Misconduct is the problem, not accusers

As more celebrities, politicians and business leaders are accused of sexual misconduct, I’m baffled by people who say they’re sick of the #MeToo Movement.

At best, #MeToo detractors believe — naively — sexual misconduct doesn’t affect them. (Or at least, they haven’t taken a moment to truly think about it.) At worst, they hope to return to times when such bad behavior would be overlooked, covered up and excused.

In December, The Hollywood Reporter published accounts of two women who accused actor Chris Noth, 67, of sexual assault. The incidents allegedly occurred in 2004 and 2015.

The women approached THR because of Noth’s participation in the HBO series “And Just Like That.” When interviewed, each described similar situations where Noth allegedly pursued, pressured and eventually raped them. At the time of the alleged attacks, they were 22 and 25, respectively, and Noth was 50 and 61.

Since the story broke, a third accuser came forward. In addition, actor Zoe Lister-Jones tweeted about Noth’s alleged substance abuse and sexual misconduct, which she witnessed when she guest starred on “Law & Order.” His bad behavior was, she insisted, a well-known, open secret.

Sexual misconduct is the problem, not those who call it out.

According to Harvard Business Review, #MeToo spurred significant changes in policy and action.

“#MeToo not only brought the issue of sexual harassment to the forefront of U.S. national discourse but also highlighted gender disparities in representation and power as well as entrenched gender stereotypes —- all of which research has shown to be among the root causes for sexual misconduct.”

An anecdotal indicator is more people seem to now call out sexual misconduct. This includes men who now publicly lament their previous silence or considered things they heard and saw to be mild misbehavior.

In early 2018, the nonprofit Stop Street Harassment shared survey results that 81 percent of U.S. women and 43 percent of men had experienced some form of sexual harassment.

In 2022, Legal Jobs, a professional organization, noted sexual assaults are the most prevalent and underreported U.S. crimes. For example, an estimated 20 percent of rapes are reported each year.

Likewise, nearly 42 percent of women and 20 percent of men have experienced sexual violence other than rape, according to Rainn, a nonprofit awareness organization.

Less than 5 percent of sexual assault allegations are proved false. When an accuser seems to wait before coming forward, the cause can be anything from fear of retaliation to not being listened to when first reporting the crime.

Statistics tell us the recent uptick in allegations is a fraction of possible reports. Rather than shame accusers, we should forbid inappropriate language, behavior and actions in all spaces.

We must acknowledge that accusations of sexual misconduct rarely describe actions we’d characterize as ambiguous. Accusers often describe demeaning, terrifying and threatening attacks.

So it’s silly when someone boils down #MeToo to the attempt to curb a person’s ability to comment on a woman’s appearance or attire: “With all these people saying they’ve been sexually assaulted, I don’t know what I can say!”

Try nothing — especially if the woman is a coworker or stranger. Still unsure? consider what you’d want, say, a male passerby, to say to you about your outfit, the way you walk or the expression on your face.

If you proceed with an unsolicited comment, the negative response is a consequence of your actions, not a byproduct of #MeToo.

Karris Golden is a Gazette editorial fellow. Comments: karris.golden@thegazette.com