Tuesday, July 31, 2012

RCMP and social change

I sometimes have a quick and frustrated reaction for why victims of abuse, women in the latest case, might continue to endure it rather than rock the boat and assert themselves, even in numbers. But then I read things like this, and I think I understand a bit about why.

The statement denies all of Galliford's allegations and instead paints her as an alcoholic who refused treatment and rejected the RCMP's efforts to keep her away from one of the men she alleged harassed her.
Fighting back - and winning - means taking hits and enduring a struggle. It means burning bridges and having the personal made public. It can mean cruelling finding out who your friends really are. People scurry for the exits only to come back and thank you once you've won.

But one is rarely alone. The RCMP counter-attack of character assassination, in my view a reprehensible form of harrassment in its own right, may have actually backfired by encouraging more women to come forward. Hundreds of them, like the oft-repeated scene where the arrogant commander of some colonial army grossly underestimates the strength and capability of the indigenous forces.

A reaction from leaders that ignores the problem, attacks the victim, or closes ranks with the abuser like a glorified locker-room instead of adhering to their duty to remain impartial and investigate is stupid. The victim having now had their name dragged through mud has even less to lose, and may well be even more determined. Such action may also cause others to step forward and join them.

Such a vicious reaction to allegations of harrassment could only come from an organisation still dominated by men who really haven't managed to clue-in changes in society in the past decades. For close to forty years now women in Canada have surpassed men in participation in post-secondary education. Canadian medical schools now graduate more female MDs than males. This is nothing short of a radical social change. While there are still crippling glass ceilings, wage gaps, and misogynistic workplaces, the shear numbers of educated women participating in can only force change. The same might now be said for any other previously marginalised group.

Men and their organisations that are unable to change vulgar attitudes and practices are in for a shock when they discover (or fail to) the sexism and patriarchy upon which they rested their privilege is now a severe obstacle to their career progression and mating potential.


1 comment:

Gloria said...

This is nothing new. The male RCMP officers always lie and cover up for each other. This is exactly why, the people of BC did not want the RCMP, as our police force. Millions of Canadians, don't even want the RCMP as icons for Canada anymore.The judicial system is so corrupt, it's sickening. We know that, from Campbell's theft and corrupt sale of the BCR trial. A total disgusting farce.

Of course the male RCMP, will get away with their abuse. Can you imagine how much money would be owed, to the female officers that suffer the abuse?

The best thing is, to have all female RCMP detachments. This would help them, to get away from the male RCMP perverts, and their disgusting lewd behavior.

This is a new low for, the male RCMP officers. They are always the ones, that cause all of the problems in the force. They commit worse crimes, that the people they arrest.