For decades, victims of harassment have been silenced and blamed for the conduct of harassers, while the perpetrators’ behaviours have been tolerated, and, in the most egregious of cases, enabled.
Traditional methods of recourse available to victims – such as making an internal report or filing a charge of harassment or lawsuit – required effort, courage and risk by the victim, but netted little in the way of true cultural or institutional change. Victims have learned over time that individual action has minimal effect on rebalancing a culture that condones retaliation, improperly assesses the risk of keeping perpetrators on staff, and turns a blind-eye to the true cost of such behaviours.
Today, however, victims of harassment have found a new way to voice their experiences. The internet and social media tools have shifted the balance of power. And organisations in all industries and of all sizes are feeling the tremors. Sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations have surfaced about powerful and influential men, and media coverage of these revelations has dominated news cycles. Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Kevin Spacey, Al Franken, Matt Lauer, and Garrison Keillor are but a few of the names that have been revealed; certainly, there will be more.
VICTIMS HAVE FOUND A NEW OUTLET
What once was quintessentially an individual experience that received little to no public discussion (bringing an individual complaint of harassment against a manager or coworker), is private no longer.
Victims of harassment have the power of choice. They can make an internal report and hope that their organisation responds properly, or they can choose to take their story public. The latter has proven to be incredibly powerful in the past 12 months, in what some have called a reckoning.
The “#MeToo” hashtag campaign has given victims a way to speak collectively – share their stories online and create a culture of empathy and activism, effectively shifting the power of voice in the story of harassment. Victims who have joined the #MeToo movement have found solace in numbers, and increased confidence – a defining effect of the events of this transformative time.
DRIVEN BY FRUSTRATION
What is driving this phenomenon? Frustration, cynicism and lack of trust in the process. Employees are tired of feeling like they are not heard, they lack power, and that their issues don’t matter. And when it comes to harassment, they are sick of working in an environment where that conduct is tolerated, or worse yet, condoned. In each of the high-profile events, the story is similar – the victim did speak out or was aware that others had spoken out and nothing had been done. The harasser had power over the victim and objecting was potentially career ending.
With victims of harassment now having increased control over how their own personal stories are told, organizations are placed in a new position. They no longer have dominion over the narrative, or ultimately the actions they must take to redress the wrong. Influential and powerful men are being removed for conduct that their employer had previously brushed off as OK.