A review by Mark Langabeer (Hastings and Rye Labour member)
This Channel Four documentary (watch here) sets out to reveal the level of sexual harassment experienced by women and girls in the UK. As many as 71% of women of all ages have experienced some form of sexual harassment in a public place. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) state that 1 in 4 women have been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult.
The reporter, Ellie Flynn, was motivated by the murder of Sarah Everard to examine the scale of sexual harassment. She states that on-line abuse is commonplace. She signed up to a dating site and received a barrage of sexually explicit messages. She also received a number of ‘dick pics’ and decided to challenge the men that sent them, but ended up none the wiser as to why inappropriate material had been sent.
Over half of girls have experienced sexual harassment while wearing school uniform. Flynn observes that many girls’ uniforms are advertised in a sexualized manner whereas this is not case for boys’ uniforms.
Entitlement
The spiking of drinks has grown in recent years. One in ten have had their drinks spiked and one in four have been assaulted on a night out. 82% of women are conscious of a threat when walking alone at night. To demonstrate the scale of the problem, she goes out on a Friday night, pretending to be alone and drunk. Within fifteen minutes, Flynn was approached in an inappropriate manner. She points out that this kind of behaviour is normalised and there appears to be a sense of entitlement.
A group of men from different walks of life were gathered together and shown the footage. They were shocked by the behaviour and one of the men suggested that education was required at a young age. Flynn’s view is that most men are not sexual predators, but it’s difficult to ascertain who is one, or not. Flynn argues that culture needs to change.
Education is essential, of course, but in my view, sexual harassment stems from a society that’s based upon exploitation. The oppression of women and the sexist ideology that reinforces it, are rooted in the needs of class society for both cheap labour and the role that women traditionally play in providing care of children and other family members for free. A more equal society could lead to relations between men and women based more on mutual respect.
