I heard a report yesterday that Herman Cain said he was having a hard time remembering the details of the accusations (and settling) of sexual harassment charges. A male correspondent I heard on another news source said something like, "That happened 20 years ago. Why is it even an issue now?"
I felt my blood boil. I was a victim of sexual harassment by a faculty member in 1976. To this day, I remember every minute of it, including having a professor hand me a room key, saying "No way," and finding a note on the door when I next came to my TA job, saying "your services are no longer needed." I also remember the woman faculty member who I went to saying, "It happens to women; we'll find you another TA job."
I remember exactly how I felt watching Anita Hill testify against Clarence Thomas, and how every detail of my own experience came flooding back. I remember how I felt when there was finally a definition of sexual harassment and a federal law making it illegal, so that future generations of women wouldn't experience what I had gone through.
This week, I did the first required training for the staff of a specific national religious denomination on sexual harassment. Up until now, such training had been optional in the headquarters of this denomination. It's either not offered or optional in many workplaces.
I was reminded by one of my colleagues that Herman Cain is an Associate Pastor at a National Baptist Church in Atlanta. I wondered if his preparation for the pastorate included what my denomination and many others require: a required course on clergy sexual misconduct prevention and how to create a congregation free from sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. The fact is that in a national study last year, Baylor University found that as many as 3 percent of all women currently attending a congregation have been victims of clergy sexual misconduct. Both as a business leader and as a religious leader, Mr. Cain should know well the facts about sexual harassment law and prevention. He surely should know how serious it is and its lasting impact on those who have experienced it at a workplace or in a congregation.
Sexual harassment, because of the law, may no longer be as blatant as it was when a faculty member fired me for not having sex with him. But it still exists. Workplaces, including faith-based organizations, still need training on sexual harassment prevention. Women and men need to know that they can come forward with their complaints and be taken seriously.
I'm hoping that Mr. Cain has learned that lesson this week.
Follow Rev. Debra Haffner on Twitter: www.twitter.com/revdebra
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Which is more damning, the possibility that he genuinely didn't bother to refresh his memory as to the facts, or that he lied outright to the American people and his supporters when he said he didn't remember something that he in fact remembered?
Furthermore, you don't know what kind of sexual harassment it was. It might have been an off-the-cuff comment that was taken the wrong way, he could be mind-numblingly ignorant to a woman's signals, and he might have even been falsely accused (and the company paid to make it just go away). Point being: some sexual harassment should be taken more seriously and some needs to be taken less seriously. Not all sexual harassment is as cut and dry as your case and you have no idea what did or didn't happen with Herman Cain.
Also do not forget that these issues were "dealt with then"; you are right that these issues come up now because of politics. Mr. Cain is running for president. What kind of person he should help determine if people want to vote for him. I find it interesting that Republicans do not seem to care what kind of person they elect, just so long as that person tells them he cares about family values.
What's that old expression about "assume?"
I'll wait until the conviction comes down. Until then, I go by the "innocent until proven guilty" premise that is what's the word...legal.
If I were famale, and things were as they are now, I could have quit the internship, and returned on the settlement of the lawsuit.
The very idea of flirtateous behavir by a male to a female is so horrid, it deserves, immediate Chinese justice. A bullet to the back of the head.
The only way to eliminate the erotic attraction that people of the opposite sex may have, is to make sure that females wear a burqa, and have a separate existence from males.
Maybe the Saudis have found the solution.
Of course I din't feel "violated". Just annoyed. There is a difference between the two.
As both an employer and and employee I have felt annoyed even more than once.
I have been the victim of discrimination and harassment several times. Proving it was impossible. I just didn't think to tape every moment of my day at work for the years worked there. The discrimination was things like asking for a handicap accessible building and rooms to places I was required to enter every day. I even had a disability advocate request it on my behalf. The changes were never made, so I was forced to wait for others to open the doors in the building for me. When I attempted to open the doors myself after 20+ minutes of waiting I would usually hurt myself.
Besides, just having been a CEO at one time doesn't qualify him to be called a "leader." There are plenty of examples of incompetent CEOs who've had quite a negative impact on their businesses...and most often it's the work of other individuals within the organization (in fact, MANY individuals) that dictate the success or failure of an enterprise.
IMO, we'd be better off if we stopped worshiping CEOs. Just because they make more money than most everyone else doesn't mean we should hold all of them up as role models.