David Schwimmer, most notably Ross in Friends, went on the View to talk about a series of Sexual Harassment PSAs he helped produced (and stared in one) about what harassment looks like in an every day environment. The ladies asked if he thought all men KNEW that they were being harassing when they did stuff like that, and he said no! A lot of men don’t realize that the behavior they exhibit that makes a women very uncomfortable is considered harassment.
The YouTube below is actually a playlist, so it’ll flip through all six PSA videos. Warning, the video titled “The Doctor” is completely NSFW- lots of the “F” word, so if you get to that point and you’re at work or around children, headphone up.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and one in five women, and 1 in 71 men will be raped in their lifetime. 8 out of 10 victims knew their perpetrator. This shows that this kind of assault isn’t the random act where a man jumps out of the bushes, as David Schwimmer says, but one where positions of power were used and people who are the types that want to “keep the peace” are more likely to be harmed.
Personally, in most of these situations, I can tell you I’d probably just shut up. I’m a girl who doesn’t want to rock the boat, doesn’t want to be considered stuck up or a b—-, but those are exactly the situations where someone is likely to gaslight you into feeling like you are so you should just “go with it” to be the cool girl!
This is NEVER cool, and if you EVER feel uncomfortable in a work situation, it needs to be taken up with management, and if management does nothing about it, take it to law enforcement, because these situations should NEVER EVER happen.
Please share these videos. If even ONE person sees the video and realizes they’ve acted in a way they didn’t realize is problematic, then it’s worth the share!