The non-consensual kiss of Luis Rubiales Jenni Hermoso has triggered a wave of rejection to the sexism in football that resembles the feminist explosion against sexual predators in Hollywood that sparked the #MeToo movement and that had international ramifications, including #Yotambién or #Cuéntalo in Spain. Since then there have been replicas in other areas, especially in the world of culture and politics, but also in universities or science, the latter promoted by EL PERIÓDICO.
Women who, against all odds, have told, openly or anonymously, that they have been victims of abuse, workplace sexual harassment, humiliation and sexual assaults, pointing out their harassers, to break with structural machismo and the halo of silence and compadreo that favors it. But there are still many sectors where there have not been similar movements or, the attempts, have not been successful.
“The #MeToo is about to arrive in all sectors because the cases that have come out are with a dropper”
criminal lawyer
For example, in the Army the complaint of Zaida Cantera against a superior for sexual harassment, which resulted in the harasser being sentenced to more than two years in prison. However, Cantera lived through hell, he was the victim of mobbing (work harassment) for filing the complaint, for which he decided to leave the Armed Forces. His case, however, helped Defending approved a protocol of action against sexual harassment, which has allowed military women harassed by a superior not to file a complaint with him, but rather before an independent body made up of soldiers.
“Sexual violence is rampant everywhere, it is not something that has to do with professions, but is transversal”
psychologist
The existence of the protocol, however, has not served to raise the rugs. According to the latest data, in 2021 they were interposed 39 complaints against 53 alleged harassers, figures that represent the only tip of the iceberg because the “fear& rdquor; to denounce, especially by the members of the Troop and Sailors, where the contracts are not fixed. “They are afraid of losing their job and that the complaint will turn against them and the superior will denounce them for disloyalty,” explains Ignacio Unibaso, general secretary of the military association. increase.
In the Army there is a protocol against sexual harassment but the “fear” of losing one’s job and that the complaint “turns against” persists
The seasonal
The situation is worse in sectors where women are very precarious. In fact, in 2018 several complaints of seasonal Moroccans who reported sexual assaults and labor abuses during their stay in the strawberry fields of Huelva, but most of the procedures have been archived or the defendants have been acquitted. And there is an added problem, in their country of origin “if they rape you, you are impure and, therefore, they have disownedthey can’t go back to their families, they have to work in Spain where they can”, according to Jesus Diaz, one of the lawyers who represented 10 day laborers. This is further proof of the hard bill than a complaint of sexual harassment can pass at victimsif no solid evidence is available.
In the field academicEL PERIÓDICO contributed to uncovering a #Metoo that has brought important changes such as the existence of a single protocol that, at the request of the victims, contemplates the isolating gender violence, which is the one received by the people who support the victims. Since then, “the victims who contact the network have multiplied by four MeToo University but many do not take the step of reporting because they still suffer retaliation”, explains Ramon Arrow, the first Spanish professor who sided with the harassed. In his opinion, “progress has been made but it remains to be done& rdquor;, such as that the Equality Commissions are independent of the rectorate and that the gender training that is given “is not based on hoaxes& rdquor;, as happens in some cases.
In 2018, several complaints from seasonal workers who reported sexual assaults and labor abuses came to light, but the accused have not been tried.
These examples show that “#MeToo is about to arrive in all sectors because the cases that have come out are with dropper& rdquor ;, as interpreted Carla Vall, expert lawyer in this structural problem. “Sexual violence is everywhere, it is not something that has to do with professions, but it is cross”, adds Violet Garciapsychologist at the Associació Assistència Dones Agredides Sexualment (ADDS).
The experts agree that the sectors where there are more cases are the most hierarchical, more masculinized or where women have more precarious jobs
Even so, the experts in macho aggressions agree that the sectors more hierarchical, more masculinized or where women have jobs more precarious, is where there are more episodes. In this sense, specialists mention the judiciarythe army and the police forces, the rural environment, the metallurgical sector or the caras well as the cleaning sector and care, as those most important areas with pending #MeToos.
Public denunciations serve to change imaginaries: “so that a peck is seen as a sexual assault”
And the reasons are transversal and have to do with the fact that “macho attitudes also occur when it comes to reporting, both in the business and judicial spheres, where it is possible that an attempt is made to cover up, downplay, excuse, or protect the aggressor”. “Neither companies nor justice are exempt from machismo & rdquor ;, warns Julia Humetlawyer specializing in criminal and family law.
Despite years of progress, victims continue to have fear of not being believed, to the fact that the complaint harms their professional career, to which is added that if they are not famous or they have a loudspeaker in their favor, “it is incredibly more difficult for your complaint to prosper& rdquor ;, according to Vall. “If Jenni is experiencing what she is experiencing [se está poniendo en cuestión su credibilidad porque en un inicio no se mostró afectada por el beso]What can happen to one?Kelly‘ [limpiadora en un hotel]reflect Isabel Muntanéco-director of the Master’s Degree in Gender at the UAB.
The solutions
In any case, the specialists warn that #MeToo or public denunciation should not be the way to end machismo in the workplace, given the derision public and professional suffered by the victims. However, since the protocols and the judicial route “do not work”, sometimes those affected have no other way out, Humet points out.
The victims are afraid of not being believed and that the complaint will harm their professional career.
Related news
In addition, at a collective level, public complaints, especially if they reach the impact of #Metoo or ‘It’s over’ serve to “change imaginaries and make aggressions visibleso that a ‘piquito’ is seen as a sexual assault & rdquor ;, emphasizes Muntané.
In short, putting an end to structural machismo requires profound changes, but #Metoo is a strong boost to make aggression visible, encourage victims to report it and, little by little, make harassers feel alone and stop their behavior.