Great post. I have a post in drafts atm I've been plugging away at after the Sarah Everard tragedy occurred. Something I've always found deeply disturbing is the culture that's present in our public service wings (police mainly) where a type of grooming and sexual predation is a mainstay in career advancement. Most of the time the women who are at the receiving end of this treatment are oblivious to what's underway. They have no clue that the officer they are dating is sharing photos of them, and grooming them to pass on the next guy.
Having worked around this type and it taking me a while to clue in back when I did I can't help but feel that by granting law enforcement more powers we are essentially granting the fox control of the henhouse. These sorts are infinitely charming, wonderful at their careers, and normally seen as pillars in their community. Wayne definitely was down in Deal (I know of him in the community down there as used to live down that way, family still do). No successful predator actually stands out. They tend to blend, place themselves in positions of authority, and earn trust.
I think the dilemma that's faced is that this goes beyond no means no. We have a massive cultural issue where if the woman says no, the male just adjusts tactics and shifts into a different predatory stance. Sometimes violent, sometimes manipulative. The perception of the woman is still a creature of prey, not a human being. This is endemic among our civil servants here, not just our culture. It also directly impacts how they handle inquiries into rape investigations. If the officers decide the girl is lets say from a low social position and the officer believes she sleeps around a lot then they will completely pass over the complaint. Why does this happen? What is it in our culture that makes a woman less credible if she sleeps around? It doesn't occur with men. The more a male sleeps around the more empowered he is viewed by his peers. It's a sickening double standard, made more so when applied to responding to the victim of a sex crime.
I worked a lot through my career with victims of violent sex crime and sexual exploitation. I know how hard it is to get law enforcement to respond to an allegation. Every time it has boiled down to a cultural perception on the officer/officers view point of the victim. Website like the one in this post are a big step, but I fear may not be enough. Though I hope it's the beginning of something larger and sparks change. But really in the end we need a powerful shift in our cultural perceptions here with how we treat victims reports, and the predatory culture that currently exists in our public service branches.
I never thought about what goes on inside the force. I mean no force is perfect，and I wouldn't doubt some still see women who sleep around as less credible, but to groom for career advancement... I'm just lost for words. That's institutionalisation 😖
I've known plenty of good guys when they start matey... but in the end they become bad. Dunno if it's institutionalisation, contamination from being around the sick in society, or just bad eggs to start... dunno. I've always liked to think the best of all people until they aspire to control (no matter the motive). Then I ask why they want it. If a human being just wants to live then they don't want power on those doing the same. They want to live and let live.
If they want to help others do the same the idea of power terrifies them from the sheer weight of responsibility it holds... This I Know personally. I've worked my backside off for many people that most would call "council estate slags" who were actually good people doing the best they know how. I've had colleagues who feel the same who are good people.
I'm gonna hammer out a post on the topic here soon. Doubt it will be seen by many, but I'm hoping folks on team UK see it. I've worked in these channels and it used to be my career... I think we need a change in culture personally. Not laws, not new wave female empowerment (nothing is more disempowering), but a change in culture.
It's a global issue, and happens everywhere, but I think there are just too many issues all around the world, and at the end of the day is which issue makes the most noise and rises to the top of the agenda. I have a feeling this will blow up as I fully agree with you, this isn't about female empowerment, but change in culture, in both male and female.
Look forward to your post @mudcat36