Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

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_DoubtingThomas
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _DoubtingThomas »

EAllusion wrote:In this era of #metoo, where there are dozens of high profile cases of men being uncovered as sexual harassers and assaulter with independent corroborating stories and evidence, it would seem the best way to avoid that would be not to sexually harass or assault anyone.


Inviting someone for a drink can count as sexual harassment according a YouGov/Economist poll.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detai ... om-you-ask

EAllusion wrote:the only safe or practical thing to do is to avoid being alone with them, is absurd.


I think it wise for employers not to be alone with someone of the opposite sex.

EAllusion wrote: But apparently people here think he has nothing to fear from male false allegations.


Statistics?

EAllusion wrote: Implicit in bringing up #metoo is the idea that this is somehow yielding lots of cases of men being railroaded or falsely accused. Is it? How is anyone's take away from #metoo that men are now under significant threat from a wave of false allegations?


Well, there is no data available yet, but according to Michael McGrath MD, Det. John O.Savino, and Brent E.Turvey PhD


6. In April 2002, Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary published ”A Report on the Joint Inspection into the Investigation and Prosecution of Cases Involving Allegations of Rape.” The report revealed that, out of 1379 cases studied, 11.8% were false reports.

7. Lea and associates (2003) gathered data in a constabulary in the southwest of England from 1996 to 2000, They revealed an 11% false report rate.

8. Jordan (2004) studied police rape and sexual assault files in New Zealand The study revealed a false report rate of 41%.

9. Lonsway, Archambault, and Lisak (2009) conducted a study that examined 2059 cases of sexual assult and found a false report rate of 7.1%. That is about 1 in 14.

10. Lisak, Gardinier, Nicksa, and Cote (2010) conducted a study of 136 sexual assault cases in Boston, from 1998 to 2007, and found 5.9% rate of false reporting; or just a little more than 1 in 20.

These numbers, while varying by location and year, combine to suggest that false reports of rape are not rare. Rare, by definition means recurring only after long intervals. False reports occur every day


https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 2505000094
_DoubtingThomas
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _DoubtingThomas »

EAllusion wrote:But yes, Schmo, religion can teach people poor habits of mind.


Agree.
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _EAllusion »

DoubtingThomas wrote:
Inviting someone for a drink can count as sexual harassment according a YouGov/Economist poll.

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detai ... om-you-ask


The poll you cited shows an extreme minority of Americans actually think this. It's a difficult question to answer, because there are contextual circumstances where that act can count as harassment, it wouldn't typically be harassment in of itself. I know my answer to that poll question would be "it depends" which doesn't suit a yes or no format. In the context of the workplace and the law, unless it was part of an implied quid pro quo offer or part of a broader hostile work environment issue, it absolutely would not ordinarily be seen as harassment. Moreover, there is not an explosion of high profile "I was invited for a drink" claims of harassment taking people down.

I think it wise for employers not to be alone with someone of the opposite sex.


That seems on brand for you.

Statistics?


As long as the number is non-zero, it functions in that argument. If the risk of being the victim of a false allegation, however small, is worth avoiding meeting with women alone, then the fact that men also are capable of making false allegations, because same-sex relationships and harassment exist, would demand the same attitude.

The "no risk is to be tolerated" approach is required because there isn't any evidence that men are at significant risk from false allegations. There isn't even a hand-waved attempt at a risk/benefit analysis there. The interests of women are treated as inconsequential.

Well, there is no data available yet...


You should've stopped right there. My comment was in response to the idea that the era of #metoo has created a increased need to protect oneself. It is a reaction to the "in this new era" line of thinking. What #metoo is primarily known for is well-corroborated stories of sexual impropriety from high profile men. We haven't seen any evidence yet that we are in a brave new world of increased false allegations that require a behavioral response that includes widespread discrimination against women.

Regarding research on false allegations of sexual assault, there are a host of methodological issues with providing reliable estimates about allegations. Do a google scholar search on the issue. The main theme from the research that you're gonna find is that it is likely rare, bu it is very hard to nail down a tight range of prevalence. The core problem is that allegations of intimate violence are extremely difficult to verify or disprove and often go unreported in part because of that very fact. On top of this, there is a widespread police department culture of being overly dismissive of sexual violence complaints even when they are made that undercuts one of the main sources of counting the incidence of false allegations. (In fact, the first google scholar hit is on this very phenomenon.)
_Doctor CamNC4Me
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _Doctor CamNC4Me »

EAllusion wrote:Islamophobia


Image

- Doc
In the face of madness, rationality has no power - Xiao Wang, US historiographer, 2287 AD.

Every record...falsified, every book rewritten...every statue...has been renamed or torn down, every date...altered...the process is continuing...minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Ideology is always right.
_canpakes
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _canpakes »

Isn’t all of that praying coming a little late?
_Doctor CamNC4Me
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _Doctor CamNC4Me »

canpakes wrote:Isn’t all of that praying coming a little late?


Depends on the Muslims, I suppose.

- Doc
In the face of madness, rationality has no power - Xiao Wang, US historiographer, 2287 AD.

Every record...falsified, every book rewritten...every statue...has been renamed or torn down, every date...altered...the process is continuing...minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Ideology is always right.
_DoubtingThomas
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _DoubtingThomas »

EAllusion wrote: The poll you cited shows an extreme minority of Americans actually think this.


About 10% of millennials.

EAllusion wrote:i know my answer to that poll question would be "it depends" which doesn't suit a yes or no format. In the context of the workplace and the law, unless it was part of an implied quid pro quo offer or part of a broader hostile work environment issue, it absolutely would not ordinarily be seen as harassment.


I honestly don't know. Some companies are terrified of lawsuits.

EAllusion wrote: We haven't seen any evidence yet that we are in a brave new world of increased false allegations that require a behavioral response that includes widespread discrimination against women.


There is no need for a manager to be alone with a female employee. Not in our era, hell no.

"Of the 136 cases of sexual assault 8 (5.9%) were coded as false reports, 61 (44.9%) did not proceed to any prosecution or disciplinary action, 48 (35.3%) were referred for prosecution or disciplinary action, and 19 (13.9%) contained insufficient information to be coded (see Table 2)."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21164210

EAllusion wrote: On top of this, there is a widespread police department culture of being overly dismissive of sexual violence complaints even when they are made that undercuts one of the main sources of counting the incidence of false allegations. (In fact, the first google scholar hit is on this very phenomenon.)


Can you give me some references?

EAllusion wrote:The core problem is that allegations of intimate violence are extremely difficult to verify or disprove


Exactly!
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _EAllusion »

DoubtingThomas wrote:
About 10% of millennials.


And young people were the highest reporting cohort. When almost no one thinks something, that carries the opposite implication of what you stated.

I honestly don't know. Some companies are terrified of lawsuits.


I gave you the legal definition of harassment. I am telling you, flat out, that asking a person out for a drink, in of itself, is not something that ordinarily is considered sexual harassment in the workplace. There are ways to make it harassment: Attaching it to an implied offer of career advancement, persistence after rejection, surrounding it within a larger culture of aggressive sexual advances, having negative consequences that follow that can look like retaliation for rejection, etc. But "Hey, do you want to grab a drink?" is not something that will or does ordinarily fly as a basis for sexual harassment claims. And businesses that fold like a paper hat when that is the basis for the claim are just asking for frivolous lawsuits, so being fearful of litigation should make them not want to give into such a weak basis for a claim.

There is no need for a manager to be alone with a female employee. Not in our era, hell no.
If you don't do this in a gender neutral manner, you are creating an unequal advantage for men, which is a clear reason why you don't want to have such a policy. It's discriminatory and impractical. It also makes me wonder what kind of jobs people have where they confidently assert this is they way things need to be, because it also seems like it's coming from a cultural bubble.

Can you give me some references?


This is the very first paper you'll get a hit on if you search for research on false sexual assault allegation statistics in Google Scholar:

https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage? ... &id=&page=
_Res Ipsa
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _Res Ipsa »

Jersey Girl wrote:RI I read the article in The Atlantic here: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... Relief Society/449367/

Bringing that forward for others.

The article is dated 2015. It lists instances of denied access and other decisions/behaviors that were felt to be insulting to women involved. It also gives examples of how some people such as Jason Chavez have made an effort to create work arounds to provide access during business hours and that sort of thing.

This reminded me of something else. Here's a link to a March 2018 letter signed off by female senators (including Kamala Harris) complaining about the lack of effective measures in dealing with work place sexual offenses in DC itself.

https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/_c ... reform.pdf

Here are my only comments at the moment. These people live in a world that is completely foreign to me. The female senators note how many females dealt with workplace harassment and/or discrimination on the part of male counterparts, it discusses trainings and penalties.

It discusses everything but prevention. In The Atlantic article we read this:

It's no secret that Congress is dominated by men, but as women work to make inroads in the congressional boys club, some female staffers face a huge impediment to moving up: They're not allowed to spend one-on-one time with their male bosses.


It's very true that women have integrated into the "congressional boys club" and they're rightfully proud of it. So am I proud to see it happen. But what I see as a female who has worked in male dominated professions and with a bit of time and mileage under my belt, I see a mindset where women are rightfully proud of breaking through barriers, have worked hard to do it, and particularly because they have inserted themselves into positions that were previously dominated by males.

At the same time...they can't seem to acknowledge that the practices (such as business dinners, meetings outside of the office) were all practices created when the positions were held by predominantly males. Women are happy to have infiltrated the "boys club" but they selectively acknowledge that it is or was a boys club when it suits them--bragging rights.

The female senators who signed off on the linked to letter, acknowledge that harassment and discrimination is a problem. They apparently reject (at least does Kamala Harris) the idea that a male has a right to modify his own policies in order to prevent such abuse from taking place and cry "discrimination" on account of it when there are obviously work arounds to be had and if the women were truly interested in change in the workplace, they would be support such measures that create practices that prevent it.

Instead of crying...Discrimination! Discrimination! Discrimination! ---one note wonders.

They should be working on contributing to the creation of practices that help prevent such discrimination, harassment, and/or sexual behaviors from taking place.

They want to integrate into the "boys club" without acknowledging that their presence makes a difference to the dynamic interaction within the "boys club", they want to be treated as equals, they know they are being harassed and when males try to accommodate their presence, they reject that idea, too and instead of cooperatively and collaboratively suggesting improvements in the actual day to day practices, they condemn those who try to make them.

For ____ sake.

If it's been a matter of "this is how it's always been done" then with the integration of females into the workplace then the ____ practices need to change along with that integration. Otherwise it's a long drone of outcry with no progress being made.

Women want to be in the boys club, they want to make their mark and they will, but they want their impact recognized when it suits them. They are rightfully proud of their hard work, their climb to success, I as a female think they on account of their intelligence, their know how, their education, their drive and their female perspectives am proud as ____ that they are in there. That said, to think that they are there to change the face of DC without their presence impacting previously held practices is simply irrational.

The above linked letter disappoints me. It discusses trainings, processes and does everything but offer solutions to the problem and when males make modifications to avoid scandal or harm for all concerned, they ____ about that, too.

If they want to make a respected contribution to the dialogue and practices, I would like to see them offer workable solutions about transforming the way that business is done in DC.

I'm sure I haven't expressed myself fully or possibly even coherently. I've lost interest in the discussion for reasons that I think I've already stated on the thread.


Thanks for the thoughtful response.

I'm troubled by the notion that the women bear the burden of prevention here. Is it really too much to ask male employers "treat me like you treat the boys, including don't try and use your position to try and “F” me?' I don't think it is. I know I'm a non-random sample of one, but I've supervised both male and female employees as an owner of a firm, and I didn't find it difficult in the slightest. And I don't think I have anything resembling sexual restraint superpowers.
just give you less access tot he process than we give to me.

in my opinion, it's not a legitimate "solution" for men to say "well, if you are going to insist that we not use our position to try and Screw you and complain when we do, then we'll just give you less access to the process than we give to men. Two easy solutions are available to the men that are completely within their control: don't use your position to try and “F” your employees or don't meet alone with anyone.
​“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”

― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 1951
_Doctor CamNC4Me
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Re: Kamala blasts Pence for refusing to meet women alone

Post by _Doctor CamNC4Me »

Res Ipsa wrote:in my opinion, it's not a legitimate "solution" for men to say "well, if you are going to insist that we not use our position to try and Screw you and complain when we do, then we'll just give you less access to the process than we give to men.


You think men think like that?

- Doc
In the face of madness, rationality has no power - Xiao Wang, US historiographer, 2287 AD.

Every record...falsified, every book rewritten...every statue...has been renamed or torn down, every date...altered...the process is continuing...minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Ideology is always right.
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