The Problem with #NotAllMen

The Problem with #NotAllMen

#NotAllMen has recently been trending on Twitter, after a survey on women’s safety by UN Women UK showed that 97 per cent of women between the age of 18-24 and 70 per cent of women overall in the UK have experienced sexual harassment in public. While this did not come as a shock to most women, a minority consisting mostly of men, felt the need to defend themselves. #NotAllMen was created to show that 'not all men' commit such crimes against women. However, by using the hashtag, they do not realise that it completely misses the point of the issue, it deflects uncomfortable conversations and is, therefore, counterproductive for gender equality.

The tragic abduction and murder of Sarah Everard opened up the conversation on how women are confronted with an unsafe environment when in public. It is a habit of most women to text a friend to let them know they have arrived home safely. Women take taxis because walking and public transport are just not safe enough and the majority of women completely avoid walking alone in the dark. We have all searched for our key, or held it between our fingers in our pockets and we have all taken our headphones out so we are more aware of our surroundings. These are just a few examples out of many that are familiar to nearly every woman, because as the survey shows, nearly every young woman has experienced sexual harassment in public.

Instead of these men listening and acknowledging the problems women face on a daily basis, they reacted and made the #NotAllMen  trend again. The hashtag emphasizes the lack of understanding and the problems caused by not facing the issue to the full extent. It directs attention towards men and away from those we should be focused on; women. Of course, neither the study nor the women speaking out state that every single man on this planet has sexually harassed a woman. The study states 97 per cent of women have faced sexual harassment, not 97 per cent of men have harassed women. The immediate reaction straight into a defensive state without listening, coupled with the ever-present victim blaming, shows how the problem is not being taken seriously enough.

However, it might also highlight that often one might not even be aware or notice their friends, let alone themselves, taking part in such behaviour because it is so played down. Nobody likes to be criticised or confronted with their own inaction, but actively being part of the solution instead of being part of the problem is what we urgently need for women’s safety and, therefore, gender equality. Listen, Acknowledge and Practice. Nobody wants to feel unsafe in their environment.