Should: Why doesn’t everyone still understand that a woman’s body belongs only to her?

The issue of harassment, that is, harassment, is so painful and current that stereotypes such as “If you had dressed more modestly, then you would not have been disturbed” or “You should not have walked alone in the dark” are persistently maintained. The streets are really scary. It turns out that a woman “must think” in advance how to protect herself, that is, to remain permanently in the status of a victim.

paradox of public opinion

Statistics on the publication of harassment-related material have increased nearly 5,000 times in 20 years, but this does not mean that women have not experienced any form of harassment before, quite the opposite. The fact is that public attention is now finally focused on the problem, which is leading to some social changes. The grounds for discussing seemingly taboo topics are becoming increasingly conducive, and women around the world are finding the courage to talk about harrowing experiences they have had for years, even decades. But society meets their stories with contradictions. For example, a series of recent scandalous revelations about harassment in Hollywood show business have been received with ambiguity. According to the research conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation, 50 percent of men and 46 percent of women say that the blame lies with both the victim and the attacker.

Many women continue to live in fear

Any form of sexual harassment, including verbal violation of personal boundaries causing psychological trauma, does not go unnoticed. The line between acceptability and harassment is thought to be very thin. So is this really the case? A woman always feels and knows when her personal boundaries have been exceeded; There is no fine line for him; Instead, there is a line drawn in big, bold letters that no competent person will ignore. But verbal abuse happens all the time, and most of the time the victim can’t prove it so they don’t believe it. The fear of condemnation and the silence of the subsequent experience thus become the primary and irrational behavioral pattern of many victims. And if a woman dares to talk about harassment after many years, then the question is: “Why did you keep silent all this time?” It won’t be long before it comes with a condemning and ironic tone. Official WHO statistics say that around 30% of women worldwide have experienced some form of sexual harassment, but the harsh reality shows that these statistics can be multiplied by two.

What doors should you knock to get help?

In every way possible. Now the information space, media and social networks have a great influence. Many women share their experiences online and find answers and support, as well as legal and psychological help. There are crisis centers to support women in 16 regions of Russia; There are a total of 45 institutions that provide all kinds of assistance to women; among them St. INGO in St. Petersburg, Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations and Women’s Associations in Moscow, Bilgi Duracak Gender-Based Violence Project in Samara, etc. Moreover. But above all, women need to clearly understand that we are not to blame for the attacker’s behavior, even if some people say otherwise.