Men also victims of sexual harassment

I WELCOME Dr Sarah Alyn Stacey’s acknowledgement that men are also victims of sexual harassment, (Irish Examiner letters, November 6).

She says she regrets that I interpreted her original letter (Irish Examiner, October 27) “as signalling women to be exclusive in this respect”.

My interpretation was accurate however, as Dr Stacey’s original letter was written entirely from the male perpetrator/female victim viewpoint.

The guilty party was referred to as “he” and the letter spoke of “the abusive practices of a predatory minority” of men, but made no reference to abusive women. Nevertheless, she deserves a lot of praise for subsequently acknowledging that men are also victims.

Dr Stacey says in her second letter that “such complaints should be investigated ... without partiality for either the complainant or the alleged harasser, of whatever sex or position”.

However, the prevailing attitude in society is that sexual harassment is something men inflict on women. So how can an accused man get a fair trial with public opinion already loaded against him?

In her book, Heterophobia: Sexual Harassment and the Future of Feminism, Prof Daphne Patai focuses on sexual harassment allegations within American universities and bemoans what she calls, the “sexual harassment industry”.

In a review of this book, Prof Christina Hoff Sommers states: “Prof Daphne Patai shows us the workings of the vast sexual harassment industry that now flourishes on the college campus. With humour, style and persuasive analytic power, she demolishes its male-bashing arguments”.

Sexual harassment of men is seen as little more than a joke, but similar offences against women are viewed with the utmost seriousness. We rarely hear of women losing their jobs on this account, but several men’s careers have been ruined by false or flimsy sexual harassment allegations.

Patrick McGinnity

Derrynoose

Keady

Co Armagh