The accused
- We call on the accused men to listen to and acknowledge the experiences of the accusers, to respond and acknowledge their behaviors through transparent representation of the events, and, if the investigations into these cases find the accusations to be true, to take full responsibility for their actions.
- If those who have been harmed wish to seek restorative justice, we urge those accused to make amends and provide support in this process as appropriate.
- We also urge other men who are close to those accused to encourage and support them to remain accountable according to their professed pro-feminist values and commitments.
Individual men and the men and masculinities field
- We call on men, as a privileged constituency, to speak up and act when such cases of abuse and violence occur. It is expected of those men who consider themselves pro-feminist, to speak out and hold other men to account for any harmful acts.
- We emphasize that any such reflections and actions by and among men need to be done alongside the invaluable reflections and calls to action of women’s rights, gender equality and feminist activists.
- This moment calls for serious introspection and action among men working in the gender equality field, on how our systems of accountability have failed, and ask ourselves what prevented us from realizing or acknowledging abuse was occurring in our field, and what prevented those who knew from speaking out.
- We call on MenEngage Alliance members and partners, as well as all men and boys who are part of the movements towards women’s rights and gender justice, to strengthen our own systems of relational accountability and restorative justice. We must foster a space to support and challenge each other so that we can truly embody the core principles that we have set for ourselves and to hold each other to account.
The institutions involved
- We call on these institutions to assess their organizational practices in order to contribute to the prevention of future cases of harassment, misconduct, and bullying - including sexual- and to ensure they have proper systems and capacity to handle any future incidents in an adequate manner, assuring that due process for accuser and accused is institutionalized and strictly adhered to.
- We urge these institutions in their response to build on the expertise of feminist women’s rights organizations on survivor-centered approaches to handling such cases.
- We remind these institutions that simply having policies and mechanisms is not enough, they must be used regularly and as part of wider efforts to transform institutional cultures, end impunity for perpetrators, and create safer workplace environments. This includes an examination of institutional structures and hierarchies, and patriarchal power dynamics which allow sexual misconduct and bullying to occur and prevent it from being reported.
- We commit to monitoring these cases closely to support accountable processes by State University of New York at Stony Brook and UN Women, in which the cases are handled adequately and appropriately, the necessary support is given to survivors and justice is delivered in a timely manner.
MenEngage Alliance
- As an Alliance, we must and will take this challenging moment to come together to strengthen our collective and individual accountable practices and amplify our efforts to eliminate all forms of violence and impunity, and dismantle patriarchy.
- We commit to continuing the process MenEngage Alliance has been undertaking in recent months, to develop comprehensive internal policies and mechanisms on preventing and responding to all types of violence and abuse – the importance and urgency of which is further underlined by these recent cases. We have come to the realization that despite one of our core principles being ‘zero tolerance against any form of sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation’, we need to strengthen internal policies and lay out proper standards, response and handling mechanisms to effectively prevent and respond to any cases should they occur.
- We urge all our members and organizations to conduct regular gender assessments and capacity development efforts, informed by feminist principles and expertise. The Alliance’s Accountability Toolkit can be a useful resource to carry out an inclusive, participatory reflection and develop and monitor action points with your colleagues on your organization or network’s institutional practices and culture.
Craig Norberg-Bohm, Co-Chair, North American MenEngage Network (NAMEN)
The original reporting on these cases:
- “’I Want to Hear Those Charges’: Noted Sociologist Defers Award Until He Can ‘Make Amends’”, Katherine Mangan, 01 August 2018 https://www.chronicle.com/article/I-Want-to-Hear-Those/244119 [this is not accessible public ally, needs paid subscription to access the article]
- “Eight Men have accused a senior UN Advisor of Sexual Misconduct, Sources say; Exclusive” https://www.newsweek.com/senior-un-official-investigated-sexually-harassing-male-subordinates-1059209
Further references and resources:
- “When profeminist men are alleged to have perpetrated abuse or harassment”, Michael Flood, 08 August 2018 http://xyonline.net/content/when-profeminist-men-are-alleged-have-perpetrated-abuse-or-harassment
- “The Right Way to React If Someone Accuses You of Violating Their Consent”, Brittney McNamara, 25 January 2018 https://www.teenvogue.com/story/right-way-react-violate-consent
- “What to Do When Someone You Know Has Been Accused of Sexual Harassment“, Elizabeth Kiefer, 30 May 2018 https://www.glamour.com/story/what-to-do-when-someone-you-know-is-accused-of-sexual-harassment
- “What are the responsibilities of pro-feminist men in the Michael Kimmel case?”, Robert Jensen, 06 August 2018 https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/08/06/responsibilities-pro-feminist-men-michael-kimmel-case/
- “Reclaiming my fear: I will no longer stay silent about Michael Kimmel”, Bethany M. Coston, 09 August 2018 https://medium.com/@bmcoston/reclaiming-my-fear-i-will-no-longer-stay-silent-about-michael-kimmel-bde8602fee55
- “How to respond if a friend is accused of sexual misconduct”, Micheline Maynard, 27 March 2018, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-20/what-to-say-if-a-friend-is-accused-of-sexual-misconduct/9168782
- “What We Need From Accused Perpetrators Like Michael Kimmel #metoosociology”, Debra Guckenheimer, 03 August 2018 https://medium.com/@debraguckenheimer/what-we-need-from-accused-perpetrators-like-michael-kimmel-metoosociology-979a8102547f
- “Restoring Trust in the Feminist Sociology Community”, Wendy M. Christensen, 06 August 2018 https://medium.com/@wendyphd/restoring-trust-in-the-feminist-sociology-community-293e485c54a2
- “UN must not lose funding over sexual harassment, alleged victim warns”, Hannah Summers, 10 August 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/aug/10/un-must-not-lose-credibility-over-sexual-harassment-alleged-victim-steve-lee-ravi-karkara-un-women
- “MenEngage Accountability Standards and Guidelines”, MenEngage Global Alliance, 2018 http://menengage.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/MenEngage_Accountability-Standards-and-Guidelines.pdf
- “Practices and processes of accountability within the men for gender justice field: Synthesis of Discussions at the 2nd Global Symposium”, Center for Health and Social Justice, November 2015 http://menengage.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Change-Begins-Within_practices-and-processes-of-accountability_Delhi-symposium.pdf