Danni Askani:
Lisa - thank you for this journalism bit it has serious problems and
furthers many misconceptions about sexual harassment and sexual violence
and it’s deeply troublesome regardless of the allegations / person
involved - I am going to post a thread responding to these gaps ...
1.
Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence (Rape, Assault, Domestic
Violence, and Stalking) are about POWER - not about a persons belief in
if women are equal or not. Your article hinges on “He treated women
equally” but never addresses how he used his power interpersonally.
2.
It is a well researched fact in social science studies (happy to link
you) - that men who engage in sexual violence tend to do so in
sophisticated ways - ie: targeting people who are likely to be
disbelieved if they come forward. And alter their public behavior to do
so.
3.
Your article doesn’t look at other key questions like: Did Biden ever
yell at staff, did he raise his voice, did he publicly scold, humiliate,
or berate staff? Did he ever have public disagreements with women who
were his peers or who had power over him?
4.
Your article furthers Rape Culture in that - you seem to be seeking to
undermine or confirm the veracity or minute aspects of Tara Reeds claims
(where she said the assault happened, what Biden’s “average routine”
was, that office staff don’t attend campaign events) ...
5.
This approach 1. Asks the reader to believe that “the average of all
days is the same as every day.” As if to say there were no exceptions to
these norms. I am less interested in taking apart the procedural steps
of the “who, when, where” of 30 years ago.
6.
On balance - I appreciate that you raise that survivors of harassment
and violence experience “poor work performance” - I wish you had cited
journal articles, studies or experts - and not her attorney. The
subjective opinions of a male co-worker seem questionable to me.
7.
In all of this reporting - which is excellent, I really truly wish that
1. You had spoke to and included professional and experts who study
sexual harassment and violence in the workplace and included FACTS for
readers to provide education and context.
8.
By making this a “He said / She said - now let’s interview the hundreds
of people who believe HIM” you skip past the scientific fact that 1 in 3
women will experience sexual violence in their life time 85% will know
the perpetrator. Before diving into subjective recollections
In
2017 - I was the Executive Director of an LGBT 🏳️🌈 Rights org in
Seattle when the country’s first openly gay mayor Ed Murray - a powerful
Democratic civil rights hero - was accused by 3 men of sexually abusing
them as youth in the 1980s. I wrote this.
I
was roundly attacked relentlessly and called a “traitor” by other LGBT
community leaders privately - publicly no one - even women politicians -
would speak out publicly in support of survivors coming forward:
As
I had predicted in April - a total of 5 men came forward before Ed
Murray resigned - the final straw being his cousin and aunt coming
forward - for months he attacked his accusers with his public office and
denied the allegations.
Almost
all journalists in Seattle save a very few published story after story
recounting and debating the specifics of the events - when did the men
report, why didn’t social services prosecute him, and why had this not
come up sooner. But that did a total disservice to survivors
A
more helpful approach in my opinion is to before regurgitating people’s
subjective recollections - is to lay out for readers and the public how
incredibly common sexual harassment and violence IS. Frankly - all
things being equal, it is way more likely to have happened than not
I
say that 1. Ignoring the people, politics, motivations, and looking
instead at the power dynamics in play. 2. Given the overwhelming
scientific and population data and profile of perpetrators. Again -
looking for patterns of power / anger / abuse vs. “proof beyond doubt”.
There
is more often than not, no way to prove or disprove any given set of
allegations. Most survivors are wishing to be heard, acknowledged, and
to make other people aware of how abuse of power happens. This is a key
aspect of healing - reclaiming power, agency, & narrative.
We
will never move the ball forward to what I believe is your and all of
our collective goal - a world where sexual harassment and violence in
the workplace IS unthinkable - if we don’t first start every story by
citing the science, research, and facts of how common it IS and who
And
who perpetrators of sexual violence & sexual harassment are most
likely to be! ie: someone you know, someone who is respected, someone
who has power, and someone who has opportunity to harm a survivor and be
able to frame them as lying. That is what science says!