Skip to main content

Harassment #ItsNeverOkay

What caught my attention today was some recent enough news about a Canadian News reporter who went head on with some inflammatory remarks aimed at her. After watching the footage some teachable moments surfaced. Before sharing the lessons, here’s a summary of what happened…

It was the end of a football match and the female reporter was trying to get the reactions of the patrons. As she was interviewing two males another male patron walked by and whispered some female objectifying remark aimed at her.

Following this both the men being interviewed and the reporter were taken aback. One man being interviewed remarked to the reporter ‘you must get that all the time.’ This line is probably what triggered something in the reporter. 

She decided to challenge the thinking of some other male patrons who were waiting to make similar remarks. Some of the reactions she got was ‘nothing is wrong with it [the remark]’, ‘It happens in England’ and ‘my mom would find it funny’. In a twist of fate/karma one of the men – employed at Hydro One was fired from his job in the midst of the media blitz. 

Needless to say this was all over the news creating more awareness about female harassment in environments dominated by males and about harassment in general.

Photo courtesy of Cbc.ca: CityNews reporter Shauna Hunt confronts Toronto FC fans
 who obstinately defend another man who yelled a popular vulgar phrase during an on-air interview. (CityNews)

One action. One Issue. One Challenge.

Teachable Moment #1…Never let it slide. The moment you encounter an issue of injustice - challenge it.

Teachable Moment #2…Challenge your own beliefs. Many of these males are operating out of commonly observed practice that they never thought to question – following the crowd instead of leading from societal beliefs, norms and expectations.

Teachable Moment #3…Keep talking about societal issues that matter. It takes only a moment for the seeds of change to be planted.

For more information about Canada’s action plan to stop violence and harassment visit: http://www.ontario.ca/document/action-plan-stop-sexual-violence-and-harassment

Harassment #ItsNeverOkay

~Love God,Live life,One Enkounter at a Time~
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Be sure to leave a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

A Matter of Time

I don't think it's any coincidence that God's time  seems to be the theme for this month. There just always seems to be a time line involved in everything we want to get done. Anyway, as my birthday is fast approaching I've been spending time reflecting, going through pictures, reading my journals just really reflecting to get some perspective. What was interesting was that while going through the journal I just happened to buck up this to-do list...yea...one of those goal to-do lists  where I need to do x by y time . Funnily, the list was written back in 2006 and it had check boxes placed next to the goals. I noticed that at least 3 boxes were still not ticked at the time, while others were ticked and dated...and now for the surprise the unchecked were: 1. Become a lacto-ovo vegetarian  2. Go Natural and 3. Something else that I can't quite remember now.. . It was very funny to me, as reading it marked the 8th day since I had gone vegan with no desire for mea...
9 comments
Read more

Perspective

There was a time I used to think single and alone is the worst thing a person could be. There were days I would sit on my teenage bed staring at the ceiling wondering why I wasn't desirable and I could hear my mom outside my window getting on with life - busying herself with laundry and other household chores.  Since my mother's death I have realized that the worst thing a person could be is ungrateful. Everyday there is something or someone in our lives to be grateful for.  The next worst thing a person could be is regretful. When you lose a loved one it's all you have - regret. I was so close to my mom yet I still regret the moments I wasted on the imaginary whos that were never in my life when I could have spent that time goofing around and learning more from my mother. Takeaway : Life is a gift and so are the people who were placed in our lives. Treasure who is in your life as tomorrow is promised to no one.
Post a Comment
Read more

Overcoming The Disappointments of 2020

Never in a hundred years did I think I would be writing about a disease that has forced the complete shut down of the world. It’s caused me to think a lot and empathize with people and myself about our shared disappointment of how this year has turned out. Let’s recap the outbreak of the novel Corona virus in late 2019 (allegedly with a Chinese wet market as the epicentre): The virus made its way to over 130 countries The virus spurred a pandemic with panic buying & hoarding of essential items  Several countries imposed travel bans and closed their borders Several countries limit movement and impose curfews to prevent the spread Non - essential businesses are ordered to close leading to mass layoffs Humans are instructed to stay in place at home and practice social distancing when they have to be out and about. Connected By Disappointment This all sounds stranger than fiction in writing but it is our shared reality right now and quite frankly many of us are ...
Post a Comment
Read more