[A debate is currently raging, mainly among those who're concerned with "women's issues". Opinions are badly divided.
Over a list of names, without any charge or context, let alone evidence. The maker of the list has boasted that as she belongs to Singapore and currently a resident of the US, she's beyond the reach of Indian law and hence quite safe. See: <<Raya Sarkar: And I am acting as their proxy because I do not belong to the Indian jurisdiction so if they have to file defamation cases against me they will have to do that either in Singapore ( my home state) or in the US where I currently reside. The victims are scared of legal and professional retaliation. I have a full list of all the victims too, but I will absolutely not disclose it without each of their consent. LikeShow More Reactions · 82 · Yesterday at 10:23>> (Source: A friend's post providing the screenshot of the relevant FB page.) Reproduced below is the link to the "list", a denunciation by a number of feminists, a solidarity message with Raya Sarkar, the collator and the host of the "list", from 'Feminism in India' and a response from an "accused", at sl. no. 60 of the list. I/IV. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1686281001419245&id=100001120831895&fs=4&hc_location=ufi II/IV. https://kafila.online/2017/10/24/statement-by-feminists-on-facebook-campaign-to-name-and-shame/ Statement by feminists on Facebook campaign to “Name and Shame” ON 24/10/2017 BY NIVEDITA MENONIN DEBATES, FEMINISM As feminists, we have been part of a long struggle to make visible sexual harassment at the workplace, and have worked with the movement to put in place systems of transparent and just procedures of accountability. We are dismayed by the initiative on Facebook, in which men are being listed and named as sexual harassers with no context or explanation. One or two names of men who have been already found guilty of sexual harassment by due process, are placed on par with unsubstantiated accusations. It worries us that anybody can be named anonymously, with lack of answerability. Where there are genuine complaints, there are institutions and procedures, which we should utilize. We too know the process is harsh and often tilted against the complainant. We remain committed to strengthening these processes. At the same time, abiding by the principles of natural justice, we remain committed to due process, which is fair and just. This manner of naming can delegitimize the long struggle against sexual harassment, and make our task as feminists more difficult. We appeal to those who are behind this initiative to withdraw it, and if they wish to pursue complaints, to follow due process, and to be assured that they will be supported by the larger feminist community in their fight for justice. Ayesha Kidwai Brinda Bose Janaki Abraham Janaki Nair Kavita Krishnan Madhu Mehra Nandini Rao Nivedita Menon Pratiksha Baxi Ranjani Mazumdar Sabeena Gadihoke Shikha Jhingan Shohini Ghosh Vrinda Grover III/IV. https://m.facebook.com/feminisminindia/?refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1687941674586511%3Atl_objid.1687941674586511%3Athrowback_story_fbid.1687941674586511%3Apage_id.442884065793595%3Athid.100001120831895%3A306061129499414%3A2%3A0%3A1509519599%3A-5672730715415592122&__tn__=CH-R We stand in solidarity with Raya Sarkar, who has crowdsourced a list of male academics and professors accused of sexual harassment on her Facebook page, as well as the survivors who contributed to it. [Could not locate any list of "survivors" there. And, Raya Sarkar heself has said as much. - Sukla.] In the culture of silencing and victim-blaming surrounding sexual harassment allegations, it is of utmost importance to amplify the voices of survivors and, most importantly, believe them. As the #MeToo campaign showed, social media can be a powerful and democratic agent of change and community kinship, and we don't believe that "name and shame" is a bad thing. It is with this sentiment that we invite survivors to use our platform to publish their stories they wish, anonymously or otherwise. We also offer our platform to publish responses to the recent statement on Kafila, if anyone should wish to do so. You may reach us at [email protected]. In solidarity, Team FII (Posted 'Yesterday at 11:52'. Couldn't be copy/pasted.) IV. https://theprint.in/2017/10/25/list-trivialises-fight-sexual-harassment/ Opinion The ‘sexual harassers’ list only trivialises the fight against sexual harassment ASHLEY TELLIS 25 October, 2017 A professor who finds himself on a list of alleged perpetrators of sexual harassment speaks up. The sheet being shared that lists alleged sexual harassers in educational institutions A professor, who finds himself on a list claiming to name those guilty sexual harassment in Indian universities, writes about its perils and his experience. This morning a journalist friend informed me that I had just been added to the Sexual Harassers List being circulated on the internet. Last evening, I had been discussing my reservations about this list and its implications with a feminist colleague on a Facebook thread. I was charmed. I was actually accused of sexual harassment in Delhi University in 2003. We had fought long years to formulate a strong and representative policy on sexual harassment and it had just been put into place. This was, of course, met with horror and the need to trivialise the issue by the male establishment. It was the end of the academic year and several students were being held back over lack of attendance. One of them, a woman, was told that if she filed a sexual harassment complaint against me, she would get her seat. She obliged. She asked another student to join her, who refused, and informed me. This was to be a fitting lesson to supporters of the sexual harassment policy. I asked for the procedures to begin so we would see the policy in action. Of course, nothing was done. As someone systemically sexually harassed for almost two decades in educational institutions across India, and fighting the almost always losing battle against it, I know there is no alternative to the fight against it on the ground. This list trivialises that fight and is only going to strengthen the backlash against attempts to take sexual harassment seriously. Kangaroo courts offer no justice. Ashley Tellis is an LGBT rights activist and independent academic, journalist, and editor. Also read: Is crowdsourcing and publishing names of alleged sexual predators fair? -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
