Alison Stiner

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  Alison commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Sexual Harassment in Humanitarian Agencies, Part 2

  I read this article because it came to me as an embedded link in my Change.org weekly update.  To the best of my knowledge, the point of the articles is to get people thinking creatively and profoundly about how to change US policy in light of injustices, needs, etc.  That being said, I don't see how this blog entry fits into that category.
  
  The accounts of sexual exploitation--both because their frequency and their details--are appaling.  However, I don't see how this entry from "Relief from Relief" seeks to change any of that.  Perhaps we are still in the early awareness-raising stage or I have misjudged the tone of the article.  At some points I really felt as if the article was militating against the project's success.  The bloggers seemed to side the with "Europeans" and their desire to resist the tendency to "moralize" like "Puritancial" Americans do.  I agree with Sarah's comment that even "consensual" sex is not as straightforward as it may appear, especially when involving sex workers.  Condoning participation in the sex industry cultivates the mentality that people can gratify their sexual desires whenever they have the urge.  When a prostitute is not "available," a coworker is often around. 
  
  Even the bloggers unequivocal statement "Do not rape your coworkers.  It's as simple as that," reads as somewhat infantilizing.  If it were as easy as saying that, we wouldn't be in this situation.  The "blurred lines" that are not identified as problems or aggravating factors and the anecdotal ending of the entry worry me very much.