Over the past three decades the role of men in the anti-sexual violence movement has been a source of constant debate. Despite the long standing debate we have yet to come to consensus. This article written in 1993 remains pertinent ten years after its initial publication in Transforming a Rape Culture. In it the author provides a first person account of his experiences as one of the first men to be employed at rape crisis center and its effect on his world view.
Orton eloquently states in his concluding paragraphs
"Working in a rape crisis center has given me access to the world as women experience it; it has given me a chance to feel their vulnerability...their fear...and their sense of injustice. These feelings have created in me a personal imperative: the need to work for change.
"But this opportunity is not available to many men. Trust and power issues keep many women in centers and shelters from being comfortable with men in their programs. Their concerns are easy to understand. Men created the problem of sexual violence and most still do not grasp the connections between everyday sexism and violence. This creates mistrust.
"But if women and men are to overcome their history and be able to redefine power in relationships, they, at some point, must come together, face-to-face, and learn to do this in real life -- over the dinner table, in the workplace, and, in my view, in settings where women's experience is validated and women's leadership is guaranteed. Rape crisis centers and shelters are such places".
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| Outside In: A Man in the Movement | 75.09 KB |
