A couple of nights ago, a Russian woman who was out with some friends in Colombo was harassed on Galle Face Green, one of the most public areas of the capital city, by a group of about 10 Sri Lankan men. The video taken of this incident, with its visual and audio evidence of the verbal insults and the physical assault on the person recording the incident, has been viewed by hundreds of people.
There are a lot of reports in women’s online groups in this country with video evidence of women being harassed as they walk to work, or to the shops, or attempt to walk their dog in their own neighbourhood of the towns and cities in which they live. Or as they attempt to take public transport to work or college, and back home again, with random men trying to grab and grope them, pretending they don’t know that what they are doing is immoral.
Women increasingly seen as sex objects
We can speculate that the growth in the pornography industry that has accompanied the rise in internet usage in the past 15 years has resulted in women being increasingly seen as sexual objects, and not human beings, with the right to be free of harassment and interference as they go about their lives.
The disturbing rise in trade in nude photos and the monetisation of human desire for affection and connection, which results in girls being persuaded to share images of themselves with a trusted friend or boyfriend, who then violates the trust placed in him, is also increasing. You add technology to misogyny and you get exploitation and degradation like this. Sri Lanka unfortunately currently has one of the highest rates of consumption of pornography in the world, and also extremely high rates of violence and abuse against children and women.
There is something wrong with the mindset of men who see a woman on an advertisement or a promotional brochure, advertising a product, and automatically equate the woman with the product, and assume that both are ‘for sale’. There is something actually wrong with the attitude of men who think it is acceptable to express their sexual excitement or approval unsolicited to a woman they do not know. Contrary to what many such men think, their enthusiasm is not welcome or felt as complimentary. It makes the women they approach uncomfortable.
Women who have public profiles on social media have to post visual images of themselves in the public sphere, on Linked In, Facebook, Instagram etc. When a woman is invited to present a public seminar or participate in a panel discussion, the media team associated with the event will ask for a photograph of her, to enable the public to put a face to the name.
Recently, a local chocolate company asked a young influencer to advertise their products. The comments on their page had to be seen to be believed. 95 per cent of them commented on the looks of the girl, ranging from ‘pretty’ in various forms, to sexually explicit propositions, implying that she was a sex worker.
This actually does not happen in many other countries. It is not in fact normal, or sane, to assume that every woman or girl you see is available to you, or trying to catch your eye, or appeal to you in some way sexually. The boundaries between acceptable types of human behaviour in different contexts, and public and personal spheres, have become blurred. It makes me sad when I see young Sri Lankan women say they have just given up on dating local men, because of the low standard of behaviour they are faced with.
In a country which is attempting to revive its flourishing tourist trade after the Easter Attacks and the current COVID-19 crisis, to allow the behaviour of street harassment and crude objectification of women, especially foreign women, who are merely attempting to have a holiday in a beautiful country, and bringing needed revenue into the country, is counterproductive, and totally unpatriotic.
No modern woman who has a choice would ever choose to travel to, or work in, a country where she is subjected to this kind of treatment and nauseating scrutiny on a daily basis. By indulging themselves in this lewd and degenerate behaviour, these men are lowering the reputation of the country in the tourist and global travel industry. Members of Sri Lanka’s Tourist Board need to take note of this.
If this obvious point is not taken up and acted on, Sri Lanka’s reputation as a place of glorious beauty, history and natural abundance of scenery and landscape, will be undermined and damaged by the repulsive and immoral behaviour of some local people, and the lack of safety and decency that both local women and girls and foreign women experience as a result of this behaviour. It is like seeing a beautiful building which has become neglected, being taken over by feral dogs.
A couple of days ago, a woman publicly shared the name and photograph of a man who had verbally abused her simply because she did not choose to reply to him on FB Messenger. Naming and shaming the perpetrators of such behaviour, by sharing photographs and videos of the insulting and inappropriate behaviour of the men, are actions resorted to by women who know from past experience that their official reporting of such behaviour will not result in any charge being made, as the behaviour is so common. This situation must change, if the country is to go forward, as it should.
Pervasive disrespect normalised
Why should men think that their offensive behaviour should not be reported? Getting angry, and threatening those who expose the bad behaviour is not going to erase the fact that it happened. The men themselves have to recognise that they are accountable, despite the fact that a whole cultural tradition in many countries has traditionally supported the degradation of women. They have to hold themselves, and allow themselves to be held, to a higher standard of accountability in their conduct.
It is sad to see that this kind of pervasive disrespect has become normalised in the world today. Many men, angry and threatened at the recent improved rights and increased success of women, seek to continually reduce them through word and deed and stereotype and insult and assumption, to the status of passive sex objects, as if it is only their physical appearance and its appeal which defines their worth, and not their character, their ideas, their beliefs and thoughts, their intellect, their wisdom and multi-faceted experiences.
Sri Lanka at this juncture has the opportunity to challenge the South Asian trend, of constantly treating women as second class citizens. We can see in Europe and New Zealand the recent rise to political authority of several women who are young, educated, well-recognized by their peers and skilled in leadership. We can see the welcome appointment of skilled professional women to important executive positions in renowned companies in Sri Lanka. We can see the value women bring to public discourse.
The mindset that women should be restricted to home and child-raising is an old-fashioned one, suitable to a former era, when one partner’s income was enough to sustain a family. Today, people can and should choose the kinds of life they want, professionally and personally. Relationships being seen as partnerships between equals is one of the most enlightened and rational benefits of the modern era. We should recognise what a benefit that is, for all.
But it is only really a comprehensive benefit to a society which truly wants to empower every member of its citizenry, and hold a position of respect in the global world.
I suggest The Tourist Board could combine with the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs and develop an ongoing awareness campaign designed to elevate our public reputation and improve the living experience of women and girls in this country. Corporates and Media could sponsor and promote these campaigns.
And citizens with their smart phones can continue to demand public awareness of this ongoing problem, which adversely affects the quality of life for the women and girls of Sri Lanka.
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