As the #Metoo movement confronting sexual harassment and misconduct continues to gain momentum in the United States, women and men struggle to maneuver through a relationship landscape filled with blurry boundaries, at work, and in their personal lives.
Donna Mclean has had a lot of experience counseling people on appropriate and inappropriate conduct between women and men. She has answered hotline calls and worked with the police and community for more than 10 years at the Houston Area Women’s Center. She became a volunteer counselor after a coworker was raped, beaten and burned.
In a phone interview on Thursday, January 25, Mclean discussed why she became a volunteer counselor and the possible impact of the #Metoo movement. The writer, activist, and volunteer worries that the lines being drawn by the #Metoo movement may create a backlash that will last for years. “I think we need to be very, very careful about drawing lines and going a little too far,” she said.
According to a February 2018 New York Times report, since October 2017, 71 well-known men have been fired or forced to resign amid accusations that run the gamut from inappropriate comments to rape.The accused are being held accountable. Actions are swift and the punishment the same, for both criminal acts and bad behavior.
Mclean doesn’t believe that a comment requires the same punishment as rape or sexual harassment. “We are in an area that isn’t black and white – there is a lot of gray,” she said. She suggests that employers provide sensitivity training to those accused of making inappropriate comments in lieu of termination.
A lot of people characterize some of these accusations as a witch hunt where the
accused is assumed guilty – the presumption of innocence is gone. Mclean thinks the Al Franken case is such a case. She said, “I do think he [Al Franken] was a sacrificial lamb. I think he was pressured by the Democrats in a meeting the night before he stepped down. The lines between what is and is not appropriate are blurred even more so, when so many must resign or step down, but someone accused of sexual harassment and assault remains in the Oval Office.”
The distinctions between a criminal act and bad behavior have become so blurred that many are questioning the country’s ability to create a norm in the workplace. Mclean is concerned that workplace and personal relationships between women and men may be set back decades. Mclean stated that she fears we are going to go back to placing the woman who makes the allegations on trial.What was she wearing? What did she do?
“It’s a conversation we’re going to have and refine, and something will come of it and people’s behavior will change.” said Mclean. “But, like any other movement, it won’t change overnight.”
