’s colleagues agree with her and are appalled at her treatment. But this is clearly not enough for them to risk being bumped from good positions on the front bench. They need to have a long, hard think about who would stand up for them if they happened to say something deemed unacceptable to the mob. They should exercise compassion rather than cowardice.
More importantly perhaps, men that consider themselves to be feminist allies should openly and robustly condemn the tyrannical targeting of woman who are experiencing similar treatment to Duffield. And yes, that includes high-profile and wealthy women because an often-inconvenient truth is that every one of us are vulnerable to male violence, abuse and bullying, however privileged we are. […]
The behaviour of the bullies is designed to shut women up. So-called progressive men joining in the witch hunt are adopting the tactics of the domestic abusers that Duffield meticulously described in her powerful speech.
JK Rowling, another witch they couldn’t burn wrote in a statement this year, ‘I refuse to bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode "woman" as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it.'
What will you choose to do? Stand up and be counted, or be forever cowed?
Leave a Reply