This is not some Black Mirror satire, or vintage footage from a bygone era. This is the news in 2017.
On Friday morning, Sky News took a break from their rolling coverage of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States to discuss a worrying survey concerning public attitudes towards women in the UK.
The Fawcett Society, a charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights, conducted research that showed that 20% of men aged 25-34 believed women’s equality had gone “too far”.
Do you think women's equality has gone too far? Our #SoundsFamiliar report suggests there's progress to be made… https://t.co/WmtKritu1o pic.twitter.com/mYWimG8d0y
— Fawcett Society (@fawcettsociety) January 20, 2017
Even more shocking, the same survey found that 38% of all men and 34% of all women say women are “totally or partly to blame” for sexual assault.
38% of all men and 34% of all women say women are totally or partly to blame for sexual assault. https://t.co/WmtKriL5pY #SoundsFamiliar
— Fawcett Society (@fawcettsociety) January 20, 2017
That Sky News chose to air a frank discussion on the subject is entirely understandable and should be applauded for raising awareness about an important subject. But it was the nature of the exchange that left viewers gobsmacked.
Respected academic Professor Sarah Churchwell quite rightly argued that women should be able to wear whatever they like without accusations of culpability or blame for sexual attacks of any kind. This would seem a blindly obvious and uncontentious viewpoint.
But remarkably, both Sky anchor Stephen Dixon and weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar seemed to question Professor Churchwell’s stance in a manner that viewers at home found remarkable and beyond the pale.
A clip of the discussion is below:
The state of this conversation pic.twitter.com/lZpKACUuD7
— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) January 20, 2017
The reaction was passionate, angry, and also reassuring. We can only hope that such attitudes are not the new ‘normal’ in this day and age…
It's 2017 and this conversation is still happening…. https://t.co/qLix6KRwvt
— Drew Richardson (@DRichardson15) January 20, 2017
I watch this with a broken heart and tears in my eyes. Really? Really? I worry for my granddaughters. Have I woken up in the 1950's? https://t.co/RiKYCeJotY
— Maria (@MariaErrington) January 20, 2017
How is it difficult for anyone to understand that a woman's attire does not give you permission to force sex on them!? https://t.co/R7tpUWau01
— Thad Collins (@ThadCollins) January 20, 2017
This has angered me so much! https://t.co/Y1srr7WIVQ
— Bradley (@yeldarb_xD) January 20, 2017
https://twitter.com/JodieLeighReeve/status/822396994429722625
What in the absolute hell? #rapeculture #rapeapologists https://t.co/LM9wezFShb
— Mx. Amadi Lovelace Has Left This Place (@amaditalks) January 20, 2017
And then I had to explain to some people that even women in short skirts are allowed to choose if they want to have sex. #misogynybingo https://t.co/Msl1ppwfjW
— Sarah Churchwell (@sarahchurchwell) January 20, 2017
@BeardedGenius My jaw is on the floor. If we're going back in time, do I lose my wrinkles?
— Alex Clark (@AlexClark3) January 20, 2017
@DiLeed @BeardedGenius unbelievable!!!The girl in pink, smh!!! "Why would you want to wear a short skirt?"BECAUSE I WANT TO
— Margaret Longstaffe🌺🌍 (@mjlongstaffe) January 20, 2017
