Category: Sexual and gender equality

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The Real Cost of Opening a Window for Sexual Abuse Lawsuits in Pennsylvania

  By Sexual and gender equality, Sexual harassment, Testimony

I was asked to testify about the claims made in a paper by the Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy that opening a two-year window for childhood victims of sexual abuse to bring lawsuits against their abusers might cost public schools in Pennsylvania between $10 billion and $32 billion. On its face, the claim sounds utterly absurd. (Not to mention irrelevant; if that is the cost of doing justice for those who have suffered from sexual abuse, then that is what we should be prepared to pay.) But as I delved into the details of the paper, I discovered that it was based on what, frankly, was a horror show of faulty research methods and statistical analyses. I was tempted to say—but in the setting of an official hearing in the Capitol, did not say—that this paper would have received no better than a D grade in the research methods… Continue reading

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The Real Cost of Opening a Window for Sexual Abuse Lawsuits in Pennsylvania

  By Sexual harassment

I was  asked to testify about the claims made in a paper by the Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy that opening a two-year window for childhood victims of sexual abuse to bring lawsuit against their abusers might cost publics schools in Pennsylvania between $10 and $32 billion. On its face the claim sounds utterly absurd. (Not to mention irrelevant. If that is the cost of  doing justice to those who have suffered from sexual abuse, then that is what we should be prepared to pay.) As I delved into the details of the paper I discovered that it was based on what, frankly, was a horror show of faulty research methods and statistical analyses. I was tempted to say–but in the setting of an official hearing in the Capitol, did not say–that this paper would have received no better than a D in the research methods or statistics courses… Continue reading

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Pa. Rep. Zabel’s resignation highlights need for systemic change in Harrisburg

  By Published op-eds, Sexual and gender equality, Sexual harassment

We need reparative and restorative justice instead of just punitive justice Originally published in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star on March 13, 2023 We are heartened to hear that Mike Zabel has resigned from his position as state representative. His resignation is necessary at this moment for many reasons, including that we have no other way to continue challenging the patriarchal culture in Pennsylvania politics—and most other spheres of life—that makes sexual harassment a common experience.   But we fear that his resignation, like those of other men in politics who have harassed or abused women, will do little to change the systematic harassment of women that plays too large a role in the politics of this state.  So, we want to take this moment to think about how to replace the repetitive cycle of far belated discovery of the bad things done by a political leader, followed by public condemnation, followed by… Continue reading

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Statement: PA Budget and Policy Center Lauds Passage of PA House Bills on Sexual Abuse

  By Feminism, PA Budget and Policy Center, Sexual and gender equality, Sexual harassment, Statements

Today the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center applauds the two bipartisan bills passed to allow those who have been past victims of sexual abuse in the state to sue their perpetrators and the institutions that protect them. Legislation creating a two-year window waiving the statute of limitations for these crimes is long overdue. And while we believe that there is no constitutional barrier to such legislation, we are also glad that a constitutional amendment allowing such legislation was passed today, as well, in case the Courts disagree with our analysis of the issue. We congratulate Speaker Mark Rozzi for his leadership on this important, deeply personal legislation. Continue reading

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It had to be us

  By Feminism, Love and Sex, Sexual and gender equality

Stop and think about it for minute: Every woman I know has said “me, too” in the last few days. In fact, it appears that every woman on FB has said, “me, too.” That’s a lot of awful treatment of millions of women. And it was not all done by Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Donald Trump, and three or four other guys. Most of us men have to be responsible for some part of it. Who else is there? Some of us may have only engaged in or tolerated the repulsive, slut-shaming that was common place when I was in college. Some of us may have asked for sex in ways that were unfair or pressured. (My book on sexuality got its start my junior year in college when I recognized that the sexual revolution gave men seeking unattached sex a new way to badger women into having sex that… Continue reading

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Why Women Don’t Report Rape

  By Criminal Justice, Feminism, Love and Sex, Sexual and gender equality

Defending Cosby Many people have long loved Bill Cosby, for his abilities as an entertainer, his attractive persona or, in some cases, his penchant for blaming young black people for their difficulties. And many—although fewer each week—of these people have been so deeply troubled by the multiple accusations of sexual violence against Cosby that they have rushed to his defense. Their responses to the accusations have echoed two themes that are quite common when women accuse men of rape. First, many of the accusers have themselves been accused of lying, of making up stories about Cosby. The motives attributed to these women are varied—some have been said to be gold diggers who either hope for an out of court financial settlement of the kind Cosby gave to Andrea Constand or who hope to parlay their accusation into a magazine or book deal. (The statute of limitations for both criminal and… Continue reading

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The New Sexual World We Have Made and the Return of the Culture Wars

  By Culture War, Feminism, Love and Sex, Sexual and gender equality

In the last fifty years, we have seen a dramatic transformation in both relationships between the sexes and our relationship to sexuality. No one thinks that there is any likelihood that we will return to traditional practices and beliefs. But in the last few months Republican candidates have tried to reignite the culture war that has accompanied these transformations.

One reason that traditionalists continue to call the changes of the last fifty years into question is that of those of us who have turned away from traditionalist ideas don’t give as deep a defense of the new world we have made as we could. We defend sexual freedom, feminism, and the acceptance of homosexuality mostly by talking about the ideals of freedom, individuality and autonomy. The traditionalists answer that those modern ideals are empty and low, a mere excuse for doing whatever we want to do. And they claim that the changes in our lives are deeply in conflict with the ideals of love, marriage, and the care of children. Of course we, too, seek love, marriage and the care of children. But we haven’t asserted as strongly as we should or could that our ideals are not only fully compatible with but enhance our prospects for love, marriage and the care of our children.

This essay sketches a new theory of sexuality that underlies an account of the new sexuality we have been creating as we throw off traditional ideas and build a new way of integrating sexuality into our lives. It’s based on my forthcoming book, Civilization and Its Discontents: Reflections on Sex and the Culture Wars. focus in the essay on Continue reading

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Is a Long-Term Affair Really Worse Than Sexual Harassment?: the Conservative Understanding of Sexuality and Herman Cain

  By Sexual and gender equality

The bizarre moments in our political and cultural lives are sometimes the best windows into currents of thought underlying our explicit beliefs, currents that are so deep that we often don’t even recognize them as our own. Which is worse: sexual harassment or a long term affair? Consider, for example, the reactions of conservatives to Herman Cain’s alleged sexual misconduct. Two weeks ago, when Herman Cain was charged with sexually harassing multiple women, conservative ran to his defense. They claimed that sexual harassment is an overblown phenomenon and attacked the credibility of the women who accused him. And yet last week, when a woman came forth to say that she had a long term affair with Cain, most conservatives criticized him and said that his candidacy was or should be over. One would think that sexual harassment—that is using material inducements and physical pressure to induce a woman to have… Continue reading

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Let Rep. Gerlach Know: We Won’t Go Back!

  By Penn ACTION, Sexual and gender equality, Women and Health Care

On February 18, Rep. James Gerlach voted to: prohibit funding of the Affordable Health Care Act cut the entire $317M of federal funding for family planning services deny Planned Parenthood federal funding for any purposes Every one of these votes is a vote against women and prevents them from accessing a full range of health care services. On February 23,  Penn ACTION visited the Trappe office of Rep. James Gerlach (PA-06) to discuss the Congressman’s disappointing participation in the recent attacks on women and health care.   On Wednesday afternoon, two Penn ACTION staffers met three constituents of Rep. Gerlach at the Congressman’s Trappe office.    Two of the constituents chose to talk privately to Rep. Gerlach’s staffer about the Congressman’s recent votes threatening women’s health.  While that meeting was happening, we stood on the sidewalk outside the office with the third constituent, Mary, protesting Rep. Gerlach’s participation in the… Continue reading

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Rape, domination and sexuality

  By Love and Sex, Sexual and gender equality

Matt Ruben wrote a good op-ed in the Daily News today that points out that rape is a crime of violence against women and that calls for making the hate crimes law apply to such violence.   I agree with this conclusion.   But in the course of making the argument, Matt repeats a staple of feminist thought when he says that “research has demolished the myth that rape is a crime of lust or passion. It’s a crime of power: Men rape women because they seek to dominate and brutalize them.” That I don’t think is quite right. Rape is a sexual act as well as an act of domination. And we won’t understand rape, or the other ways both vile and much more innocuous, in which men dominate women unless we grasp that. Continue reading