking too tempting to resist. Curious, curious.
2
The odd thing about modern day feminists is that they are very selective as to who they protest and who they don't. Trump's words = protest. Bill Clinton's deeds= No protest. Christianity= protest: Sharia law gets a pass. I don't understand it. Why aren't the ladies with the pink lady parts hats marching on the Iranian embassy, The Saudi Arabia embassy etc?
2
Two major flaws in your argument here.
First, Bill Clinton did not and does not get a pass at all, but because he is no longer POTUS and now holds far less moral authority, the sin does not attract the same outrage currently as Trump's. Trump is POTUS, and moreover, lacks any moral compass whatsoever. He doesn't even feel badly or apologize for his sins.
Second, we feminists (yes, men like me can be feminists too) do condemn sexist treatment of women by extreme Islamists, not just extreme Christians. However, you may not have noticed --- in America, Christians (and even extreme Christians) are far more common than Muslims (especially extremists who are very rare) and therefore deserve more scrutiny. Similarly, we feminists also condemn Saudi Arabia for its treatment of women, but you may have noticed we do not have sovereignty there; we should focus firstly on fixing our own problems here at home in the USA.
It's really not that hard to just treat women like who they are: people.
11
The nature of the human animal is towards sexual predatory behaviour, as long as no one speaks out, and to speak out is to destroy the tribe, and the human animal is by nature tribal. There in lies the problem with every behaviour in that people would rather stick with the tribe than the truth, and often have to stand alone, like Anita Hill did, and be a scapegoat, or like the few that stood against the Nazi regime, and be killed on the spot. People are basically uncomfortable with identifying with what the nature of the human animal is, and is capable of. Power, money, guns, weapons, and death speak louder than standing up for the truth, except for the brave few, who to what I have learned seem to have born with that bravery, lived through horrific things themselves, or had incredible upbringing to make them arrive tat that point of maturity more than their peers.
5
Almost every woman struggles with objectification from men at some point. Why don't we believe those who speak up? My 13-year old daughter was whistled at for the first time by some men when she was out bike riding with her friend. At a hotel at a track meet, some of the guys from her team came to the girls' floor and and cat-called a teammate. When they told one of the older boys, he went and yelled at them, and they never had an issue again. All they needed was someone in a position of authority, male or female, for their words to be listened to. I think we need company executives and bosses to make it clear to these harassers their behavior will not be tolerated.
10
When I was a student at an elite high school in New York City, we used to joke about the inappropriate things males, including male teachers, said to us. "I want to do you" was a regular comment I got walking past a local hangout spot for teenagers. A male teacher once said to me, " If I could give you an A for looks, I would." Another male teacher said to a friend, looking down at her shirt, "You've really grown up this summer." Sadly, even at the time, these comments did not surprise me. In fact, I'd say my friends and I prided ourselves on not acting intimidated in these situations. What strikes me now as a forty year-old woman is that none of us thought to tell anyone - not our parents, not other teachers, not anyone - and that we most surely did feel intimidated even as we "handled it." Why didn't we tell anyone? They were within the range of normal even for 16 year-old girls.
8
Who doesn't remember "Long Dong Silver?" I believed Anita Hill then and I believe her now. Clarence Thomas didn't get away with murder, but he did get away with a Supreme Court seat that he was not and is not qualified for. Then again, look who we elected President Of The United States! What a pair of misfits! Maybe Harvey Weinstein should run for office too, then we would have a trio of sexual predators in positions of responsibility, that we know of. Of course the Republicans would block Weinstein, not because he's been a predator but because he's a Democrat. Predators are O.K. with Republicans, as long as they're on their side of the aisle.
9
As we speak about Anita Hill - and all the other well-known heroines and survivors of sexual harassment in the work place - including the victims of our current president - there's one very important victim of sexual harassment from whom we have yet to hear --
Monica Lewinsky --
What about her and Bill Clinton - or is the Clinton name off limits here in the bastions of the liberal New York Times ...?
4
Haven't heard from her?! She wrote a book called Monica: Her Story. (Sorry that reality doesn't fit into your narrative.)
5
I think if you google up, you'll discover that she had her fill of this topic over two decades ago and does not care to have that period of her life picked over by the likes of you.
4
The fact that the Democratic base worshipped Bill Clinton for decades is sufficient evidence that sexual predators can manipulate the minds of their sheep.
2
Nobody worships the Clintons. They have always been flawed, especially Bill. However, at least they try to do the right thing and admit when they are wrong.
5
It is a poor tactic to politicize sexual harassment as neither party can hold the best interest of women who have been victimized. Women, too, cannot be trusted as pro feminist defendant Lisa Bloom defended Harvey Weinstein only to back down; she too offered millions to another victim in exchange for her silence. NBC news learned of Weinstein's behavior through police audio surveillance and investigative reports by one of the own(Colin Farrow) but chose to ignore it. When there is money and power, sexual harassment will continue to haunt all facets of American institutions; and has created a pay for play atmosphere. Perhaps some federal statues increasing penalties comparable to civil right abuse is in order. In the meantime hypocripcy rules the day and will continue to taint, cloud and obfuscate the true matter at hand, sexual harassment is alive and growing; in most cases without impunity!!!
5
Sexual harassment by men shows a total lack of self respect on their part. it is as if they do not have the confidence to compete with a woman on her own merits. Come on men! We can do better!
6
I find very interesting -- if not a little bit ironic -- that the one name which has been entirely missing from this debate about powerful male sexual harassers is --
Bill Clinton...
5
I don't know if Anita Hill was truthful or not.
Even without Ms. Hill's accusations Clarence Thomas should not have been confirmed based solely on his lack of judicial qualifications and his views on issues..
Separate the question of Thomas' suitability to be a Court Justice from the question of Anita Hill's truthfulness.
I am not try to diminish the issue of sexual crimes or harassment in the work place.
What Hill accused Thomas of doing is disgusting.
I simply do not know if she was truthful or she believed that a conservative black should not be appointed to the Court to fill the "black" seat that had been held by Thurgood Marshall.
There is no question about the crimes of Weinstein, Ailes etc. whose crimes are much worse than what Thomas was accused of.
That does not excuse the type of conduct Thomas was accused of.
Whether Thomas was actually guilty is a separate discussion.
1
I remember watching the Thomas/Hill hearings and just feeling sickened. Thomas was a vicious hysteric. Hill had such credibility, dignity, grace, intelligence and calm in the face of all those clueless men who had probably, and in some cases, certainly, done similar things to women. A few of them looked shamefaced and uncomfortable, but most of them just looked like they were in denial. I'm from Oklahoma and remember reading about how The Daily Oklahoman and even officials at O.U., her (and my) own university, excoriated her. Shame, shame on them all. She is a hero and Thomas should have never been confirmed. He should be thrown off the court.
11
Women should have "stand your ground" rights and do it. Assaults would grind to a halt when men can be shot for it. Time to give women some power of protection.
4
Do we believe in and live racism? Do we look down on handicapped and mentally challenged? Do we believe in persecution because of religious beliefs? Do we chose to 'get over' on anyone we can get over on? Humankind has a decided evil streak that has endured for 2 million years.
2
There's a remarkable number of armchair evolutionary theorists in this comments section, assuring us all that men have "evolved" to "do whatever it takes" to have sex. Not only is that a preposterous and very dim view of men, who deserve much better, it also overlooks what everyone else seems to know: harassment isn't about getting laid, it's about feeling powerful at someone else's expense.
13
Having been raped by my supervisor, who did the same thing to other women but kept getting hired by new institutions because of "non disclosure agreements," I can attest that it is both.
3
I sat up and watched the Anita Hill Congressional hearings that final night. To hear the finality of nothing being done was devastating then and I am not convinced there is a lot of progress since. Anita Hill has been also a hero for all these years and how very brave she was.
8
It takes a lot of courage to step forward and I'd like to thank and support the women who did. For those who haven't yet stepped forward I can only imagine your pain. It also takes a lot of courage for someone like a young Brad Pitt to tell Weinstein to never harass Paltrow again. Bullies and harassers back away when you confront them but it is still very hard to step up and take a stand.
7
I'm trying very hard to not lose my mind here.
12,000 reports of sexual harassment, 9,960 of which are women, in a country of 125.9 million adult women, is 0.0079%. Let that sink in, and then look at the article in a new light.
And, did this author just refer to "the male dominated construction industry"? lol! Does the author think that women are clamoring for outdoor work, seeking to pour concrete, wrestle fiberglass insulation, and gouge cuts into their already cracked hands working on engines in Minnesota, all while tolerating the endlessly abusive men who make their lives so difficult?
Could a more balanced and less dramatic picture of reality be that while men do almost all the outdoor work, the dangerous deadly work that distances civilizatoin from the state of nature (go ahead, google 'dangerous jobs' and see all the work women don't do), women work indoors in the comfort of the buildings men provide, in the heat and cooling men provide, and some vanishingly small fraction of them (.007% of them), working among those testosterone fueled type A personages who found and run high-stress companies, find themselves rarely, very rarely, propositioned and pressured for sex because, sadly, they've stumbled into an environment tailor made for it?
I think many on the political Right are crazy, but really, it hardly compares to the delusions of righteousness of the Quakers on the Left.
2
12,000 is only the # reported. Most wimen don't report it at all. In my working life I have been harassed and leered at so many times I can't remember. You anger/madness are misplaced.
7
Seems highly unlikely that other women besides the courageous Anita Hill weren't harassed as well. Perhaps it's ongoing even now. Which leads me to hope that, if so, these women will now feel free - even obligated - to come forward, given that men like Weinstein, Ailes and O'Reilly, among others, have finally had to pay serious dues for exactly what Clarence Thomas - I believe - did.
Could such accusers bring charges that would force out Thomas? Could they - if enough came forward - result in charges against Trump as well? Isn't it time to take this seriously, at last?
Thank you, New York Times. Please do not let up.
7
Interesting that what Anita Hill complained about is mild compared to what Weinstein is being accused of. I guess that's the difference between sexual harassment and sexual predication. It's pretty clear that hitting on someone in the workplace is out of bounds, but sexual harassment can be less clear, especially when it's defined only in the mind of the victim (see Harris vs. Forklift systems). If the woman (or another woman in the workplace) perceives it to be harassment then it is, otherwise it's not. Saying that someone, "Looks good today," can possibly be harassment or it might not. Just what does a "reasonable woman" perceive as harassment these days? Is it enough not to talk about pubic hairs? What about outside the workplace? Aren't catcalls a form of free expression?
4
Whether you are a man or a woman, your body belongs to you, period, and no one else has the right to touch it without your consent. This basic truth needs to be taught to everyone in pre-school and every year thereafter and enforced by law. And people need to learn to stand up for what's right. Anyone can be a hero by standing up against sexism, racism, homophobia, bullying, etc. This will be a better world when we all find the courage to stand.
4
I will never forget that Thomas was made a Supreme Court judge despite the testimony of Anita Hill. It was a low point for all women, that who we were and what we did and what we said, all did not matter.
11
I had to laugh at the exploitative image of Anita Hill. Her evidence-free claims were unproven and Clarence is a sitting Supreme Court Justice but he's black and a Republican nominee so all's fair right? And the headline: "Do We Believe Women Yet?" Well, not all of them! That's why we have trials.
3
I made comment Sunday regarding Jimmy Kimmel getting his start in show business degrading women by writing and co-starring on The Man Show. Now he's the self-appointed spokesman for Obama care. The overwhelming response I received was that Mr. Kimmel had grown up and matured into a caring father. People change, didn't I realize that? I guess that's how I have to look at the Clarence Thomas affair; perhaps he's grown up and now is a fine man. Antia Hill stopped his nomination and won points for speaking out so let's let bygones be bygones.
2
Sexual harassment will end with the world.
Or we could install surveillance cameras virtually everywhere and employ millions to watch them. Nonetheless, sex crimes would no doubt plummet if we did so. Bullies seek pleasure and fear punishment.
1
Guessing the New York Times just forgot about President Clinton. It is innocent mistake I’m sure, right? And this is just another reason why she lost Because folks went out and voted against the bias that we see every single day.
5
And Clarence Thomas is a member of the Supreme Court and Thomas's wife called a few years ago to harassed Ms.Hill to still "defend" her husband. Oh well, we have now another member of the Supreme Court, oh no! he doesn't harassed women but... chosen by #45 and we talk about this Court with respect. I know, off the subject but.. am I? Everything seems so sinister in this moment that is it possible to separate the present state of affairs in "sections"?
Think what Anita Hill went through. I'll never forget those hearings. Such bravery. How any woman watching her didn't know she was telling the absolute truth I will never understand. We can't thank her enough for stepping forward. And what happened is a sad lesson to this day.
11
No one can be forced into signing a non-disclosure settlement. One signs one in exchange for money up front in order to settle an allegation. If you are willing to take a cash settlement, the accused (guilty or innocent) may incorporate an NDA as part of that. It's a negotiation.
1
We have not come a long way. As the light sentence and unbelievable treatment of the court and others in dealing with Brock Turner clearly demonstrates, we are still in a society that is male-oriented and that defends and defines male privilege as being able to objectify other people at will. That man was a guilty as they come yet his sentence was laughable. When the entire court and governing system supports male entitlement and the objectification of others there is no progress. Oh we can yell and scream better, but that doesn't translate into the real cultural shift that is needed: No, boys will not "be boys." Boys will be what we teach them to be.
5
The article goes all the way back to Anita Hill, but conveniently skips over Bill Clinton. Things won't really change until both liberals and conservatives acknowledge that there are a lot of evil acts being carried out on each side. Instead of wasting time pointing fingers at each other, start making the big shots pay a price for enabling a lot of these characters, and stop making excuses for your guy because you agree with his politics.
6
"The article goes all the way back to Anita Hill, but conveniently skips over Bill Clinton.".....Bill Clinton was a sexual predator, but I have never heard the claim that he was involved in sexual harassment. Sexual harassment involves unwanted sexual behavior directed toward women. It isn't sexual harassment if a women willingly participates. That said, Clinton should have resigned for his dalliance with an intern.
1
Every harasser, every rapist is surrounded by a cadre of women who not only protect him against any consequence from his accusers, but confirm in the mind of that man that his behavior is ok. It has happened in every single public case and undoubtedly most private cases as well. When women no longer feel the need to protect the predators at the expense of other women is when we will make true progress against this problem.
3
I made a living as a professor of history. One of my most important courses was historiography that asked the question: what constitutes historical knowledge? I also watched the Thomas-Hill hearings as they unfolded. In them, you had two conflicting testimonies—those of Thomas and those of Hill. Neither of these would constitute historical evidence. What would constitute such evidence? Historical evidence is anything that you can see or perceive with your senses, here and now, in the present, that would allow us to re-imagine what had happened in the past. That evidence could be anything from a written note to a recording to a video, just as long as it was empirical. As it was, it was just Thomas’s testimony against Hill’s. Why do we need such empirical evidence? Two reasons: One, our memories are unreliable, and two, we need to rely only on what is open to public scrutiny. There was not a shred of such evidence in the hearings, and therefore, quite rightly, Thomas was confirmed. People say that with Trump we have entered a new era of fact free opinions. Partisans of Hill should realize that they’re doing the same thing for which many people, quite rightly, are critical of Trump.
I remember watching Anita Hill testify with awe. One year previously I had been harassed by a respected professor, it was a profound betrayal. I was in my twenties and kept silent, no one would have believed me. Her dignity impacted me then and has stayed with me. I only hope that we are finally acknowledging the pervasive existence of behavior that must be addressed. This is a time to listen.
4
Anita Hill is a brilliant jurist and a valiant soldier for justice. She should have been the Supreme Court nominee not the unqualified do-nothing Clarence Thomas. I remember thinking that then and believe it more now than ever.
9
Businesses of all sizes issue statements to employees, insisting that "harassment of any kind will not be tolerated" and urge employees to report harassment to Human Resources.
We all know what happens next. The harasser (often an executive) is protected and keeps his job while the victim gets nothing, not even an apology. That's what I experienced after reporting a 15-year history of executive harassment.
The business community needs to come up with a better way of dealing with this ongoing problem instead of "call H.R. and they'll take care of it." Because the results are always abysmal.
5
It took courage for Anita Hill to come forward and I have no doubt she suffered all that she describes as sexual harassment. Today we should know better. However the roots of the problem concern two things, upbringing and your living, work and play environments. Boys need to educated about respect and girls need to be aware of cues that indicate danger. We need more positive role models and less exposure to crude behaviour at home, in school and on TV, which is where we learn these things. Whether it's about being a bully, sexual harassment or racism, it comes from the same place, upbringing and social environment.
Read the #metoo posts shared by you mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your friends, your boss, your assistant, harassment and assault seems to be an almost universal experience for women of all ages.
While women have made great strides in advancement, graduating at higher and higher rates from college, from law school, from medical school, we still make less money even when we don't have children to care for and its and apple to apple comparison.
Women are subject to harassment doing the most mundane of things, jogging, walking, traveling on mass transit, grocery shopping, there is a feeling when you are a woman that you are not safe most of the time. Its exhausting.
Then in the workplace, men hit on you and you have to balance between being nice and not offending them and not leading them on while trying to hold on to your job, or project, or assignment. Or the partner you work with opens the door of the hotel while he's in a towel while you and he are traveling on work and propositions you. What do you do, you are in the first year of a job that you went to school for 20 years to obtain, it was highly selective and you are making good money. That partner that did that to me rose to the top of his company, I eventually moved on (no I never reported him, I would have been labeled a complainer or trouble maker or not a team player, or too sensitive and would have never worked again in this field).
4
I watched the Hill/Thomas testimony. It was riveting because of my own experiences with fighting sexual harassment in the workplace several years earlier.
Clarence Thomas tipped his hand (at least to me) when he responded to a senator's question concerning Ms. Hill's testimony with the revelation that he hadn't bothered to watch her testimony. If I'd been falsely accused under such circumstances, I'd be so angry that I'd be hanging on every word of my accuser's testimony. I knew in that moment that he was guilty and didn't want to be confronted with a recounting of his inappropriate behavior. Not that I disbelieved Anita; but ignoring her testimony in real time was the clincher for me that he did it.
It's disheartening how this behavior just continues.
5
Dear Mr. Haberman, you omitted the important fact that it was Catherine McKinnon's brilliant legal theory, articulated in her book, The Sexual Harassment of Working Women, that paved the way for sexual harassment to become illegal. I should know, I literally typed that book.
Also, Alexander vs. Yale was the first sexual harassment lawsuit brought by 4 Yale women students against Yale University in 1978. This landmark lawsuit was brought against Yale for violating Title IX, as Yale did not have a grievance procedure to deal with sexual harassment. Sexual harassment only became illegal because of brilliant women lawyers who conceived of a way to make it so.
5
Workplace harassment based on race and color is reportedly as common as sexual harassment. The same with LGBT harassment. Most of the attention goes to sexual harassment, in my opinion, because: (1) the public enjoys the lurid details; (2) more of us have strong opinions on the subject, and (3) women have more power than racial minorities and LGBT. Finally, the media gives the public what it wants because that makes them more money. There's a lot of stuff not related to justice floating around this issue.
The problem with the proverbial Anita Hill - Justice Thomas example is that there were not a plethora of other women making similar accusations. Cosby and Weinstein are different due to the clear pattern of sexual harassment and abuse with well over 30 identifiable complainants. Should that many women have to complain to establish criminal conduct? No, but it certainly has become a litmus test for much needed social change. Back to the isolated Anita Hill complaint without corroborative support and well-documented violence her accusations seemed politically motivated. Why did she not have the strength of character to complain earlier? In today's social media environment #MeToo has become a badge of courage and honor. Has Anita Hill joined this transcendent movement?
My wife and I sat rapt as Anita Hill began her first day of testimony in the Senate. When her initial statement was completed, I remember thinking, "I wonder if she's telling the truth." I looked over to my wife, who looked back at me with certainty in her eyes as she stated, "She's telling the truth."
I've since come to realize that there is a divide between men and women in the way they hear women who describe their ordeals with predatory men.
For the record, I have no doubt my wife was correct, and Mr. Justice Thomas sexually harassed Anita Hill.
8
The Republicans have the distinction of imposing two Supreme Court on the nation, both extreme right wingers, both unqualified, and both stained by HOW they got on the court.
1
It is interesting that the Hollywood fallout hasn't extended beyond Weinstein. There must be a long list of men in Hollywood that could be named and shamed similar to what happened at Fox after Ailes' fall. It seems like this prairie fire will start and stop with HW.
If nothing else it should scare future potential predators enough to keep their hands to themselves.
Joe Biden recently spoke out against sexual harassment and also chastised Harvey Weinstein. Ironic that it was Biden who chaired the Investigation of Clarence Thomas and who famously denied testimony by other women that corroborated Anita Hill’s accusations. He also allowed the proceeding to treat Hill as a suspect rather than the victim.
If Anita Hill is still to us a champion of women’s rights, then what is Joe Biden. Well besides a politician.
4
Remember clearly all the female employees listening to the grilling Anita Hill endured testifying before congress standing up for all abused voiceless women. We all believed her every word. No women hasn't been touched by harassment in someway.
7
As a man, I truly wonder why there has to be a battle.
Why can't the rest of you idiots just stop doing it?
13
I was molested as a teen. Who did it? The family doctor. I said nothing. Why? Because no one would have believed me. I was harassed at various jobs for being female. Who did I tell? No one. Like every other woman I have had to worry about being raped, being sexually harassed, or being taken advantage of simply because I'm female.
During business meetings any ideas I had were ignored until a male colleague brought them up. I was told to behave in a more feminine fashion if I was angry about something. I was told, on several interviews, that I wasn't worth hiring because I was, of course, going to get married and have children. I've been underpaid because I'm female. I was downsized at a Japanese company because I was three months shy of being 55, had reported that someone had been sexually harassed, had been lied about by my incompetent supervisor, and I was a woman.
Women by themselves do not have enough power to change this mindset. We're told that we're too sensitive, to get over it, to be flattered, that we're jealous, that we're too emotional. Yet we have a vice president who won't be alone with any woman other than his wife. What does that say about his view of women? What did it say when Clarence Thomas, who was not well qualified for the position as a justice on the Supreme Court, is rewarded with it after complaining about being subjected to a high tech lynching? Women were not to be trusted or believed and a little harassment was fine.
22
There is no doubt the sexual harassment exists in the work place. Everybody knows it is true because they have seen it. It is ugly inappropriate and inexcusable. But suppose for the moment that that there had never been allegations of sexual harassment against Clarence Thomas either before or after the testimony of Anita Hill. Why would you believe Anita Hill? Or put another way, if an allegation of sexual harassment against a man is in fact not true, what is the man supposed to do or say to defend himself? There needs to be some caution of a presumption of guilt in those cases where there is no prior history or evidence.
1
It's time to remove Polanski from the Motion Picture Academy, Clarence Thomas from the Supreme Court and T-rump from the Presidency.
46
Men: let’s take a stand, raise awareness and mash sexual harassment. I’m starting a Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter campaign: Men Against Sexual Harassment. Please share this post and also tweet #MASH. Thank you!
11
No mention of BILL CLINTON??? The liberals are still protecting him as usual!
23
Bill Clinton is the poster boy for sexual harassment in our political system.
[Why the Democratic Party held on to this disgraced individual and his enabling wife is a mystery to me. Think of what would have been different, in the past election for instance, if they hadn't. And much like Trump uses his base to stay in power, Bill Clinton USED his base, especially in the Black community, to escape removal from office.]
3
Of course. Democrats are free to harass or rape women, so long as they are, on balance, supportive of women's rights. And Democrats are free to harass poor women, who are easily characterized as "trailer park trash." And if a woman complains about harassment by a Democrat, it is just another "bimbo eruption."
Democrats responded to Anita Hill by electing Bill Clinton. Unlike Trump and Thomas, who have been shown to have spoken some vulgar things; Clinton was known to have physically, well lets just say, used several women and continued to do so.
15
Anita Hill was such a travesty. I mean compared to some of what is passing for courage in the face of the Weinstein story this was as real as it gets.
I remember just feeling she was telling the truth and she wasn't going to win the case.
Same as I felt that OJ would get a pass.
There is clearly a serious flaw in our sexual culture. Bad things happen but the men get away with it. I still can't get the image of the football player punching his wife out in the elevator and then dragging her out. Gone. Forgotten.
Women getting drugged. Abused. Beaten. Not just in private but out there for all to see. And somehow the men lawyer up and walk away.
All I can hope is that the new energy coming at this will last more than fifteen minutes.
45
It's time to re-hear the Clarence Thomas case.
He is in too important a position, as a Supreme Court Justice, for us not to.
50
I still believe Anita Hill.
68
"Why hasn't sexual harassment disappeared?" asks Lin Farley. I wonder, and Anita Hill's words come to mind: "We've got a cultural problem." I contrast what we see in the news on a daily basis wherein men are portrayed as harassers and abusers of various kinds, on the one hand, with my own experience of 30 years in the workplace with multiple employers of multiple types, on the other. I myself have worked successfully with multiple female bosses and spent most of these years in administrative/supervisory roles. I have observed a single situation of substantiated sexual harassment of a man against a woman. I have seen multiple cases of claims of sexual harassment that were proven false, and I myself have been harassed (an employee cornered me and rubbed her breasts on me - yecch.).
Perhaps we can't solve the problem because we don't actually have an honest, even-handed discussion and fair handling of these situations. Perhaps there is commonplace rush to judgement against men, and the cultural overlay gets more and more twisted and impossible to unravel.
3
We need to start with boys and young men. We need to disentangle the long cultural threads that teach them from earliest ages that belittling women is what "normal" guys do, that harassing girls is a rite of passage, that boys being boys (i.e. abusive and destructive") is natural and normal.
We also need to look at the language we use. Why do we speak of women being harassed ... and not men who harass? Of women who were assaulted ... but not men who assault? Of women who were treated like objects ... and not men who objectified? We need to focus on the wrongdoer, as we do with every other crime, and stop using language that makes it sound like an act of God when a man harms a woman.
21
Women also bully men, I ride the train daily with the ones we call the "I Hate Men!" club. Imagine working all day with an overbearing, humorless person of either gender whose basis for disliking half the population is not rational. Women are not the faultless, sublime angelic creatures these comments make them out to be, but human beings prone to the same fallacies and faults as men.
5
...but rarely are they sexual predators!
1
Please point me to the vast historical record of women raping, beating and oppressing men.
2
How quickly and easily this event has been forgotten, and the reward was an appointment to the highest court in the land. There sits one of the most egregious examples of where our principles have gone off course. He called a lynching, which might have been the least genuine use of the race card to ever have been played as a wild card. Now here we sit, locked into posterity; it reflecting back at us how bad even the institution charged with the highest possible judgment can be. My opinions get lowered by the day.
14
The idea of non-disclosure agreements being forced on anybody is nonsense. Very few persons or corporations will make a payment to settle any lawsuit if the payee can continue making the same allegations in public after accepting the settlement. In an otherwise excellent column this nonsense detracts from the column's credibility.
2
No mention of Kathleen Willy and Juanita Broadrick?
The Weinstein phenomenon all over again.
11
Both were funded by right wing political machines. Both were perjurers. It muddies the water not to include both those FACTS.
6
Where there's smoke there's fire, JD.
5
I hope Anita Hill reads the comments. I was in my mid-thirties, when she testified.She gave me courage and inspired me. Thank You Anita Hill!
31
Anita Hill stood bravely against an onslaught of negativity. Did it help? I don't think so, we are still talking and now we have a President and a Chief Justice who sit in positions of power. They both seem only too happy to curtail the rights of women.
14
" ....treating women as mere pleasure providers," is a specific if dramatic case of treating them as objects; inanimate means to ends, whether sexual pleasure, advancement in a job, impressing others or feeling better about themselves as some men do with trophy wives or dates.
It is thousands of years old. Regardless of whether it of biological or cultural origins, it will take a mighty effort to rid our society of it. If it requires authoritarian social control, it may not be worth it.
1
It won't require authoritarian control - unless your thesis is that the average man is a degenerate without self control.
8
In the next generation or two women will hold most or all the power in the arts, politics and business.
I am sure they will behave much better than men have for the last three or four millennia.
11
Nonsense. As the saying goes, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
2
I remember how Ms. Anita Hill was poorly treated way back in the 90's, and it appears that nothing seems to have changed. The groper-President also is a poor example of one who should be leading the country.
I would hope, that with Mr. Weinstein as the catalyst, more women will be empowered to tell their stories both with regarding Mr. Weinstein, and all the other reprehensible predators out there. Hopefully, this will kickstart a movement to do something other that to pay women to keep their mouths shut or to push the issue under the carpe.
9
I was a 31 years old at the time working on a PhD in Computer Science. I and many of my friends, watched the hearing from opening gavel to end. There are three things I will never forget:
1) women testifying that since Thomas hadn't harassed them Ms. Hill must be lying,
2) some distant acquaintance of Ms. Hill indicated she was complaining because she was scorned and that why would Thomas had harassed her "she wasn't worth it" and not one Senator objected,
3) during the floor debate a Senator, a former prosecutor who name I have forgotten, said it's not Thomas who should get the benefit of the doubt but the country and he "had convicted people on less evidence" than was presented against Thomas.
I filed my first sexual harassment complaint as a graduate student, I have filed many more since them. I am one of the lucky ones, instead of hurting my career it has helped in a weird way proving my mettle. But, I have always been careful to screen my employers and the culture before accepting a job.
It's so depressing that not much has changed. I wish I had hope that these latest revelations will have lasting impact, but the truth is I don't.
49
Anita Hill, You are so very brave.
40
We don`t believe Women yet !
Oh some of us remember Anita Hill`s testimony and how She was ridiculed and harassed from both sides, as a result Clarence Thomas became the Associate Justice of Supreme Court as of today.
Move on 2017 President Donald Trump was repeatedly named as a sexual predator was proved by his own words and He Won the election to be the 45th President not that Woman Hillary Clinton.
15
You didn't believe Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broderick, Linda Tripp or Monica Lewinsky either. As a result, Bubba and his missus were granted sainthood by the Left.
1
@ B. Sharp....True....I too was a young 30+YO woman transfixed by the televised hearings....and thoroughly disgusted by Anita Hill's treatment by ALL those men in the chamber.
BUT....I, personally, would never put up "that woman", HRC, as any feminist champion of other women re: sexual harrassment. She actively worked to discredit her husband's accusers while he was the most powerful man in the world as 2x POTUS and she was, arguably, the most powerful woman in the world.
I voted for her....given 2 awful options, I chose qualified and sane over clearly unqualified and un hinged.....BUT, as far as I am concerned, she has zero credibility on this issue and has, quite disingenuously, deflected it in interviews.
Sexual predators are well represented on both sides of the political divide. What I would really like to know is how, now that this issue is getting so much media attention, the "outraged feminists" (over HRC's loss to Trump) square their championship of her with her personally abysmal (and well documented) record on this issue.
1
Shocking that Hollywood of all places would be so full of sexual abuse. As the leader in the cultural evolution in America (and much of the world) how is it that the sexual permissiveness (good luck finding a popular romance where the characters don't "hook-up" on the first date) didn't lead us all to a new, progressive utopia where marriage is like death and a woman displaying modesty is like a prison sentence.
2
Anita Hill lied. these claims of sexual attraction are mostly false, coming from vindictive women who didn't get the attention they craved so they are scorned and retaliate with these lies.
6
What would be her motivation to "lie," since she was quite aware of possible false attacks by vicious people like you. Why would she choose this?
7
Good one, markhas! Very funny.
1
Um, to keep a very conservative man off the SC?
Anita Hill is hardly a good role model for the "sexual harassment" claims. She said that Clarence Thomas told her an off-color joke. Yet she followed him to his next assignment and wanted to date him. She got particularly miffed that he married a white woman.
Of course, Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy were on the Judiciary Committee. Hill's accusation was secret, but either Kennedy or Biden leaked it to Nina Totenberg because Hill's claim could not be substantiated. That forced the media circus, or what Thomas called a "high-tech lynch mob."
Kennedy, who had recently been implicated as witnessing--and failing to stop--the rape of a woman by his nephew at his Palm Beach compound--was hardly the paragon of rectitude during the hearings.
Sexual harassment is real and it needs to be dealt with openly and fairly.
12
Sources?
1
Anita Hill is a disgrace. She was either lying about Clarence Thomas or as a lawyer and officer of the court negligent in her duty not reporting him at the time. Either way she should have been disbarred.
3
So she was either lying, or she should have reported him. And if she'd reported him and not been believed? Well, you'd have been right here braying about her disbarment for lying. It's as though you don't think there are any good reasons women don't report powerful men. No fear of being disbelieved, for example. No protections that aren't in place or that fail nonetheless.
There are impediments to normal women receiving any protection, at all, from sexual harassment in the workplace:
The vast majority of women are working because they need the income from their job. Women do not report sexual harassment in their workplace because they are "at will" employees whose employment can be terminated for any reason at all, or no reason, including complaining about anything
It doesn't matter whether the woman is an at-will employee lawyer working for "Big Law" firm, or an at-will fast food restaurant employee. The dire economic consequence of repelling the sexual-harasser co-worker or supervisor, or complaining to management about sexual-harassment from a co-worker or supervisor, is usually the same. The woman loses her job
Yes I know that "by law" a woman is not supposed to be fired for resisting or complaining, but tell that to the millions of legally illiterate supervisors, human resources directors, business managers and owners who are absolutely clueless that sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal. If a fired-woman at-will-employee does complain to a state or federal agency almost uniformly her former supervisor, her employer's human resources director, her employer's managers and the owner of her employer will out-and-out lie about why the at-will woman employee was fired
If the sexually harassed woman wants to sue her employer Congress has set up a huge barrier, the duty to obtain a right-to-sue letter from the EEOC or a state agency
5
I expect this article will receive quite a number of comments from persons of the male persuasion, saying "Not all men." But in fact all men benefit from a system that pays women less, keeps us afraid of going out into the world without a male to protect us from other males, and demands that we provide sexual gratification and emotional nurturing and make the coffee. It is very similar to the benefit that I get, as a white person, when I am looking to rent an apartment or get a job, and the landlord or employer automatically gives me preference over a black person. Or when I get pulled over by a traffic cop and the worst I can expect is a ticket--I'm not sitting behind the wheel terrified that I will be beaten or killed.
Men who aren't rapists or harassers still go through world, oblivious of their advantages. Or, if they aren't quite so oblivious, they--as Orthodox Jewish men do--say the morning prayer thanking God for not having made them a woman.
18
And of course wealthy white women don't go through the world oblivious of their advantages over their poorer and darker sisters.
1
Anita Hill had no motive whatsoever to lie under oath. Clarence Thomas had every motive to do so. Yet he was appointed to the Supreme Court! I have never gotten over this. Their testimonies ought to be rebroadcast over the land. Thomas ought to be impeached.
24
I'm now imaging a world without sex and how quiet it would be. We really should go for it. It will solve all our others problems as well for without anyone here anymore no one will even be aware of them. Not everything pans out.
1
This has little to do with sex but more with power and the need to humiliate.
5
Nah, it's about sex. If evil people use their power to take what they couldn't get otherwise by persausion, they'll do so, but that doesn't mean it's not about sex. Why do we have to get hung up on psychological motives, anyway? If you steal my wallet, I don't care whether you wanted my cash or whether you wanted to demonstrate your dominance over me; I'm just ticked-off you stole my wallet.
Everybody is guilty here. Stewardesses, with full knowledge and free will, are constantly shown on airplane advertisements generating passengers deep thoughts of "Coffee, Tea, or Me."
20 years ago. Actresses in commercials, not flight attendants. .
6
@rudolf Coffee tea or me was NEVER an advertisement, it was book written about women stewardess by a man! Wikipedia. "Coffee, Tea or Me? is a book of purported memoirs by the fictitious stewardesses Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones, written by the initially uncredited Donald Bain and first published in 1967. The book depicts the anecdotal lives of two lusty young stewardesses, and was originally presented as factual."
Get your facts straight. This was wishful thinking by a man projected on how he wanted women to behave, not what women who were hard working stewardesses wanted. OH yeah! That's what women want, to be hassled by a plane full of drunk men which happened to me on their way to Superbowl. Yeah groovy! ICH!
Wow you are certainly part of the problem!
10
They're called "flight attendants," many of them are male, and are you actually saying that they're responsible for whatever ludicrous fantasies pop into your mind when you see an airline commercial? And sweetheart, no one has said "coffee, tea, or me" in decades.
2
The vile and amoral Orin Uriah Heap Hatch is still a respected member of the US Senate and Clarence what are you willing to pay for justice Thomas is still an associate justice of the Supreme Court. I still believe Anita Hill because I know what Hatch and Thomas represent.
13
Anita Hill is not a good example. After her contradictory responses to questions from Senator Spector and others her story unraveled and fell apart.
The legacy of the Thomas hearings was not sexual harassment. It's legacy was the democrats and liberals very public, vitriolic and racist attempt to destroy a qualified and competent black man.
6
Wrong.
Her story did not fall apart.
11
Sexual Harrassment will not end until women display their economic power. Why not a boycott of ALL purchases for 3 days, as well as calling in sick (that is if you are fortunate enough to have sick pay) for the same 3 days. And why not begin next Monday, the 23rd.
Maybe then we will be taken seriously.
4
Good point here. We can't expect a womanizer like Trump (who incidentally ran the Miss USA pageant for quite a while yet unlike Bill Clinton never was accused of sexual harassment), to look out for women's rights, but instead need the likes of a Harvey Weinstein or Bill Clinton who have championed the feminist movement for years.
2
Trump has been accused of sexual harrassment, including by the contestants of the Miss America Pageant, and has settled out of court more than once. I am 59; the first dirty joke I ever heard in my life was about Donald Trump getting into an elevator with a woman he didn't know. Where have you been?
3
I close my ears whenever anyone starts with a dirty joke.
"yet unlike Bill Clinton never was accused of sexual harassment"....Bill Clinton was clearly a sexual predator, but I have never heard that he was ever accused of sexual harassment. Both are detestable, but there is a difference.
A good time to remember that we had a president for eight years who treated women with respect in word and deed, was an old-fashioned gentleman, married a strong, smart woman and was actively involved in raising two daughters. Not a hint of sex scandal or infidelity came out of the Obama White House but the "Christian" and "values voters" had nothing but disdain for that man and gave us the polar opposite in 2016. Shame on them.
34
The picture of Anita Hill testifying under a headline "Do we believe women yet?" is very poor journalism.
There are many high profile men who have been convicted of, fired for, settled out of court, etc with regard to sexual harassment. Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, Weinstein and Bill Cosby, being the most recent examples.
The sexual harassment allegations she made against Clarence Thomas remain just that: allegations. It was, and remains, an unfortunate 'he said she said'.
Sexual harassment is a very serious crime and brings out all kinds of emotions, feelings and political allegiances. Stories about the issue need to be handled with great care.
3
Sexual harassment is not a crime. It need not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Sexual assault is a crime.
2
Mr. Weinstein is obviously not the only predator in Hollywood. Reese Witherspoon talks about being harassed but won't say by whom. Others talk about harassment from other powerful men, yet no one is naming them. So the conspiracy of silence continues.
And women are constantly objectified, but they contribute to that. Look at the late night TV shows. The men being interviewed wear shirts. The women wear skimpy tops to show flesh and cleavage. Why? Of course they can do that, but why do they do it?
1
A report on the topic of sexual harassment, even one as brief as this one, that fails to mention that the sitting president was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment, is perpetuating what women have justly complained about for years: not being taken seriously when they accuse powerful men of harassment. Sad.
10
This type of sexual harassment is not just reserved for politics, our society has evolved in some very disturbing ways. I've lived through the sexual revolution of the 60's, but it's much different now. High school kids are sexting each other, internet porn is readily available for all ages and the standard dating that I grew up with appears to be the thing of the past. It's all internet dating and hook ups. I'm not advocating returning to the norms of the 50's, but sexual harassment will end when there is respect for both sexes.
Men need to be accountable that no means no and woman of all ages need to report these violators even if it means you may not get the job or advancement that you are seeking. Anita Hill got a raw deal, I'm not so sure there would be the same outcome if that trial were held today.
5
There is another side to the sexual harassment/assault scenario which is not often addressed or heard from and that is those women who were sexually abused as children. Many of them learn from a very young age to be silent out of fear and/or having a mother or other adult not believing what the young girl said. Growing up with those particular unresolved and/or unaddressed memories of shame, fear and distrust only deepens if/when these same women are sexually harassed or assaulted once they enter adulthood. The rhetorical question of "If no one believed me when I was attacked as a child, why would they believe me now that I am an adult?" rears its ugly head, and once again, the incident is never reported.
The real issue for me is about men who don't seem to realize or understand the very basics of human dignity or respect. Unless there is a third person in a room witnessing an assault or harassment, the situation ultimately becomes a he-said, she-said scenario. A woman can file complaints until the cows come home, but in the end, very little is actually accomplished, and men who have no moral compass continue to hurt women, physically as well as emotionally. It's painful to think and feel that the deck has been and will continue to be stacked against women in this regard.
12
He makes it look like the minimal allegations concerning Thomas by Hill are comparable to those far more serious allegations by more than one witness against Ailes. There was no evidence Thomas was sexually over-aggressive at all. No, I don't believe you should speak sexually around people who ask you not to, but she never claimed she asked, never said he demanded or threatened her in any way. She called him after they parted professional lives, I think even dined out with him at one point. They were clearly friends. I'm not saying she was lying - I suspect he was. But, it was hardly disqualifying and should not be compared with Ailes. We are not really that puritanical a nation, but our politicians often pretend that we are. In the real world, people talk about sex at work and joke around quite a bit. Even if someone is offended, it is generally not that big a deal as long as people don't try to demean others or inappropriately touch them.
People really should read the wonderful opening remarks by Justice Thomas at the first hearing before the smearing and the sad remarks he made after being accused. I really hate it when writers just throw around the names of people who have been accused of sexual misdeeds as if it is okay b/c they were accused. Yes, they have free speech, but it is irresponsible and disgusting behavior.
1
There is assumed righteousness and reasonableness to complaints about sexual harassment. That is taken advantage of by some in order to advance injustice. It is unwise to assume that such complaints are reasonable and righteous. Before reaching any such conclusion, there should first be clear specification of what is sexual harassment. As example, I saw the other day a panel discussion on PBS where multiple women very seriously claimed and complained that a male commits sexual harassment by merely politely expressing a compliment to a female that she is good looking. With a definition like that, one can hardly be blamed for dismissing such a person's complaints entirely.
This, for the most part, is a man problem. Men are the ones who are doing the harassing and men are the ones who can make it stop.
Most of the men I know do not harass or assault women. But clearly there are a LOT of men who do. If there weren’t, my Facebook feed would not contain a relentless list of “me too”s. For each man that harasses a co-worker there must a few men who witness it or suspect it and don’t say or do anything to stop it. Just remaining an innocent bystander is not enough. Men have to find the will to say “That is wrong. Don’t do that.”
Men need to speak up when they hear other men degrade or debase women, even if there are no women there to be offended----Especially if there are no women there to be offended.
Fathers, uncles, grandfathers, older brothers, and all men who care need to actively call other men out when they say and do harassing and belittling things about and to women. And we should NOT do this because we have a mother or a wife or a girlfriend or a daughter that we love. If the only reason we take a stand is because it affects someone we love, then that is weak. We should do this because it is wrong to harass anyone, and men who harass women need to hear that from other men.
http://c-dawson.blogspot.com/2017/10/its-man-thing.html
14
This needs to be said loud and clear. But it won't happen until men start really trying to understand what women are up against.
I've heard men complain that they no longer feel comfortable admiring a female colleague's clothing choices, or having a coffee-break chat about weekend dating plans. Hey, they say, you women are sooo sensitive, it's like walking on eggshells. We afraid you'll go all HR on us!
But the reality is, women rarely complain to HR, because doing so rarely ends well for them. And most of the time when a man "admires" their appearance, it's NOT benign.
We women are not making this stuff up. Believe us, and help us change it.
2
Every allegation of a crime should be taken seriously, but there have been some very high profile cases that might give people pause. The UVA fraternity rape made famous by Rolling stone was completely bogus. A university administrator was almost destroyed by that made up story trumpeted by Rolling Stone. The fraternity too was damaged. The Duke students will never recover from the charges leveled at them even though the prosecutor was disbarred. More recently a Columbia University student was labeled a rapist and the school was complicit. The school paid some money to him, but his life in Germany or anywhere is ruined. So, in fact sometimes the accuser, male or female is not telling the truth. Still, male or female, you listen to what people have to say and then look at all the evidence.
2
Since when do business agreements that contain clauses that protect business secrets also cover sexual harassment or attempts at sexual assault? As they say, business is business and clauses that protect business interests should not protect acts of sexual harassment or assault in the workplace.
Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson recovered a settlement for $20 million against Roger Ailes and his network for his attempts to obtain sex from her while she worked for his network. This type of settlement should discourage the rats who mix business and sex, such as Ailes.
It seems evident to me for the few times I watched Fox news, that there was an encouragement to make the female anchors as sexy as possible. The employers who encourage such exposure of the female would seem more likely to attempt to take advantage of the objectified women.
Should we encourage President Trump to ask for a congressional investigation to look further into such indiscretions since he has declared in the past (Access Hollywood tape) his experience in taking part in sexually assaulting women?
3
That'd be like enlisting the Air Force to appoint one of their own to manage the issue within their ranks. Remember that? All ye who enter here abandon all hope.
Regarding all the praise of Anita Hill, I can only wonder at what kind of path people can have walked down in life that they can watch a "he said, she said" on television and imagine that they somehow know what happened. Nothing in my own experience supports the conclusion that hearing a person say something provides any certainty other than that one has heard the person say something. To imagine that one can know what is true and not true in people testimony is an act of hubris or delusion.
The mystery of the evolution of such large brains in the speaking primate is solved when one observes the massive extent of cerebral energy involved in deception. The evolution of language has created an arms race between lying and discernment and lying is way ahead.
1
I remember a respected boss's bumper sticker back in the day: "I believe you, Anita."
We still believe you, Anita.
10
The other side of these issues needs to be told as well. I spoke to Anita Hill at a showing of a doc about her. I asked if anyone on the Senate Judiciary Committee gave her support or treated her respectfully. She said no except for the Democratic Senator from Maine Paul something. The committee included Senator Edward Kennedy ( who I admire) and Senator Joe Biden who chaired the Committee. There is little attention paid to the fact that former President's Daughter, Malia Obama, interned with Harvey during the summer of 2017. It was an open secret about Harvey Weinstein in many circles and he was accused by Howard Stern on radio in 2014. There are allegations and boasting (video tape of Trump) which may well be accurate but HW was captured on a wire admitting to sexual assault. Our NYC D.A elected not to prosecute. I'm not defending Trump; I'm saying there is an awful lot of hypocrisy going on.
I don't know that the treatment of Anita Hill and the confirmation of Clarence Thomas are on a par with the Dred Scott and Korematsu decisions among the most shameful bits of U.S. history associated with our Supreme Court -- but they are high on the list.
2
There is something extremely disturbing about trying to fight one kind of harassment by engaging in another - public denunciations of people on a forum like Twitter, with no evidence, or opportunity for the accused to defend themselves. Surely there is a more positive and uplifting way to end sexual harassment, and to set a good example that everyone has dignity and deserves basic respect.
2
I believe that there is a reason for everyone's actions on how they treat themselves and other people. If we looked into the background of all these predators we will find that something is amiss. That is not an excuse but the way we are raised has a lot to do with respect for ourselves and others. A child sees his mother being beaten, and his mother taking it, not protecting the child and not doing anything about it. It sometimes goes on for generations. How do you stop it? It is a far more complicated issue than just reporting the harrassment. Find out why. And start there to stop it. Education is an important tool in trying to find out why we do the things we do and how to stop doing them or else we just continue doing them.
3
Good god, Irene, do you mean "a child sees his father beating his mother, not stopping himself, not protecting his child, not doing anything about his toxic rage?" I certainly hope you do.
We all owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Anita Hill for standing up for herself with courage and dignity in such a publicly hostile environment. Anita Hill is my hero.
8
When is this ever going to end? The Me Too messages on my Facebook feed included my nineteen year old niece, as well as almost every other American female Facebook "friend" I have. The laws are there, but so is the fear. Generation after generation should not be putting up with this.
2
We are told more and more about companies setting up in-house seminars on sexual harassment as a sign that they are taking the subject seriously and perhaps more cynically as a defense strategy in case they are sued. I’m just wondering if these “classes” in company workplaces are also mandatory for the powerful men who often comprise the majority of the top brass in a typical large business. I hope I’m wrong, but I have difficulty imagining any HR director informing the very top management that they are expected to attend sensitivity training along with all those lower down in the company hierarchy. Would this kind of training have helped in the case of a man like Harvey Weinstein or Uber’s Travis Kalanick, perhaps not, but the most powerful men in an organization need to start sending a clear message that zero-tolerance for sexism and harassment against women starts at the top.
“One of the things about my testimony, I believe, that resonated so much with women was that it seemed so regular, so much like what was going on in their day-to-day lives,”
Anita Hill's testimony deeply affected me. So much so that I went in to a deep depression and had to seek help to confront, not only sexual harassment, but abuse from a young age that followed me into adulthood. To this day I find it difficult to name sexual harassment as exactly that. I find my first thought is to protect the perpetrator So many men and women ask why abused women never come forward until many years later. It is complex, profoundly frightening, easier to bury, because women are still second class citizens; less than- they are never believed, they are always blamed, or explained away as crazy. It reminds me of so much else in our culture, whether gun laws after unspeakable mass shootings, another child dying at the hands of a relative, another senseless death of a black man at the hands of a police officer, our criminal justice system failing the poor and minorities while big money, such as Weinstein/Miramax protects rapists by creating contracts where hush money is paid to board members, literally sanctioning criminal behavior.
Yes, so regular, indeed.
3
When we speak of sexual harassment, we focus our attention on the women who have been harassed. The solution to the problem is to focus on the men preying on women by educating men to realize that the vast majority of women don't want to be preyed upon for sex in the workplace. One need not go farther than neighborhood construction sites or crowded subway platforms to realize that there is something in the male mind that believes pursuing a woman exclusively for sex or fantasizing about sex with strange women or colleagues is acceptable. It is not. These incidents involving Harvey Weinstein go a long way to not only exposing the Harvey Weinsteins, Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reillys but in educating males globally. The conversation and exposure have to continue in order to wholly eradicate sexual aggression against women. One would hope it won't take another 100 years to achieve this.
"something in the male mind that believes pursuing a woman exclusively for sex or fantasizing about sex with strange women or colleagues is acceptable. It is not."
Sorry, but you're simply wrong. There is nothing wrong with pursuing someone solely for sex, and there's certainly nothing wrong with fantasizing about sex with your acquaintances, which is something every single man does and will continue to do as long as we are human. Yes, it will take a lot more than 100 years to eradicate mens sexual fantasies, so you had best get used to the world evolution has created.
1
You and your philosophy are the problem. I would bet money that most women don't want lascivious strangers lusting after them. If you're my acquaintance Mr. Russell know for certain that your fantasies about having sex with me and my female colleagues are offensive. Your attitude is the reason why 25 years after Anita Hill we STILL have lascivious men like Bill O'Reilly, Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein fantasizing and carrying out rape on their colleagues.
1
Yes, theoretically there is nothing wrong with pursuing someone for sex or with fantasizing abut sex with your acquaintances. There is something wrong about requiring nudity, sex, or the viewing of a sexual act, as a condition of employment, with the possible exception of applying for a position at a brothel, a strip joint, or as an actor in a pornographic movie.
1
Some evening, count the number of assaults against woment in TV shows. Why is this television worth watching and how can we believe it doesn't have an impact.
1
Unfortunately, sexual harassment is a pernicious problem that is not a respecter of political party affiliation. I am a proud liberal and a Democrat, but lest we forget, it was Joe Biden who was Anita Hill's most angry and sarcastic antagonist during her testimony and subsequent questioning during Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing. I remember crying as I watched it on TV. Democrats like to claim that they are fierce supporters of women's rights, but alas, when the rubber meets the road and men feel threatened by women speaking out - men often band together to suppress women's voices. Biden was also very uncomfortable with the idea of Hillary as President. It seems to me that despite a conscious desire to support women, or less admirably, a cynical political calculation to do so, men often have a gnawing unconscious disquietude when women speak up. They can't quite put their finger on it, but something... something, bugs them about us having our own, saying our piece, doing as we wish without them being consulted, giving their permission, or getting something in return. The comments from readers of all of the Weinstein reporting and all other reporting in this newspaper on this topic bear that out for all to see. Thank God women like Anita Hill cared more about the rest of us than she cared for her own peace and quiet. We owe her and others like her an enormous debt of gratitude.
8
Non-Disclosure Agreements in sexual harassment cases should be voidable as against public policy.
And it shameful that Weinstein’s company didn’t fire him when it was determined that he was a serial offender. It should be sued.
29
I was just thinking this morning about how Harvey Weinstein got fired, and Donald Trump got elected President and Clarence Thomas made a Supreme Court Judge for the same behavior.
86
Will you also ponder how Bill Clinton remained President, thanks to the Democratic party?
3
An off-color joke is not "the same behavior" as Weinstein's alleged rape.
Sure. Bill had consensual sex with willing partners. Harvey and Clarence used their positions to make uninvited and unwelcome sexual advances to others. Bill cheated on Hillary. Harvey and Clarence preyed on others.
See the difference?
"Harvey Weinstein joins a parade of celebrities and business powerhouses accused of treating women as mere pleasure providers: Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, Uber and Amazon Studios employees, swaths of Silicon Valley — a quorum of indecency. Not to mention that a man who boasted of grabbing women by the genitalia sits in the White House."
I find it interesting that Bill Clinton was not mentioned in this article. He too sat in the White House.
22
Clinton was not mentioned maybe because the women were all willing participants?
2
If I remember correctly it was Monica Lewinsky that pursued Clinton. Up until that point nothing was ever proved that there was any misconduct on Clinton's part. I'm not condoning what he did in the White House, he should have had more control and more respect for the office, but he wasn't openly a pig like Trump has been and still is.
3
I think a number of men who sat in the Oval Office can be classified as sexual harassers/predators, starting with Thomas Jefferson....
3
In the 1950s it was almost impossible to get a rape conviction unless the victim was a young virgin beaten senseless. Prosecutors would not even try.
One hundred years ago women were jailed, and sometimes tortured, when they spoke about their right to vote.
One hundred years ago Margaret Sanger was jailed for providing women with diaphragms for birth control. Sanger was convicted as the trial judge held that women did not have "the right to copulate with a feeling of security that there will be no resulting conception."
Child custody laws were equally unfair to the mother until the 20th century.
So, yes, progress has been made. But every woman needs to post those facts on the bathroom mirror, read them every morning, vow "never again", then go our and act accordingly. Women, and only women, will win this battle, just as they have won every shred of equality they command today.
103
Men deserve some credit. Women would not have gotten the right to vote were it not for the men who voted to give women the right to vote.
Courtney Love speaking out in 2005 Courtney was asked the question "do you have any advise for young girl moving to Hollywood" ummm I'll get liabled if I say it upon which Courtney continued with---If Harvey Weinstein asks you to private party in the 4 seasons ---Don't Go --Rumour has it she was immediately dropped by her agency CAA
16
Thank you for showing Anita Hill. We forget that not only did we welcome a sexual predator into the White house, but we welcomed one on our Supreme Court too. This country is a mess.
46
"... Senate committee that was holding hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court..."
I recall watching the conformation hearing. And he is a supreme court judge.
Equality and justice for all. Right on Bro. I still remember the catch phrase when had allegedly said: "Who put pubic hair on my coke".
I suppose you can't take a knee in the supreme court. That woiuld be unconstitutional and desrespecting the supreme court.
2
It takes brave women like Anita Hill and Gretchen Carlson to remind us that there's still a very long way for women to achieve gender equality. Having just celebrated my 50th anniversary to a remarkable professional woman, I can attest to the many instances of sexual harassment she encountered from her graduate student days in the late 1960's to her last position as a professor at a major state university beginning in 1990. Along the way, she was able to provide evidence of sexual predation by a famous Ivy League professor that kept him from a distinguished professorship at The University of Michigan in the 1980s and a decade later forced another predator off the faculty in her last position. I suspect that there are many such women who have used their power and influence to quash sexual predators whose stories have not been told. I'd hope that all such women would act under similar circumstances. It's the lesson that both Ms. Hill and Ms. Carlson have taught them and us as well.
72
If sexual harassment is going to be stopped in this country, it's not going to happen because women bravely confront it. Men have to be involved in this fight as well, just as whites were involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Instead of dumping this problem on women, why can't you men take a stand against this, as well? Men have a tendency to take social cues from other men so if you see something, DO something. It's obvious women need male allies in the struggle. We can't do it alone.
3
Dear Donna Bailey. Of course men have to be involved, but often, as in my wife's case, women who've been assaulted seek out and confide in other women who can understand their concerns and be their advocates. That was certainly the case with the examples I gave of my wife's successful interventions. I, too, had similar experiences some successful others not, but I've always been there for and with my wife in fighting hard against sex predators. That was what I meant in my last sentence "them and us." I certainly do not and have not believed in "dumping this problem on women," but only wanted to say that many women now have status and can fight back, and often they are the most powerful and effective voices in doing so. That is what Anita Hill and Gretchen Carlson were and are about.
1
Kudos to your awesome wife!
1
Since so many women can't afford legal representation, or are in fear of retaliation and losing their jobs, perhaps our outraged and enlightened representatives can write new legislation to provide funds to help abused woman to assert their rights.
13
Why shouldn't sex be on the bargaining table as much as any other desired service? Why in this age of sexual alphabet liberation is prostitution either as a stand alone trade or as part of the bargaining for other jobs illegal? Why is this aspect of self-actualization and personal fulfillment harassed and crushed while entire new areas of law are erected on the principle of the right to be oneself?
5
Because 99% of the time, there is no “bargaining” and it isn’t about sex. It is about power.
61
It's also about the need to control, humiliate, and harm.
5
There are plenty of ways people with power get people without it to grovel, Rita, that doesn't involve sex. Focusing strictly on sex is only giving a free pass to all those others, which may in fact be far more injurious to those forced to succumb. People just like talking about sex more, I guess.
1
The Clarence Thomas hearings were one of the great political scandals of our time. And who was the chairman of the proceedings? Why, our old friend Joe Biden, who was completely ineffectual at stopping the outrageous, despicable attacks on Anita Hill. Shameful.
26
My family watched the Anita Hill hearing. I remember my mom and aunt siding with Clarence Thomas because of all the women who testified on his behalf. I always felt sad for Anita Hill for putting herself through the experience to try to protect her country from an unfit supreme court justice.
She may have lost the battle but she won the war. She got women talking about harassment and I know that I can credit her bravery for the fact that I have experienced very little harassment because HR departments started cracking down on the behavior.
I will always consider Anita Hill a personal hero and a true patriot.
234
I always believed her and it enraged me that so many people did not. She was not lying.
5
Well said, Ami....(and Anita !)
3
I remember my mother and her friends watching the Anita Hill coverage. They were all nurses who obtained their nursing diplomas after the WWII and rose up to positions of leadership in hospitals. Being in the workplace, they knew exactly about what Anita Hill was speaking.
1
OK gang, let go over it again.
Sexual predators will always be there but pre 1980 is gone.
There are plenty of cases where women fight back, win money and the man is fired.
That is what the 20 plus movie stars should have done instead of waiting to come public when the roles or promotions stopped.
The real heroine of this story is the 21 yr. old Italian model who did fight back ASAP, albeit not successful yet.
The best way to nip sexual predators in the bud is not to enable and co depend them like the 20+ stars did.
5
You know the reputation of that 21 yr old is being dragged through the mud, right? You know that the other women knew that is what they would face as well if they went public, right?
1
Thank you for your reply Linda J....yes I know...but it is not an excuse. I worked for 40 yrs in a major corporation and you heard about sexual predators. Some women did nothing, some women went along with it to get promotions but in the end there was always the woman who said enough, starting a case, got money and the guy was fired.
1
So the women are to blame, right? Got it.
It's not that men don't believe believe women when they cry harassment. It is just simply that we do not care. We listen to women's hysterical claims, and 95% of the time we come to the well-reasoned conclusion, based on the facts, that the act described is not "harassment." What we are seeing here, really, is the invention of a whole new category of female nagging, akin to women badgering their husbands to clean out the garage when they're trying to watch a game.
5
Says someone who has never had to deal with the issue. Work is work, it's not a singles club.
1
Evan said: What we are seeing here, really, is the invention of a whole new category of female nagging
Looks like that meteor from a million years ago didn't get them all.
5
Exhibit A of what a long hard fight today's young women still have ahead of them.
5
A woman use their attraction to men as tools to get ahead professionally and socially.
4
Excuse me Loh, with all due respect, not ALL women get ahead professionally by using their attraction to men as tools as you stated. Believe it or not, many women really and truly do have a brain, are intelligent, and possess keen skillsets in their chosen fields of employment.
6
Thank you for this historical perspective. The video, more than the summary, was moving and enlightening. Even though I lived through the Anita Hill era, it's taken most of my life as a feminist to fully appreciate the gravity of what was happening in those hearings. Depressing as it is, we have to recognize both that real social change is very slow - and it doesn't happen without the sacrifices and bravery of individuals like Anita Hill.
127
Even Joe Biden did not allow, in the interest of speeding the proceedings, Anita Hill's corroborating witness. For this I cannot forgive him.
11
How can one possibly write an article about high profile sexual harassment cases without including some discussion of the credible allegations against Bill Clinton?
32
Remember, this is the New York Times. Selective recall and denying facts are part of their DNA.
4
Geez Chad - maybe you want an investigation into the affairs JFK had during his presidency?
I think the article is trying to stay relevant. How many sexual harassment examples do you need to keep Trump out of the story and the Clinton's in?
I dump you into the piles with the other Trump Trolls!
16
Excuse me Glsber, but I believe the behavior of former President Bill Clinton is as relevant as the behavior of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who is one of the focal points of this article. Accusing folks of being "Trump Trolls" is unnecessary and unwarranted and this is coming from an anti-Trump individual.
6
For the past quarter-century we here in Berkeley have displayed bumper stickers declaring I BELIEVE YOU ANITA. We still do. It is such a travesty that her hearings were so mangled. Would we do better if the same hearings were held today? Sadly, the answer might be no. Time for people to figure out that most of the time the accusations made with a high level of detail (such as provided by Ms. Hill in her testimony under oath) are not exaggerations, they are not inventions, and they need to be given appropriate attention. How revolting that Thomas remains on the Court, a living testimony to the evident fact that America habitually chooses to respond to women's pleas for justice with silence and shrugs.
54
The human male is prone to use power and material goods to get sex. The human female is prone to use sex to get power and material goods. It has always been so and it always will be so. The laws of nature are more powerful than the laws of man and are never repealed.
Yes, I believe this happens all the time. Whether I believe it happened in any particular case depends on the presence or absence of corroborating evidence. As fundamental to human nature as speech is bearing false witness for the sake of power or material goods, or even for attention and sympathy.
Even when one knowsl the major facts, the judgement regarding who was primarily predator and who was prey does not necessarily follow.
6
What silly nonsense to justify ignoring abuse and to excuse the barbarism!
We are beyond the cave dwelling, knuckle-dragging stage of evolution.
Society requires people to curb their “natural” violent impulses, regardless of gender.
And those who refuse to behave like humans can go back to cave-dwelling - with bars.
24
See here one of the prime ways abusive behavior by men is perpetuated. Calling it natural. Making women complicit in what men do, if not outright blaming them.
We need to stop listening to men like this and to lines like this. Just stop. Laugh at it. Or ignore it. It is baseless and disgusting.
9
Utter nonsense. The system was/is rigged to prevent women from gaining power, to keep men in positions of power and women in subservient positions. Men's belief that women enjoy being prostitutes, that they enjoy sleeping with the boss to get a raise they earned doing their job is pure male vanity and self-delusion.
3
It's heartening that many more women and men are now speaking out about sexual harassment and violence than in the 1970s.
The lesson from this report is that It takes more than public consciousness raising by celebrities. A systemic problem requires systemic solutions, and systemic change requires prolonged, concerted effort.
It starts with asking ourselves why is this issue important to us and our communities, and then taking action beyond posting #MeToo.
Why not start with insisting that our K-12 schools create a culture of respect for all students regardless of sex or gender identity? Nonprofits like Stop Sexual Assault in Schools have been banging this drum for a couple of years. We need to bring about culture changes starting with young people, so that 20 years from now we don't see headlines like "Do We Believe Women Yet?"
7
Let's also ensure that families with school-age children send their youngsters to school not having witnessed inappropriate power-based violence and/or sexual behavior or language in the home, whether it be interpersonal or on a screen. Let's help young parents know how to speak kindly, respectfully and helpfully to their sons and daughters, as well as behave as the fine role models they expect schools to set.
If 83% of sex based harassment complaints filed with the EEOC are from women I do not understand how Ms Carlson can say "society does not find out how prevalent sexual harassment is in the workplace". Unfortunately, the behavior is acceptable, it falls within the definition of normal and okay. The split second decision Hillary Clinton made not to turn around and tell Mr Trump to back up and get out of her space on the debate stage last year serves as a perfect illustration. Her dilemma to care for herself versus how her actions would be perceived is the essence of harassment. How high a price was she willing to pay? It is the question all victims ask themselves every time they are violated.
74
It is a perfect example - a woman at the highest level of political power - yet she still feels that she must treat a harasser with extreme courtesy.
43
I never pass up the opportunity to discuss safety with my daughter. There are threats everywhere, and anti-harassment laws, while welcome, won’t stop knuckle-dragging predators. Live you life, but be prepared.
4
One guy to another:
If your idea of a turn-on is
making her uncomfortable
and forcing yourself on her,
get some help.
40
Related to that: Why did HW (and presumably other predators) think that forcing a woman to watching a ugly, obese man masturbate would be seductive?
2
Abuse starts at the application and hiring stage. All the women Weinstein harrassed, raped, and abused were essentially applying for a job. If you are in a powerful position, one thing you can do is to SERIOUSLY rethink HOW you hire. Codespeak today for rejecting she OR he in many workplaces especially high tech is “...not a fit...” modified from the “...not a cultural fit...” (the latter was beginning to bust the perpetrators). Think DEEPLY before you dump that resume from the woman who does not look like you and that includes age as well as race and ethnicity. I brought my case against your likely favorite-company-named-after-a-fruit immediately after the Hill case. As I have shared, I was thrown a bone and the usual NonDisclosure agreement. I do think that today things are a bit different but only incrementally and many of us have suffered permanent and lasting damage in forging this road. There is room for improvement by all (men and women) in how people are HIRED.
4
The reason this sickness is more in the news than ever is because white males (including evangelicals) essentially voted for it, and in droves.
If it sits flagrantly in the oval office, is it any wonder it's in the papers?
"The arc of the moral universe is long" King said, "but it bends toward justice."
Maybe if more of these predators had to bend toward serious jail time, we'd see a real change.
Let's start at the top.
41
As opposed to electing a woman who open protected her rapist husband?
4
When should others be held to account for your actions, less a child?
Let's not forget the 53% of white women who also voted for it last year.
2
Let's just stop with the sentence "The problem is age-old." Then try to imagine the same sentence, the same instance, applied in the case of men.
Anything else we need to say here? Anybody got more 'splainin' to do? Let's hear from the Google guys who are so unhappy that women are demanding equal pay and equal treatment. We're all concerned for their suffering.
6
When do we stop talking about women (the victims), and start talking about what to do about the predators. I know businesses have held myriad seminars and trainings on how to treat employees of the opposite sex, etc. The real change will come when men stop seeing any woman as that "hot chick" and see her as another human being. When men stop laughing when things are said about a woman's appearance. This starts in boyhood and respect should start at home and in peer groups. True progress will be made when this whole boys will be boys mindset is erased.
12
Sexual harassment is one of the many ways in which power gaps in the workplace render subordinate employees vulnerable to exploitation.
Exploitation takes many forms because people in power are extremely creative in how they render the body disposable for their own profit and pleasure. For example, we see agribusiness owners exposing migrant workers to pesticides, causing permanent nerve damage, and we see chicken pluckers denied toilet breaks by their superiors to the point that some wear diapers to work. Similarly, women in low-pay and low-status positions are at risk of being exploited by men who sit higher in the organization. Hollywood actresses are just the tip of that iceberg really.
The only way to resolve this is to level the power dynamics by securing employment with collective bargaining. Until that happens, workers will continue to be exploited in sundry ways, and sexual harassment will continue to be rampant.
19
Amen. Thank you.
4
Sorry, nice thought, but if you think that harassment or sexual exploitation doesn't happen in a union environment by management and union higher ups, think again. It's only the fear of the law that will prevent this type of treatment and it means that the women have to speak up and be protected when they do.
I agree with everything in this article, and like many women, have faced very scary situations in the work place and with a respected member of my family. What shocks me in this article is the glaring omission of the ultimate workplace horror, in the Oval Office by President Bill Clinton. And the omission of the responsibility of the enablers around him, especially his wife, who have now remade him in the image of 'cool dude'. And the omission of Anthony Weiner - a very sick man - who the Clintons thought was the perfect match for their 'other daughter' Huma Abedin. Imagine Bill and Anthony in the White House. Two men chosen by Hillary, who now is disgusted by Weinstein and Trump. Bizarro world. You remind us of Trumps words, but not the Clintons actions. Need I ask why?
15
@me.....me too....see my previous comment to B.Sharp re: the irony of "outraged feminists" (at HRC's loss to Trump) and seriously, wanting to know how they square their championship of her with her personally abysmal record.....very well documented.....on sexual harrassment charges brought against her husband......you can't have it both ways!!!......And sexual predators are, sadly, readily evident on both sides of the political divide.
1
It takes 2 to tango!
3
When dancing tha tango, yes. But when a man forces sex with a woman it is called rape. That ain't no tango, buddy.
23
And when one of the two says clearly that she does not want to dance, the other should respect that. When Anita Hill testified, the men in that Senate hearing did not seem to believe that she did not say no clearly enough. They seemed to have no idea why valuing our jobs, careers, etc. with little support from those in power means that we do not scream no. When someone just grabs at us we often have to find discreet ways to indicate no...over and over again because of the fact that men do not understand why we are not screaming no even though when we do we get called troublemakers or overreactors or just plain liars. It is almost as disgusting and inhibiting to have to deal with the guys who say stuff like "it takes two" as an excuse for those men's behaviors and our reluctance to say anything because of other people protecting the men.
4
It takes just one person to sexually harass another. It takes two people to consent. That would be the difference.
Liberal Women.
1991 - Anita Hill alleges, at worse, that Clarence Thomas made a crude joke about a public hair on a coke can.
Liberal Women go crazy and all America comes to a stop.
1995 - 49 year old Bill Clinton receives oral sex in the Oval Office from a 23 year old intern.
Liberal Women slink off silent as the grave.
Such is life.
17
Conservative women?
Maybe they're too cowed by voices like yours to say anything.
14
Two questions: 1) What was Clarence Thomas' role at the time he intimidated and sexually harassed Anita Hill? A: Chairman of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 2) Was the relationship between President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky consensual? A. Yes.
Liberal women have nothing to be ashamed of and plenty to be angry about. Decent men are our partners in this fight. Lowlife men who take advantage of vulnerable people are sadly all too commonplace.
6
Your comments are so radically incorrect they scarcely warrant a response. Writing off this glaring crisis in our society with some flippant half-truths? Clarence Thomas repeated tried to coerce Anita Hill to meet him socially. He subjected her to rap his descriptions of women have sex, including with animals and went into detail about the appearance of his sexual anatomy. Several witnesses were prepared to testify to this fact.
Your second assertion is ridiculous. In fact, feminist and progressive individuals were outspoken in criticizing Clinton, and even in the recent election, reluctantly supported Clinton for this reason. Since, voting for a sexual predator and rapist is obviously worse than a woman who stood by her husband during a painful public affair. Clinton should be included in the cadre of deplorable men who use their power to harass and assault women.
Women are also not the only victims. Men have been harassed at work too. Let’s open this dialogue wide open, and continue to make strides to extinguish this behavior.
2
It is in men's nature to be sexual predators. It is an evolutionary trait essential for propagation of the species dating from caveman days. However, just as we EXPECT a driver of a powerful car to keep the speed near the limit (penalties if they don't), we EXPECT men to control their urges, with penalties if they don't. We are not living in the stone age any more!
4
Oddly enough, as a woman I don't think men are all sexual predators - not by a long shot. But they don't take a stand against those who are - and that would be the social change which would make this behavior completely unacceptable. As for the actual predators, they need to know they will be prosecuted as appropriate, and shamed by other men.
26
Why is something that is so obviously wrong taking so much time to correct, so long in fact that the obvious problem seems intractable? I suggest this because sexual harassment is a "continuum problem", much like abortion politics, the difficult question being when does sexual flirting and engagement become harassment? (In the abortion context, the problem is just when does a fetus become a human being.)
People have a lot of trouble with continuum ethical issues. It is easier and more satisfying to say that all contact is proscribed. That's kind of what Islam and orthodox Judaism do. So we are likely to continue to struggle in this area, although us men could use some education and guidelines. And it is probably better for men to err on the side of being a little timid and aloof. That was certainly the atmosphere in my office over the past 20 years (different from the former 20 years.)
9
Err on the side of being timid and aloof? Thats the whole problem, we already have an entire nation of timid, aloof, lonely people, staring at their phones, afraid to talk to the person next to them, and even more afraid that that person might say something to them.
1
It's entirely possible to have fun and feel a sense of cameraderie and closeness in a mixed gender office without it turning into a sexual retreat. Just keep it clean. Not that hard.
2
We have two big elephants in this room: Mr. Trump and Mr. Clinton. When women start coming forward w regards to such political figures who have legions of blind supporters and attack dogs, we'll see how far we've come.
10
Women did come forward against Clinton and Hillary destroyed their lives. Heck Lewinsky had to leave the country.
9
Oh? One was part of a consensual affair, the other let the entire country know it was all right, if you're a star, to grab a woman. Stop trying to make these equivalencies. If you want to go that route, how about Joe Biden? He led the Senate Judiciary Committee and the questioning that refused to believe Anita Hill and roundly disparaged her. That makes him complicit. If you insist on playing this game, all the cards have to be on the table, not just the ones of your choosing.
19
For Hillary, it had to have been a tough call. On one hand, if she had publically come out in support of the women, she would have been considered an "unsupportive, disobedient and disloyal wife" and lost the "Values Voters." On the other hand, if she had come out publically in support of her husband, she would have been considered a "disloyal feminist." Since she had to have known that her husband was messing around, she chose the lesser of two evils, most likely for political reasons. Better, for political reasons, that she should continue to be Mrs. Bill Clinton, married to a philanderer, than an ex-wife who was running for President of the United States.
1
As long as the men are believed over the women, the harassment will continue the perpetrators will continue to be in positions of power. Shameful.
8
Why is it shameful? If there is no evidence, then there is no evidence. That doesn't mean that I disbelieve the accuser. I neither believe nor disbelieve but relegate it to issues outside my competence to know, like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, and turn my thoughts to useful matters.
2
It's shameful because even when there is concrete evidence, e.g., the Weinstein undercover tape, still nothing happens. There was evidence.
Parents, please teach your children about the casting couch. Prepare them to decline and report. Silence enables the practice to continue.
4
We have a sexual harasser on the Supreme court and voters put a sexual predator in the office President of the United States. Do you really think anyone is listening?
151
j24, I totally agree.....we, women....are our worst enemies. WE need to know we have the power to NOT vote for our oppressors while blaming female victims! What's up with that?
If WE did not vote for the"grabber" he would NOT be where he is today.
Bill Clinton?
Most sexual harassment takes place with nobody but the perpetrator and the victim present. So unless there are emails or video or audio evidence sexual harassment will always be very hard to prove.
Assuming it can be done safely, I think if a woman is being harassed she should gather as much hard evidence as possible. Wear a wire, get him into a text or email chain, tape the phone calls, use a hidden camera. Make it impossible for a prosecutor to not bring charges or for a jury to acquit.
14
One of Weinstein's victims wore a wire for the NYPD. The DA still refused to prosecute. This is a much bigger problem than just a lack of evidence.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-se....
9
The DA seemed to have been greased, for political reasons?
1
To say that 75% of victims never tell anyone "in authority" unfairly paints victims as cowards. We don't complain because there isn't anyone to complain to. If you're employed by a small business (say fewer than 25 employees) there's no chance of complaining anonymously and in many, if not most cases the person "in authority" is the problem.
77
Not only that, even in large companies, the job of HR is often to protect the company or high-powered executive, not the woman being harassed.
One company I joined years ago, the first week I was there was taken up settling me in. Part of this included meeting with HR to discuss benefits; along with that, the HR staff member briefing me included information on sexual harassment, which I thought was a good move, especially since my position wasn't even a low level one. However, in the back of my mind, I thought if something like this ever happened to me, I would pursue legal advice individually before even contacting HR.
It sure takes a long time for women to be heard and make progress in this patriarchal educational, legal and political system. We need more women speak out, and to run for office. We need to elect more women to office. If we had fifty women senators in office a lot of these problems would find solutions.
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@Susan wrote: "If we had fifty women senators in office a lot of these problems would find solutions."
Fascinating hypothetical! Now let's imagine what the United States might be like if those fifty women senators were led by Ann Coulter, Kim Davis, Christine O'Donnell, Sarah Palin, Kellyanne Conway, Phyllis Schlafly, Michele Bachmann, Joni Ernst, Laura Ingraham, Tomi Lahren, Ivanka Trump, Pamela Geller, Dana Loesch, Carly Fiorina, Michelle Malkin, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Lisa Bloom, Marsha Blackburn, Jan Brewer, Kay Hutchison, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Katrina Pierson, Laurie Dhue, Peggy Noonan, Bari Weiss, Sonnie Johnson, Claire McCaskill, Caroline Glick, Laura Schlessinger, Pam Bondi, etc.
Imagine that nightmarish world. In fact, if you can't imagine it, just glance at Bari Weiss' Twitter feed.
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more women, more people of all backgrounds and that means fewer lawyers. It's time the represented officials are comprised of all backgrounds and professions. There is a bias in Washington towards lawyers and that has to change.
You put a lot of effort into saying something silly. Cherry pick your own personal list of worst examples? These are the only 50 women you think of perhaps? Doubt it.
"demand physical gratification" and using women as "pleasure providers" is pretty softball language. Why can't you just call these men what they are? They are rapists.
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Responding to Lorie in Portland Oregon: And sexual predators as well as rapists.
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I totally agree. While "employers and customers with hyperactive hands" may have fun alliteration to it, these euphemisms sugarcoat sexual assault. Language is everything, and it's time to call a spade a spade.
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@Lorie: Rape usually implies forceful penetration of an orifice.
Based on the reports of many of the women HW harassed, he did not rape them. But he did enough to cause life-long emotional and career damage.
In other words, don't set the bar too high for sexual harassment. That will give predators an out.
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The Trump administration can indeed play a leading role. All the women who suffered sexual harassment from current and past presidents, starting with Donald Trump come forward. Out of it one important fact will come out, it is more than a Democrat or Republican problem.
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It is safer to speculate that excessive behavior of this sort is a flawed male condition vs. giving it a partisan spin which is certainly guess work on your part. This problem needs to be tackled by all caring people.
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Agreed: Kennedy, Clinton . . . Don't even want to think who else.
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