Another Predator in the Headlines

Guess what! 

A male politician who is currently running for an office of great authority was recently accused by several women of sexual harassment, assault and abuse. Did that shock you and grab your attention? Or did it look like every other political scandal in the headlines these days?

Former president Bill Clinton was impeached after he received allegations of sexual abuse, and now seeing politicians and public figures receive these same accusations is sort of commonplace. These men are somehow not our culture’s vote for the root cause of rape culture.

Instead, we blame women for what they’re wearing, doing, going, saying or expressing on their face. Whether she was ‘asking for it’ or ‘playing hard to get’, being manipulative or being submissive, being too bossy or not standing up for herself, somehow violence against women has always been women’s problem to solve.

The Reality

About 92.1% of sexual abuse perpetrators are men according to a 2018 study by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. That does not mean that women are never involved in instigating and lying about their abuse, but that is not the subject of this blog.

Since the #MeToo movement in 2017 news media has made it clear that powerful men abusing their power over women is not uncommon. Several politicians’ dreams are crushed by victims who are brave enough to face the scrutiny of the media. Their entire digital image is transformed by their attempt to protect other people in the politician’s path as they are mercilessly accused of lying in order to attain that overwhelmingly negative attention.

Matt Gaetz, Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Diddy, Dan Schneider— the perpetrators are easy to name.

Can you name one of each of their victims?

Studies find that fewer than 10% of all reported sexual harassment cases are false accusations.

After President Donald Trump set a precedent of deny, deny, deny for the almost 30 women who have come forward accusing him of sexual assault since the 1970s, representatives facing sexual assault cases have been... not too worried about it.

There are too many men who might be predators and have been accused of vile acts for my comfort.

Stay Informed

You can track all cases against U.S. representatives through the govtrack.us website including how each case is resolved.

Although cases of politicians being accused of harassment are depressingly common, most news outlets are forcing the issue into the spotlight.

For example, PBS very recently published an article on the 147 state legislators that have faced sexual harassment accusations since 2017. Reflective articles like these are important in changing the culture of our political offices that condones sexual violence against women.

Media Recommendations

Reese Witherspoon’s “The Morning Show” was a direct response to the #MeToo movement. The recent craze has been docuseries “Quiet on Set” which explores a series of several sexual harassment cases during the 1990s in Nickelodeon productions that were covered up at the time. Additionally, the limited Netflix series “Baby Reindeer” covers abuse and its consequences from a male perspective exclusively. Lastly, season 2 of “Sex Ed” includes a plot line about surviving harassment and explores how women are taught to minimize our experiences.