The anatomy of silence

Hindustan Times | BySeema Goswami

Oct 23, 2017 12:50 PM IST

Share Via

Copy Link

There are many reasons why women don’t come forward to complain about sexual abuse; don’t judge them for it. Judge the abuser

As I sit down to write this column, around 25 women have come forward to accuse Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, of sexual harassment and abuse. And among the ladies who have gone on record to charge Weinstein with being a sexual predator are such A-list stars as Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Women keep quiet as they are either ashamed or feel they will be blamed, fear losing their jobs, or are too strong to accept it(istock)

Speaking up, making a scene, standing up for myself, none of it even occurred to me. I just wanted whatever this was – harassment, molestation, abuse, call it what you will – to end.I wanted to draw a discreet veil over these awful episodes in my life and move on.

Wven today, decades later, the words stick in my craw as I try to articulate the hot mess of feelings that engulfed me in those fleeting encounters: helplessness, panic, embarrassment, the feeling that I had somehow brought this upon myself