Natalia A.

The Russian Judge, the Sexual Harassment Case, and Some Questions

By now, you may have heard about the Russian judge who said that sexual harassment is needed for the continuation of the human race.

Here is a Russian news source that a kind member of the Russian community “Feministki” dug up for me.

I noticed a couple of things: the judge is reportedly female. The name of the judge has not been published. The “100% of professional Russian women harassed by their bosses” statistic is not properly cited, nor was it properly translated into English.

The following is the translation from the Russian:

Up to 100% of Russiann women could be considered victims of harassment, if we use international standards in assessing the concept [of harassment].

How did this get twisted into the following?:

According to a recent survey, 100 per cent of female professionals said they had been subjected to sexual harassment by their bosses

Are the news sources citing separate (yet, in another way, oddly similar) statistics?

Please note that hardly any other Russian newspapers and websites picked up this story. We only found one other one so far.

However, this isn’t to say that the story is entirely bogus. I’m sorry to say, but it feels sadly familiar.

Especially if we consider the fact that the Russian government is busy fighting a demographics crisis. Then again, did the judge merely utter a few words that are in line with the government’s policy? Or are the judges’ words, whether true or untrue, an example of the implementation of said policy?

It’s an interesting question, and if you have any more information, or an opinion to share, please do so in the comments here. I’ll appreciate it.

P.S. The English-language media also mentions that this is only the third woman to bring a sexual harassment case in Russia. This simply isn’t true, based on the original articles. One case mentioned involved four women bringing charges against one man, for example. The Russian piece goes on to say that around three hundred people a year lodge complaints (not the same thing as a court case, obviously) regarding harassment with Internal Affairs each year.

P.P.S. Interestingly, the article mentions that one of the reasons why sexual harassment is a problem in Russia may be due to the fact that while the Criminal Codex talks about sexual harassment, the Job Codex does not, which makes cases harder to prosecute. Zoya Khotkina, author of the book Sexual Harassment at Work is quoted that it would be “easier to control harassment through the workplace, rather than through the courts.”

Trafficking: the thing that won’t go away

Please read this New Yorker piece. It’s very informative, and the details it highlights are tragic, heroic, devastating, dirty. You might cry. I kind of did. I’ve read and listened to so many of these stories over the years, but they still make me blubber.

One of the things to remember about human trafficking, and I’ve said this before and will say it again: many people are betrayed into it. And women are often just as complicit as men (this piece mentions a “she-pimp” who operated in Dubai, for example). It’s also true that many people enter the sex-trade aspect of human trafficking knowing that they will be prostitutes. But that makes them no less deserving of help, no matter WHAT anyone says (and seriously, another person who will make the opposite claim to my face might get bitch-slapped). It’s also important to note how trafficking relates to other phenomena: widespread corruption, particularly within law enforcement, is just one example. Too many times, when we talk about trafficking, we reduce it to the rape, the humiliation, the dehumanization. Obviously, these things are as real and as horrible as those on the outside can imagine, and sometimes more so. But this is not the whole picture. Financial motives must be discussed. Networks must be mapped. The psychology of the perpetrators and their enablers must be probed.

This is why I like the New Yorker piece by William Finnegan: he speaks about the practical side of trafficking as well as the emotional side. Far too many writers and activists and agitators just don’t want to “go there,” I have noticed. We don’t want understand this phenomenon from all angles, because we fear that in doing so, we might somehow legitimize it. But that’s not what usually happens, and it’s not what I see in Finnegan’s piece at all. Understanding something is not the same as excusing it.

Sure enough, Finnegan mentions s e x work. He doesn’t do a whole lot of editorializing on the subject, but I think it is rather counter-productive to repeatedly conflate s e x work and trafficking. Obviously, the phenomena do overlap, but that doesn’t mean that they are always one and the same. At the very least, not in my opinion. I suspect Finnegan might agree, or he may not. Either way, this is a great piece.

On a random note – Stella Rotaru’s name reminds of pop-star Sophia Rotaru, except, you know, with a job that saves lives (although Sophia is no slouch herself – by reputation a very charitable and intelligent woman).

On the death of Solzhenitsyn

I started writing an obituary, but realized that I couldn’t discuss this death without mentioning the recent passings of Pugovkin and Mordyukova. So here is the somewhat-more-complicated-than-intended Solzhenitsyn obituary.

Dear Kyle Payne

Let’s get one thing out of the way first, there has not been a “smear campaign” against you. The fact that you would even begin to characterize the actions of Ren and others (anti-porn folk among them, I might add!), pretty much means that you Do Not Get It.

You smeared yourself. You committed a crime, them pretended as though nothing had happened. I understand not wanting to publicize your actions due to legal and personal reasons. What I DO NOT understand is your continued desire to speak from a feminist position after the fact. In your testimonial, you have written about knowing that what you did was not only horrible and wrong, but that it also contradicted the very beliefs that you so passionately espoused. Shouldn’t you have been using that time for a little self-reflection? Why fool your readers? Why continue to pretend to be an ally? Yes, pretend – if you were acting in good faith, you would have immediately recognized your position as a feminist blogger to be more than a little compromised. You know what genuinely remorseful people do in such a situation? They bow out. If they need to continue blogging, they do so in a different venue, and certainly not from the perspective of a movement they have consciously betrayed.

Yes, consciously. The words you used in your testimonial implied that you were simply confused, that you couldn’t make sense of your feelings. Nah. You wanted to do it, you did it, and you got caught. Of course, it wasn’t an ideology that was trampled that night, even if you want to make it seem that way. First and foremost, you hurt someone badly. She may not bear any physical scars, but you, as a survivor of abuse yourself, ought to know that such experiences turn us. We are not quite the same afterward. And as Jeff points out, you have lumped your victim with the people you have let down, not something you want to do if you’re genuinely attempting to make amends.

Speaking of abuse: Obviously, you did not deserve what happened to you. Obviously, it turned you, like it turned me, like it has turned countless others. Obviously, it is a factor in what happened, especially when one considers the fact that the abused can easily become abusers themselves. But it does not make you a passive zombie like your words imply.

Finding out that my abuser was also abused did make it easier for me to forgive him later. But the man who abused me seemed sorry enough to where he didn’t try to excuse himself. Here’s a hint, Kyle: how about admitting simply that you wanted to do it, that you knew it was wrong (especially considering your past history), and that you did it anyway? Honestly, that takes all of a few sentences. And it would have been a response I would have taken seriously.

Speaking of seriousness, are you farking kidding me with your whole “dear ladies, please write to me, here’s my personal e-mail”? You just want more female attention, don’t you? Extra bonus points if the person who writes you is a former victim, eh?

Yes, I’m sure your lawyer advised you to keep the comments on that testimonial closed. But soliciting responses from your readers is ICKY at this point. Let me guess, you also want to use those responses as evidence that you are on the path to improvement, no? You were planning on getting more sympathy, so your lawyer could help spin things to your advantage, no? Just be honest about it. I’d respect that so much more than this posturing.

I don’t doubt that your life has been seriously impacted by this event, Kyle, and rightfully so. If you weren’t caught, how long would it have taken for you to escalate? Don’t tell me that there’s no way you would have escalated, because lots of people do. And that is something for you to consider.

Why don’t you just be glad that you were caught, Kyle? I mean, if you’re “open” and “honest” and truly care about the victims? Oh, that’s right, you’re not glad. Hey, it’s normal to feel this way, I get it. But if any good is going to come out of this sorry incident, you might want to start seeing it from a different perspective altogether.

Finally, why specifically point out that some of your detractors are pro-p0rn people, you know, like Ren? Oh, I know, it’s because you still fancy yourself above Ren, don’t you? Hey, you might have committed a violation, but at the very least, you’re not like those p0rnstitutes! They’re out to get you because of your noble opposition to what they do! Blargh. You are transparent, my friend. Transparent and scary.

Yeah, Kyle, you genuinely scare me. Perhaps you get off on that. I don’t know. I shouldn’t care either. Your issues are not my responsibility.

I’ve got some issues with the culture he promotes, but I’d take Hugh Hefner over your sorry ass any day. At the very least, Hugh appears to be an honest man. Can’t say the same about you.