When the Prime Minister fronted the cameras this week after more than a month of stories of toxic behaviour at Parliament House, it was two words that jarred, experts say.
Since February 15, when former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins came forward and alleged she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House, female politicians and staffers across party lines have shared the stories of their own sexual assaults, harassment and unwanted advances.
After the revelation that a male staff member, among other things, had masturbated on a female MP’s desk Scott Morrison gave the speech on Tuesday.
An emotional Mr Morrison acknowledged the “very traumatic month” women have endured, and the “crap” they face every day of our lives.
At the end of his speech, he called on “women to stand with me as I go about this … I need them to stand in this place … I need them to continue to blaze that trail right here in this place”.
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But experts say the two words “need them” highlight the issue within Australia, where the responsibility for change is given to women.
“Scott Morrison has a responsibility, as Prime Minister and as a privileged white male, to call on men to stand up and acknowledge that as a gender group, they perpetrate the bulk of violence against women,” international expert on police responses to sexual violence and Professor of Criminology at New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington, Jan Jordan, told news.com.au.
“The responsibility for addressing the major problem of sexual violence in Australia, shared also in New Zealand, must not be placed on the shoulders of victims and survivors or women generally, since for too long they have been blamed for ‘getting themselves raped’.”
RMIT University Associate Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, Anastasia Powell, pointed out, it “is not just a ‘women’s issue’, it is a shared societal issue”.
“In fact, men are by far the majority of perpetrators of this violence, so there is an additional role for men to take responsibility, to listen to survivors, and to take action to stop this abuse,” she told news.com.au.
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“It is an injustice that the burden for driving change to address sexual violence seems to rest largely on the shoulders of survivors themselves to go public with their stories. And there are so many more survivors who bravely face the world again every day and carry that burden largely alone.”
Like the one going on at the moment, public conversations can “be very distressing for survivors”, Dr Powell added.
“Especially when we see leaders, be they political or police or others, who still don’t seem to understand the extent and systemic nature of this problem.”
According to University of Melbourne sociologist and expert in violence against women, Dr Kristin Diemer, two points in our national rhetoric continue to stymie any progress.
The first, she told news.com.au, is that the first response to a woman’s report of assault or harassment remains to “question her actions rather than consider the perpetrator’s”.
It’s this notion of blame that serves as the “largest barrier to a woman reporting her experience”, she said.
“We ask women why they don’t protect themselves, rather than asking, ‘Why do women feel the need to protect themselves from men?’ and ‘What do men need to do to ensure women are safe?’” Dr Diemer said.
Dr Powell echoed the sentiment, adding that “to see a similar dynamic playing out in our national conversation” only makes it more difficult for the women who have experienced it themselves.
“Instead, people in the community should find ways of standing up when they hear of or witness sexist, misogynistic, harassing or assault behaviour,” Dr Diemer said.
“A person who does not stand up or ignores such comments and behaviour is complicit in condoning unsafe situations for women and perpetuates violence against women.
“Failure to stand up to abusive men gives them that (belief) their behaviour will be excused and normalised.”
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Lasting change will not happen “until our leaders step up and makeit happen”, Dr Powell added.
“I am having many conversations with women especially who have had enough of the political rhetoric on this issue and want to see some concrete action.”
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiqwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9wb2xpdGljcy9zY290dC1tb3JyaXNvbnMtc3BlZWNoLWV4cG9zZWQtYmlnLXByb2JsZW0td2l0aC1hdXN0cmFsaWFzLWF0dGl0dWRlLW9uLXNleHVhbC1hc3NhdWx0L25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvNTc3N2NjZDRkNjcwYTgwNjRiYzU1ZWEzYzlmYmMxMjDSAasBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAubmV3cy5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvcG9saXRpY3Mvc2NvdHQtbW9ycmlzb25zLXNwZWVjaC1leHBvc2VkLWJpZy1wcm9ibGVtLXdpdGgtYXVzdHJhbGlhcy1hdHRpdHVkZS1vbi1zZXh1YWwtYXNzYXVsdC9uZXdzLXN0b3J5LzU3NzdjY2Q0ZDY3MGE4MDY0YmM1NWVhM2M5ZmJjMTIw?oc=5
2021-03-24 20:13:28Z
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