Modern society has evolved through all kinds of discrimination such as slavery, racism, casteism, and gender inequality. Fighting against some and of course, fighting for some due to ignorance. Among all these, except for the gender discrimination of the patriarchal society, others have received wide attention all over the world throughout history. But it has been left to women all alone to fight the battle on their own.

He and She
Humans are biologically divided into males (XY) and females (XX). Except for the combination of chromosomes, science doesn’t evidently provide any difference between the two sexes. The argument of women being the weaker sex is utter nonsense. If there is scientifically no difference, the questions that we should ask ourselves are these: what is the root of all merciless discriminations? when did gender inequality start existing? what are we supposed to do?

Patriarchal Society
The root of inequality lies with the process of a male becoming a man; a female becoming a woman. Social, cultural myths impose specific roles on males and females to establish themselves as men and women. That’s why these roles change from time to time and from one society to another. For example, a woman in a village of India will not be allowed to do something that a woman in New York will freely be allowed to do. Of course, all those roles have inevitably undergone tremendous changes over the years. We now have Homosexuality legalized by law; Transgender, the third gender.

However, as we evolve, men always find ways to keep the society as a patriarchal one as an oppressor will never be ready to lose a life of luxury. Sexual abuse is a result of socio-cultural role assigning myths —the one that we feared most to fight against for centuries as imagined myths tied us up with imagined honor. Only in the late 20th and 21st century, some movements started exposing sexual predators with a lot of criticisms, negligence, and judgments.

The #MeToo Movement and its impact

MeToo movement which began in the west in 2017 is the most recent one that shook the world like a storm. It has helped many survivors find their voice by empowering them. It has given courage to many to break the silence. Now the #MeToo storm has finally hit India. Within a short span of time, undoubtedly, many have broken their silence and voiced their harrowing experiences, shattering their shame and insecurities. The movement has also raised many inevitable concerns about its receptiveness and its roots.

Roots of sexual harassment are intersectional as Shreya Atrey writes in the Hindu: sexual harassment is not only dictated by sex and gender, but also by factors like race, caste, religion, color, region, age, disability, and sexuality. Race and caste divide aggravate the experiences of sexual harassment, while privilege in terms of the two makes a difference in averting, seeking help, and recovering from abuse.

As far as sexual abuse or harassment is concerned, the victims and survivors are not gendered or age-specific. Everyone is a target for a sexual predator. Instead of diverting our energy to arguing which gender or who is abused more, we must focus on the core purpose of the movement. Let us now delve into the concerns in detail.

Concerns and Barriers to break

Firstly, it is noticeably seen that it has empowered women’s communities. But it should also be addressed that the #MeToo movement has been able to help only the people who are already at better societal and economic status from majorly big urban cities. My intention here should be understood with the right perspective. Around 60 % of women are targets of and face sexual harassment at the workplace and home as well. Thus, we must find a way to relate this movement to the millions of people who live in villages: Dalits, Minority communities, Non-English speaking people, and so on. Their stories should also find their ways to be heard by the world. Why shouldn’t we have the translated vernacular term of #MeToo in all regional languages?

Secondly, it is more important that we should think about the next steps to be taken on painful stories that are shared. It is evident that sharing the harrowing experiences is the first and most important step of the healing process. Undoubtedly the #MeToo movement has helped lay the foundation. But then what are we going to do about the predators behind the stories? Should they be allowed to keep on destroying innocent women’s and children’s experiences and memories while we are only listening to them when they get the courage to share? What are we going to do about legal and lawful actions against these unpardonable crimes that mostly lack evidence to process? Are we stuck with this statement, ‘the absence of evidence is not the presence of proof’? When it comes to sexual abuse and harassment, the constitution of India has evolved and undergone many changes over the years. Is the rate of evolution of the constitution enough?

Thirdly, the roots of sexual abuse must be clearly distinguished and addressed properly along with each #MeToo story. Almost all #MeToo sharings are from independent adults. They share the experiences that have haunted them for years, only when they feel comfortable enough and when they become financially and socially independent. What about others whose voice is still oppressed due to various factors? Why shouldn’t we kill it at the beginning itself? I know that it is not simple, but we should be marching towards this goal already. Child Sexual Abuse. Child Sexual abuse is another very disturbing subject that should be dealt with, with more attention and care. According to a survey, 53% of children irrespective of gender are sexually abused by mostly their family members and other closely related people. That means more than half of the Indian population is subject to sexual abuse. How many #MeToo stories have we heard?

Sex Education and awareness about basic laws at school
Once something is broken, it is nearly impossible to stick the pieces together again the same way it was before. Why not stop it from breaking? Hurting is ridiculously easy. But healing?
Education that insists on science and scientific facts should be inculcated into children at school. It is shocking to the core that even very basic things taught at school are scientifically, biologically wrong. I once asked some children about the difference between men and women. Their first answer was, ‘women are weaker sex’ —the result of the patriarchal mindset of teachers backed by cultural and religious myths that are powerful enough to make people ignorant of facts. The facts that social or political power has no connection with masculine power and that there are matriarchal societies in other species should be taught. So, only ‘fact-based right’ education is capable of inspiring a change in society.

Children should be taught to respect their own bodies, to question everything, to have the will to doubt everything and everyone, to be critical and skeptical about the teachings at school and home. Along with children, parents and teachers should also be given enough awareness about Sex Education and requisite laws related to sexual harassment. Every single person should be given a sense of awareness about the magnitude of the problem.

Author:

Siddharthan Karunanidhi

Siddharthan has recently launched his maiden book- ‘Right to marry’ for Amazon’s Pen to Publish contest. The book has been receiving rave reviews all across the globe for the real-life story it carries on two sons who gave away their mother in remarriage. Sid works as a language trainer and is writing a book on English grammar.