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| Merle Hodge |
By COREY CONNELLY Sunday, April 13 2014
Romantic liaisons involving politicians, top public officials and celebrities, presumed to be happily married, are not a new phenomenon. Some might say that such trysts appear to be part and parcel of the experience, given the power that minisiter s wield in the society.
What recourse, though, do women have when there is evidence of high-handed behaviour against them, where there is a threat to their means of livelihood, or when such a relationship, for whatever reason, turns sour?
Could this have been the case in the recent incidents of alleged inappropriate behaviour with three women naming now former Government ministers and with all three instances under investigation.
While all of the incidents speak to an alleged abuse of authority, experts contend that they must each be viewed on their own circumstances but stop short of commenting whether the decision by the women to speak out signalled a breakthrough for abused women, generally.
University academic Merle Hodge said the women who have spoken out publicly against the former ministers should be thanked and congratulated, if only for the message of drawing greater awareness to abuse against women in the society.
“It takes a lot of courage to do what they have done,” she said in an interview on Wednesday.
“Such action helps in the struggle against abuse, for it emboldens others not to accept it. Abuse thrives and flourishes in the silence of the abused.”
Hodge, who is currently working in Women and Development Studies at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies, could not say if there has been an upsurge in reports of women speaking out about abuse.
“There have always been women brave enough to take this step,” Hodge observed.
“If, to some, it looks like a sudden, new trend of women reporting abuse from powerful men, it might just be that there is more misbehaviour taking place in the corridors of power today than we have ever experienced before.”
On whether there may be potential backlash to the women’s actions, Hodge was non-commital.
“For these women, just the act of coming forward provides some protection from possible victimisation,” she said.
“Once allegations are made publicly about persons with high visibility, especially persons entrusted with managing the country’s business, then everyone is watching and the accused might think twice about any retaliation.”
Hodge, however, lamented that female accusers often take the flak in such scenarios.
“One kind of backlash is that some public opinion resorts to blaming the female accuser so that she becomes the accused,” she said.
Hodge said although this is countered in the current situation by broad public approval of these women’s action, hurtful words can be damaging to one’s peace of mind, and can cause pain to a person’s family. She advised that women who are affected by such criticism should seek counselling.
Hodge also noted that women who speak out against abuse, can be dismissed on the principle of “Her word against his.”
She added: “But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. An abusive person seldom has only one victim. What works best is for more of that person’s victims to come forward.”
Sociologist Dr Ronald Marshall said the recent events surrounding the abuse of women, physically and otherwise, should not be interpreted as a new phenomenon.
He argued that women have always been quietly complaining of abuses meted out to them by their partners and persons in influential positions.
“In years gone by, women were reluctant to speak openly of their ordeal to strangers or professionals because they felt that it was a private affair,” said Marshall, a senior lecturer in Sociology at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies.
“Within recent times, however, spousal abuse as a health hazard has surfaced in the literature and for good reasons.”
According to Marshall, research has shown that the abused tend to suffer from low self-esteem and morale, leading to psychological outcomes that are played out in the home, the workplace and the wider society.
“What is observed is that we are seeing a trend of persons of high status, themselves falling victim to abuse. This means that the society has grown to the extent where structures have been put in place to address the issue and victims are no longer afraid of victimisation or retaliation,” he said.
Marshall stressed that no one should tolerate abuse.
“Too long exposure to same could lead to mental health problems,” he said, adding that the best solution is to get away from the environment or situation.
“But this is easier said than done since some individuals are endowed with neither the inner strength, economic resources, nor social support to alter the outcome. In this regard, constructive dialogue might be another option.”
Although she observed that abused women are more vocal, today, as compared to years gone by, Patricia Mohammed, Professor of Gender and Cultural Studies at UWI, St Augustine, says there still exists “a collusive silence around some issues, especially those related to sexual harassment and sexual abuse.”
Mohammed told Sunday Newsday:
“In the past, revelations of such indiscretions had usually targeted the woman as sexual aggressor or tempter and the man as a victim of her ploys of seduction. What we have here, however, are the conditions under which women have actually been empowered to confront a situation.”
Mohammed said she hopes the incidents continue to empower women to speak out honestly and openly and pose a deterrent to men from taking liberties, especially on those who are in less powerful positions.
She noted, however, the women who spoke out in the matters involving the Government ministers may not remain untarnished by the fallout.
“On the other hand, there seems to be now more buy in with the cliche that no publicity is bad publicity for both men and women,” she said, lamenting that such incidents are often treated as “humorous interludes”.
“The resulting notoreity seems to work in favour of those who are implicated,” she added.Mohammed said apart from the empowerment of voice that resulted from the Prime Minister’s decision to dismiss one minister, there are also sufficient high profile cases — including Bill Clinton’s infamous affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and French President Francois Hollande’s recent disclosure about his mistress — that are influencing the climate of local sexual politics and women’s increasing courage to defend their rights.
Mohammed contends that despite their “apparent dependency, whether emotional or economic,” women have far more support agencies at their disposal now than they did in the past.
On whether the ex-ministers should relinquish their position as MPs, Mohammed said, “We do not have a tradition of those in political office resigning on the basis of principle. It would be interesting to see who will set this precedent and do the manly and honourable thing.”
Mohammed gave a flippant response when asked about the potential fallout for the women as well as the ministers to the respective scenarios.
“Nine days wonder, notoriety, sweet man — how seriously has the society taken on questions of infidelity or the abuse of women by those in positions of power?” she asked.
Mohammed said, however, that the situations offered an avenue for reflecting about the responsibilities of both sexes to each other, “not to paint all men as aggressors and all women as victims.”
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