One reason I'd like to see sane, consistent, and consistently enforced anti-harassment policies is precisely for the sake of everyone who's ever sincerely wondered, "Have I crossed the line? Was that me? How can I not be That Person?"
Without dialogue and clear policies, yes, someone can worry "What if I just say hello and someone takes it the wrong way? Should I just stay home?" The policies? The dialogue? That's to avoid that problem.
There are people who want to be not That Person, and who take their social cues from those around them, including those with fewer scruples, who might be in danger of crossing a line. Finding out later that you pressured someone into have sex with you is awful. Heck, finding out that you scared someone shitless so that the person avoided you or mutely let you do put a hand somewhere out of fear that you might do something terrible if refused and then fled at first opportunity and spent the entire weekend sick and shaking is awful. (*)
(*) Those who don't consider it awful are those I want to be scared away from conventions by anti-harassment policies.
If you're reading about an incident, and you think about the harasser and think, "Oh shit, that could have been me" and what horrifies you is not that you might not get away with this crap, but that you might easily find yourself doing it, the dialogue and anti-harassment policies are there to make this less likely to happen.
no subject
Without dialogue and clear policies, yes, someone can worry "What if I just say hello and someone takes it the wrong way? Should I just stay home?" The policies? The dialogue? That's to avoid that problem.
There are people who want to be not That Person, and who take their social cues from those around them, including those with fewer scruples, who might be in danger of crossing a line. Finding out later that you pressured someone into have sex with you is awful. Heck, finding out that you scared someone shitless so that the person avoided you or mutely let you do put a hand somewhere out of fear that you might do something terrible if refused and then fled at first opportunity and spent the entire weekend sick and shaking is awful. (*)
(*) Those who don't consider it awful are those I want to be scared away from conventions by anti-harassment policies.
If you're reading about an incident, and you think about the harasser and think, "Oh shit, that could have been me" and what horrifies you is not that you might not get away with this crap, but that you might easily find yourself doing it, the dialogue and anti-harassment policies are there to make this less likely to happen.