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THE TWO EDGED SWORD

With the newspapers banner headlines of men who are in positions of authority accused of sexual impropriety both women and men suffer. To be accused in the media without due process of law
the male is found guilty and punished with no proof of evidence. What ever happened to the premiss
that: "one is innocent until found guilty by one’s peers in a court of law"?

The Evangilist, Billy Graham and the Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, have an
unwritten rule to never dine with a women who is not his wife or attend an event where alcohol was
going to be served without his spouse in attendance.

One accusation or misunderstood comment could end one’s career aspirations. A pat on the back for appreciation of a job well done or a kiss on the cheek twenty years ago can be miscontrued as a sexual assault. One is to act in a manner that is above suspicion at all times.

The two edged sword of men not associating with women creates a ghetto like atmosphere for women who can be marganilized for just being female. A system in which private male- female can be misconstrued as an automatic "Red Flag" is one that can penalize women for just existing.

In these scenarios, women may be insulated from harassment- just as their male counterparts are more protected from the specter of spurious allegations- but women are likewise barred from positive interactions that might have benefitted them professionally.

To mandate the segregation of men and women in the office would be ridiculous and probably illegal.
But if it is in fact, a personal decision, it is no more or less personal than, say, the decision not to assault women in the first place, a decision that can be undertaken regardless of how many private professional interactions a man has with a women.

When I was a counselor at Saunder’s Secondary School I too had a nightmare event. A substitute teacher, "Emily Smith , one morning knocked on my door and told me: " Ben,let bygones be bygones, she even forgave me for my past inappropriate conduct twelve years ago." Smith claimed that: I dated her and took her to my apartment when I taught her Physics at night school at Clarke Road Secondary School. I tried in vain to convince her that I was not Ben and never taught Physics or taught at Clarke Road.

The vast majority of the thousands of young women I have had the pleasure to council over the years
are smart, hard working successful people who do not suffer fools very well. They never ever play the victim card.

The majority of men in Thames Center act in a respectful responsible manner when they deal with women having learned a moral compass. The very few who choose to dare denigrate women have to
be held responsible for their actions and dealt with in an appropriate manner. " For evil to exist supposedly good people say and do nothing".

It is 2018 time that men and women are to be treated equally with absolutely no limits because of sexual orientation.

Len Lesser is an Education/Career Counselor in Dorchester, Ont, www.career-education.ca

Len Lesser