The noble peace prize was awarded to two people who have been fighting against rape as a mean of warfare.
Nadia is an Iraqi Yazidi who was captured by ISIS and repeatedly raped and tortured over the course of three months. She became the second youngest woman to win the award after Malala Yousufzai. After she escaped captivity, she became an activist campaigning to end human trafficking and calling on others to take a tough stance against rape as a weapon of war.
Dr. Mukwege is gynecologist who has developed an expertise in treating victims of rape and sexual abuse carried out during war. He observed that rape is often used as a militant strategy to scare people, force them to flee their village, and abandon all their possessions. Dr Mukwege lives in his hospital under the permanent protection of UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege have different stories but share the same desire to campaign against sexual abuse.
Sexual harassment: how does it stand around the globe?
Rape, sexual harassment and violence against women are severe human rights violations, yet they remain widespread around the globe, although men and boys experience gander-based violence as well. However women around the world are disproportionately affected by sexual violence, both during the peace, wartime or in normal days.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 35 percent of women experience physical and sexual violence throughout their life time.
Sexual assault and rape are extremely traumatizing with life-long repercussions for the victim’s health and wellbeing. Women who have experienced intimate partner violence are significantly more likely to have alcohol – use problems, to suffer from depression, or to acquire HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, the prevalence of violence against women has adverse effects on economic growth and development. Estimates of economic costs range from 1.2 to 2 percent of GDP.
#Metoo movement against sexual harassment
The #Metoo movement with many local and international alternatives is a movement against sexual and harassment and sexual assault. #Metoo spread virally in October 2017 as a hashtag used on social media in an attempt to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace. It followed soon after the sexual misconduct allegation against Harvey Weinstein. Tarana burke, and American social activist and community organizer, began using phrase “Me Too” as early as 2006, and the phrase was later popularized by American actress Alyssa Milano, on twitter in 2017. Milano encouraged victims of sexual harassment to tweet about it and “give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. This met with success that included but was not limited to high profile posts from several American celebrities.
#Metoo Effect on India
As the #MeToo movement has finally hit home in India, several women have bravely shared their ordeal of how they suffered sexual harassment at the hands of powerful men and co-workers. Many well-known comedians, journalists and actors have been named and shamed on social media in the past few days as allegations of sexual misconduct against them, continue to tumble out.
However, not everyone has taken well to this online outrage and many people have come forth to criticize the movement, some even terming it “toxic feminism”.
While some twitter users pointed out the people should not make it about only men, there are others who have restored to defaming the movement and calling name to the women crusading it.
There are many others who are rising fingers on the method of online disclosures to out sexual offenders but there is no denying the fact that this movement has led to a social awakening and women have been empowered to come out and share their stories after having kept quiet for long for the fear of losing out one their careers and general social stigma.
Men need to speak up about sexual harassment and assault
Despite the serious consequences that can stem from sexual harassment, whether it involves men or women, sexual harassment against men is often not taken that seriously. There has been extensive research looking at how sexual harassment can effect on men.
Men faces job-related threats or bribes to force unwilling workers to enter into sexual relationship with the harasser. One example of this is when an employer threatens to fire an employee if he doesn’t agree to have sex.
There were few cases came when male child faced sexual harassment by men and women. So, basically women can be molester and deserve to be called a molester.
Men face sexual harassment around the world, therefore they should take stand and speak up about their past experiences and participate in the campaign. As Sexual harassment does not define any particular gender.
