Sexual Harassment throughout history

By Lana AlMansouri

People have documented sexual harassment for as long as they have been documenting history. From the writings of Ancient Greece to the writings in the Bible, sexual assault has been a long battle people, specifically, women, have been fighting. This only seemed to be an issue when the men are affected by the rape of the women, it was never about the safety of women, only about the harm brought on the man’s daughter or wife. There have even been traditions historically where men had the right to seek revenge on the rapist of their wife, by assaulting the other man’s wife or daughter. As if they were his property. In the 1960s, women started speaking up about this horrific normality and created the Anti-Rape movement. This resulted in a change of rape laws which in turn the societal consideration of rape. Women joined the workforce at this time, which caused a surge in the number of rape cases. By the 1980s most states dramatically created acts protecting women against violence. In 1991 Anita Hill testified against her boss for sexual harassment and became a national figure. “In 2019, over 652,676 women were raped.” It’s 2022 and 1 in every 5 women have experienced sexual harassment and rape. When will this end? How are we helping these women? Are the abusers being held accountable? These situations have been happening for too long, whatever we are doing to help these women does not seem to be working. Women are still being blamed, unheard, and told to keep quiet.

WORKS CITED:

Freedomandcitizenship.columbia.edu. 2022. History of Sexual Abuse and Harassment | Freedom and Citizenship. [online] Available at: <https://freedomandcitizenship.columbia.edu/gender-equality-history-2021> [Accessed 3 May 2022].

Kuadli, J., 2022. 32 Disheartening Sexual Assault Statistics for 2022. [online] Legaljobs.io. Available at: <https://legaljobs.io/blog/sexual-assault-statistics/> [Accessed 3 May 2022].

HISTORY. 2022. How Sexual Assault Has Been Portrayed—or Erased—Throughout History. [online] Available at: <https://www.history.com/news/sexual-assault-rome-slavery-columbus-jim-crow> [Accessed 3 May 2022].