The recent tragedy of the death of Sarah Everard continues to weigh heavily on the national consciousness. The solidarity and show of support from hundreds of thousands of people has been admirable, and is to be much commended. It’s always difficult to find the right words or the accurate phrases to sum up the emotions in times like this, and that is partly because such events represent something so twisted, morally alien and contrary to rationality that it eludes simplistic phraseology and linguistic expression.
One of the most noticeable consequences following the aftermath of this tragedy has been a concerted effort on social media and other platforms to educate people on violence towards women, particularly emphasising the education of men and the need for a change in behaviour, language and awareness when it comes to the female sex. Perhaps inevitably, things have become political. We seem to live in an age where the personal and the political exist in an ever closer union – one might ask whether or not political thinkers like Arendt would approve of such a trend. However, it would indeed be a strange set of affairs were the personal outrage and outcry over recent events not to creep into the political sphere, especially given the proclivity of social media to become an alternative parliament.
The education of men with regards to how they can make women feel more safe and secure in the world is surely to be welcomed – no person or persons should feel unsafe in a modern society, and we have both a legal and a moral right to the protection of self, personhood and safety. As is sadly so often the case with the organism of social media, hashtags, straw-manning and ad hominem language becomes a feature of the dialogue almost before the ink has dried, with people forming camps and defending a point of view or attack another’s. This can be rather toxic, and we only have to look back into very recent history at the Black Lives Matter movements to see how tempers are so easily flared via social media where certain groups feel insecure and threatened when they are expressly or impliedly being criticised; the factions formed along racial lines escalated into full-blown animosity at times, and some rather ugly sides of human nature were revealed – much like upturning a rock to find an unpleasant discovery of woodlice and worms.
The push towards the education, or perhaps the re-education, of men in the context of violence towards women is of course distinct from a movement like Black Lives Matter, but the need to educate and inform on the issue of race is arguably just as important as the need to educate and inform on the issue of violence towards women. After all, ignorance is rarely ever bliss and can manifest itself in harm. What some men don’t seem to understand is that the narrative is not an existential attack on men, but a flagging of the insidious behaviours, thoughts and forms of language that many men employ and exercise that are incredibly problematic. It is not an attack on men, but a zealous effort to raise their awareness and understanding of the fears and experiences of females where they genuinely and legitimately fear for their safety.
It is very easy to say ‘don’t take it personally’ in times like this, but that is perhaps exactly what needs to be told to some men in this admittedly febrile and still inchoate debate. What needs to be borne in mind here is that the push for greater protection of women and a shift in the actions and/or omissions of men is coming from a female experience, and it would be absurd for any man to assume or second guess how women feel and perceive things, or what they experience on a daily basis. So no, it is indeed ‘not all men’, but that isn't the point - the point is that we have a huge amount of behavioural, attitudinal and psychological change to do. Take this as an opportunity for education rather than a critique of the male in society; we may just learn something…
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