There is much in the news today about sexual harassment and sexual assault. Many famous and powerful men are caught up in scandals related to sexual misconduct. It seems that a well-covered, even attractively clothed societal structure has been stripped of its façade and the underlying scaffolding of power, entitlement, and abuse of other human beings is now bared for all to see.
Many pundits and commentators have written about aspects of these scandals. For example, what degree of harassment or abuse amounts to grounds for legal action? What are appropriate consequences for these acts, losing a job or position? Does it matter that these events are decades in the past? How can ‘truth’ be determined when one party denies any culpability? Nonetheless, many tentatively opine that this is a turning point for our culture. The days of casually dismissing or ignoring reports of sexual harassment may be over. I certainly hope so.
Among many thoughts and feelings, two stand out. First, how do we refine the definitions of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, and sexual assault? What sanctions and punishments are appropriate for these various sexual abuses? How do we educate ourselves about these societal problems? At this moment, when we are in a time of chaos, there is potential for some to take advantage of that chaos and perpetrate new abuses, even make false claims. As well, if we do not, as a society, handle the process of sifting through the meaning of our new understanding, the potential for a backlash exists. We, as a culture, have a lot to work through to ensure that real and positive change happens and becomes the basis for a new norm.
And not to diminish the possible watershed moment for out culture on this topic, what if this revelatory moment on this issue opened us to consider the language in our constitution, “with liberty and justice for all.” For all. Could the scaffolding of privilege and prejudice against any group considered “other” be exposed and could we work to dismantle these parts of our societal structure? That is a long shot, but my hope, to paraphrase Martin Luther King, is that the arc of history bends toward justice.