The international media has been awash with sexual harassment stories over the past year. The MeToo campaign is the most famous effect of all this. Does this mean there is no harassment on the island? Could that be the case? The MeToo campaign started in an effort to get people to share stories showing that sexual harassment is a common part of their lives. Stories flooded social media, and those about people in the public eye became news. Harvey Weinstein. British minister Michael Fallon.
Comedian Louis CK. All household names that have disappeared because of the allegations brought against them. Organisations around the world worry about the implications to their reputation. Cambridge University, for example, appointed a confidential adviser and other universities have followed suit. On the contrary, news emerging over the past year suggests the situation is just as bad and worsening.
Lovin Malta reported on a European Parliament study on gender equality. The study interviewed women working in the media in Malta. The men watched porn and spoke about women journalists in derogatory sexual terms. Last year of popular blogger Maltagram who took herself offline because men would send her dick pics. There have been countless stories in the media over the years.
This is a large, but hidden aspect of life in Malta. There are good places to work for. I polled some friends to ask about their experiences. Denise works in financial services. Now she even heads a growing firm. Camilla had to resign from jobs because of the harsh abuse she received. In several cases, it was physical abuse too.
To add insult to that injury, men who were witnesses to the harassment would refuse to make statements backing her up. With all the people in politics, in the media, on television and so on, there have to be incidents. These people cannot all be whiter than white. The only story from recent times is from A Member of Parliament threatened a female MP with violence during a parliamentary sitting.
