Patriarchal culture + male biology = deadly mix for violence against women
Sexual assaults on university campuses and executive offices may sound less commonplace than the stories we sometimes read about. The idea that rape and assault can happen in executive offices and on university campuses — in secure and guarded environments — can be hard to comprehend for some people.
We tend to see a “sick mind” behind the assaults. Yet sexual assaults in power-structured, hierarchical work environments and in executive offices are suspected to be common. And for every sexual assault being reported in a corporate office, there are probably a thousand unreported cases.
As a biologist, I study the variation and evolution of sex- and reproduction-related genes and sexual differences. As an activist, I study human nature including race, caste, class, sex and gender inequality; and for the past 20 years I have been working with women in rural India to promote empowerment and eliminate violence against women.
What’s happening in corporate offices is a tiny reflection of human history.
Sexual violence against women is not the result of a few odd, bad elements. Sexual violence is part and parcel of masculinity — much of it taught and socialized….(read more)
Rama Shankar Singh
