The Blame Game
Humans love playing the blame game. Australia’s recent protests about the Morrison government’s response to sexual assault and women’s inequality all but confirmed this. Whilst her intentions were genuine, Melbourne academic Janine Hendry demonstrated this tendency to blame when she tweeted to her almost twenty thousand followers, “is it possible to form a ring around the perimeter of Parl Hse?”, hoping to have “backs toward the parliament and stand in silent protest”.
It’s obvious to see where Hendry — and thousands of other Australians who stood united at Parliament House — assign responsibility for gender-related issues today: the government.
“…long term commitment to change from all of us has driven women’s enhanced position in society…”
Sparked by Hendry’s tweet, placards crafted of cardboard and permanent marker paraded around 40 Australian cities and towns as part of the March4Justice protests. The desire to surround the Australian government in a “ring of people”, as suggested by Hendry, is a result of frustrations built off the public blaming them for the continued inequality in the workplace and wider community- accusing them of a lack of response, solutions or commitment. Organisers called on the public to sign a petition demanding the Prime Minister permanently and immediately terminate “sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, corruption, dangerous workplace cultures and lack of equality in politics and the community”.
With the government’s response regarding the Brittany Higgins and Christian Porter scandals deemed inadequate, Australians were quick to blame the current government for centuries old unresolved issues of gender inequality. The public then went further to accuse the Morrison government of self-interest, and showing no ‘will’ to make the ‘choice’ of gender equality.
In response to public demand for immediate action, Mick Fuller, Commissioner of the NSW Police Force, proposed a ‘consent app’ to register sexual consent. The suggestion ignited fierce public backlash, much of it labelling the idea short sighted. A senior UK reporter observing the play-out of events urges governments to stop “seeking high-profile quick fixes”. Andrea Simon, director of ‘End Violence Against Women,’ suggests that government policies to date have been simply “knee jerk reactions”.
These government ‘band aid’ solutions could catalyse blame. However, they merely prove that long term commitment to change from all of us, not government alone, that has driven women’s enhanced position in society today. Governments can provide the policies to enhance gender equality, but it is up to us to bring the momentum and the change. It is our commitment that has brought us to where we are today and this must continue. No one is completely to blame. Not the people. Not the government. We must all commit to see this broader change.
Proving our growth in gender equality, Thomas Hinton shows the strikingly positively correlation between time and women’s participation as there has been a hefty increase over the last 20 years. Much credit for this enhanced equality resides in a commitment to long term government policies.
As recorded by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, there has been an incremental increase in the reporting of sexual assault from 2010 to 2018. However, a less than 10% average increase is statistically evident. Current government policies allow us opportunities to report and reject inequality. However, this minor increase suggests a reluctance stemming from lagging societal norms.
When responding to a recent sexual assault allegation, NSW MP Premier Gladys Berejiklian stood strong. Noting she is a woman in public life, she “understands the challenges that are out there… having experienced them herself”. Backing her government and reaffirming that it takes more than governmental policy, she says “at the heart of this is a cultural change, that is required not just in government and politics, but in every sphere of society”.
Whether we know it or not, we crave a cultural change of complete gender equality. Political scientist Ronald Inglehart argues, in his book Cultural Shift in Advanced Industrial Society, that “the change is gradual. It reflects changes in the formative experiences that have shaped different generations”. Subconscious beliefs remain embedded in society’s mores and as new beliefs evolve in younger generations, the “prevailing worldview in these societies is being transformed”.
Recently a petition for Consent To Be Included in Australian Schools’ Sex Education Earlier was established to advocate for “holistic sexuality education” to be provided at a younger age. The petition has over 40,000 signatories mostly from people out of high school. Although they won’t be receiving the education, they are the ones urging for change. This desire to shift beliefs of younger generations absolutely confirms our growing commitment to a permanent cultural shift. This takes time and, importantly, it is not a solely governmental responsibility.
My brother, a year 11 student at a private boys school, recently received a series of talks regarding consent and rape. The sessions covered ‘nitty gritty’ details about ‘what goes where’ and ‘when’ for an act to require consent. As a recent high school graduate, I was not given anything close to this information. And this is leaving aside the sexual education of our our parent’s or grandparent’s generations. Since this initiative exists alongside a social commitment to government policies it can create momentum for change.
This is a cultural shift in motion. This will see a change for women.
Whilst the Australian government is certainly rattled and looking for answers, can we really expect them to click their fingers and solve centuries of women’s inequality overnight, by the end of the week or next election? Probably not. History and statistics prove time is the fundamental factor for improving societal issues. The changes we want for women, the world we want to live in, can only be achieved through generational cultural change. We’ve done this before. We have seen women’s lives change but, it took dedication and time.
Let us stop playing the blame game. Let us stop turning to the government for instant answers. And let us commit to complete equality.
All of us.
