At work, the whole idea of sexual harassment and the awful seminars that often come along with it are usually the punchline of a joke. Think back to the second season of the Office when a sexual harassment meeting goes down…sex doll included. This kind of comedy is easy to laugh off because it is so easy to assume that in your own life, other people are socially aware enough to identify what sexual harassment looks like and how to avoid it. You assume that just because you understand boundaries, other people do as well. However, situations can easily escalate from funny to freaky in a matter of seconds.
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It has been one hell of a week for the mayor of San Diego, Bob Filner (who is very clearly one of those people who never quite grasped the concept of personal space). A total of SEVEN women have opened up about being sexually harassed by this California Democrat over the past few years. Four of the seven women hold significant leadership roles in the San Diego community and after years of silence, they decided to televise a public request asking Filner to resign as mayor. All of the women explicitly discussed Filner’s inappropriate fondling, kissing, and sexual innuendos that took place while working alongside him.
It seems pretty clear that a man with this many sexual harassment allegations against him is not fit to be mayor (or even work in an environment where there are, you know, …people). Naturally, the Democratic Party leaders in San Diego voted in agreement of his resignation.
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Filner took the modern approach of responding to this request via YouTube. In a faux-regretful tone, the Mayor admits that he “failed to fully respect” the women who work for him and at times “intimidated them.” If by intimidated he means inappropriately groped them, then yeah, I guess that is an accurate depiction of his actions. However, even after releasing this video where he superficially damns himself as the misogynist he is and the man’s own political party telling him to call it quits, he still refuses to step down.
Despite that disheartening news, which still has potential to change in the future, it is essential to take away the powerful message that his situation has brought to light. San Diego’s former communication’s chief, a dean of students at San Diego State University, the president of an organization, and a prominent business woman were all violated by this man, and because of their fear for other women’s safety, they chose to speak up. They decided enough was enough, and the silence was not worth another woman’s wellbeing. They became advocates for every women’s right to protect her own body.
Each of these incredible women overlooked the negative stigma this country’s rape culture has created surrounding sexual harassment-often forcing women to find embarrassment in being violated sexually-and brought attention to something that not only affected them, but affects all women. No one has ownership over your body other than yourself and sexual harassment, whether it be physical or verbal, is never acceptable. Or even a joke.
By Sara Tardiff
