SALT LAKE (UT)
The Salt Lake Tribune
December 10, 2017
By Gerald Elias
When drunken frat boys and campus sports heroes rape female students, we wring our hands but chalk it up to bad upbringing or aberrant behavior or extra testosterone or the reason-numbing effects of binge drinking. We decry it but can, to some degree, understand it.
But when such crimes are committed or tolerated by revered university professors and administrators, how do we explain that away? Misunderstandings? If a professor or administrator can’t discern the difference between right and wrong, who can? Is it that difficult?
We are now engaged in a raging national debate regarding sexual misconduct that goes far beyond the college campus. High-profile men in the entertainment industry, in the media, in government, have been outed for sexual misconduct ranging from an unwanted kiss to pathological pedophilia. Even this is but the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface, sexual misconduct in the workplace — in offices, in hotels, in factories, in athletics, in the armed forces — has yet to be fully exposed. And it goes even beyond the workplace. Women do not feel safe from harassment or being groped simply walking down the street, sitting in a bus or going to a park.
When students and former students have come to me with stories of being victimized by members of my profession, the most important thing I can do is help them regain their ability — which has been so violently compromised — to trust someone, anyone. I try to provide that trust and support. In a society that has no difficulty talking about violence but is unable to openly discuss sex, especially sexual predation, it is no wonder that women are only now coming forward and with such difficulty and with such courage.
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