Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth recently claimed that female police officers can suffer sexual harassment simply by being in a room with a majority of their male colleagues: “This is not about me, but I think sexual harassment is about sitting in rooms where you have more male officers than women. Where you’re in a male-dominated environment for any women—that’s always challenging.”
On the very same day, I saw this picture.
‘This is not about me,’ she claimed. I would suggest that it is about her, or at least partly so. Maggie Blyth volunteered for the position of national police coordinator for violence against women, created after the murder of Sarah Everard, an understandable knee-jerk reaction to a horrible crime. But roles and positions, commissions and study groups need to justify their existence—newly created vacuums to be filled. Recommendations and worthy statements appear in due course, translated into soundbites and as quickly forgotten—a purpose achieved: something has been done! In this case, a facile assertion.
‘…sexual harassment is about sitting in rooms where you have more male officers than women.’ Pity the recently deceased Queen.
Even if the generalisation were true, what is the solution—socially engineered briefing rooms and offices where women, men and every kind of minority attend on a strict quota system? That would make a nice new layer of bureaucracy at the expense of enforcing law and order. When it comes to the armed forces, the issue is can we kill faster and more efficiently than the other side. Are they to be faced with a similar choice: social engineering or competence in war?
There are already laws against the crimes the Deputy Constable is inveighing against, and disciplinary procedures in the police force. I’d suggest stricter enforcement rather than re-designing the wheel.
Blatant sexism should never be ignored, but it seems to me that if women police officers and soldiers have enough courage and heft to deal with criminals and life and death situations on battlefields and streets, sexist comments pale in significance.
2 comments:
Wholeheartedly agree.
I would add that although it's not the PC thing to say, if you see yourself as a victim, it will come true.
I am small and physically weaker than most people. I am a minority. In a crowd I am most decidedly insignificant by contrast. But by God, I have never been a victim.
You are treated in whatever way you allow yourself to be treated. If someone physically or verbally abuses you and you do nothing to modify that behavior, guess what? You've given them permission to treat you that way.
I'll get off my soapbox now.
It's a very nice soapbox, Maria. Blatant bullying/sexism should be stamped upon. but, as you suggest, not to the extent of catering to the whims of the ultra thin-skinned.
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