THE UNSETTLING REALITY OF THE PATRIARCHY IN THE UK

Shining a light on the dangers women face on a day to day basis.

 Sexism. Feminism. Patriarchy. Three words that are thrown around, ridiculed by many and taken seriously by a disheartening lack of people. If you label yourself as a feminist, people assume you have radical anti-men ideals, when the reality couldn’t be further from that ignorant viewpoint. As a young woman myself, I stand by the fact that sexism still exists and the patriarchy is not as close to being abolished as it may appear in the United Kingdom. Yes, women have suffrage, there have been two female Prime Ministers and there are increasing numbers of women in managerial roles, all improvements that should be celebrated and acknowledged but there is far more beneath the surface, entrenched in society. Regardless of all these improvements, I still feel afraid to go on walks in broad daylight wearing shorts on a hot summers day and I feel untrustworthy of the authorities if I ever had to report a sexual assault case. I am an independent and responsible adult who has to weigh up the risks every single time I leave my house to meet my friends. I have grown up arguing with my parents about not being allowed to go to the park or not being allowed to walk somewhere alone. I wanted to write this article to draw attention to the systematic patriarchy in the UK and why women like myself will always live their lives on a slight edge. 

  Currently, 34% of MPs in the House of Commons are women. Women have been greatly successful in politics over recent years and decades, with two female Prime Ministers and Nicola Sturgeon as the leader of the SUP, the second main opposition party, but even now, the number of women in the Commons is shameful. The House of Lords remains outrageously patriarchal, with only 27% of its members being women. Moreover, Only 17% of Supreme Court judges and 22% of High Court judges are women, which is not only unnerving due to the clear disproportionality but also because this means men are deciding the outcomes of the majority of court-level cases, including those regarding sexual assault and women’s rights.

Sexist comments in Parliament are not uncommon, such as when Boris Johnson referred to Emily Thornberry by her husband's name, or when Jeremy Corbyn was caught ‘mansplaining’ International Women’s Day to Theresa May. Sadly, women in politics often feel like trespassers, as if it isn’t their territory and they constantly have to prove their legitimacy. In 2017, after several sexual misconduct and bullying allegations in Westminster, Theresa May ordered a review into how this could be prevented and sanctioned. The review found that women reported twice as much sexual harassment as men, and a separate study by the Young Women’s Trust found that 51% of female MPs compared to 17% of male MPs were aware that sexual harassment was present in Parliament. Once again, this is very concerning as these men in positions of power are unaware of what is considered sexual assault and are unaware of its prevalence in Parliament. However, in July 2018, a programme of reform and a new Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy was voted through, a huge step in allowing women to have a more content place of work in Parliament and politics.

An estimated 648,000 people aged 16 to 59 experienced sexual assault from 2016 to 2017, and sadly only around 17% of victims report their experiences to the police. This is an incredibly sensitive topic and it is in no way intended to undermine the experiences of male victims, but it is an indisputable fact that women experience sexual assault at significantly higher rates. In March 2017, the Crime Survey of England and Wales estimated that 20% of women have experienced some form of sexual assault since the age of 16, in comparison to 4% of men. 

Recently, I became aware of the most unsettling statistics, which made my blood boil in a way I had never felt before. A YouGov poll found that a third of British people believe that if women were pressured into sex without physical violence then it isn’t rape. This disregards one of the most common forms of sexual abuse which comes from emotional manipulation and the fact that 90% of UK rape victims knew their rapist (showing that no, the clothes you wear are not the cause of sexual assault). Another unnerving statistic is that one-third of male respondents genuinely believed that if the woman had flirted on the first date it should not be considered rape. Over a third of over 65s believe that non-consensual sex in a relationship isn’t rape, and 21% of men thought that removing a condom without the partner's consent also is not rape. These sent a shiver down my spine, just the very thought that so many men genuinely believe that these scenarios are not rape, however, what is really heartbreaking is the fact that the juries, judges, police and people in positions of power, made up of mostly older men, are deciding the outcome for these sexual assault cases whilst being unclear on what rape is. This helps to explain why rape offences reported to the police have risen by approximately 65% since 2015 but the proportion making it to court has halved.

In 2016, a YouGov poll was conducted which showed that 64% of women of all ages have experienced unwanted sexual harassment in public places, and another 35% had experienced unwanted sexual touching. Between the ages of 18 and 24, the percentage of women who had experienced unwanted sexual harassment was a terrifying 84%. I don’t think I have any female friends or family members who have never experienced this, whether it be catcalling, workplace harassment or uncomfortable touching in nightclubs. Rather than us girls being taught to cover up more and being told that it is our fault we are being harassed because we are wearing tight clothes, maybe it is time to teach men to have even a tiny bit of respect for women. 

There have been some amazing institutions put in place to help tackle this problem, such as the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy (VAWG) developed by the CPS to strengthen the legislative framework and create protection orders. Additionally, movements such as #MeToo aim to tackle the sexual assault of women, encouraging them to come forward much more. These have brought much more attention to sexual assault against women and have brought us hope that the generations will only keep getting safer and much more equal for women.

I have grown up being very on guard and aware of all the people around me, but the day it really kicked in for me was when I was on an evening walk not far from my home and there wasn’t anybody around. I was listening to music and clearing my mind just as I should be allowed to, just like any of my male friends or family members could do with no concerns. I began to notice a man walking behind me at quite a fast pace, and I started to panic. I realised I couldn’t keep walking further and further as it would’ve just led into the woods so I had to walk back past him to my house. My mind was racing and jumping straight to worst-case scenario conclusions. I pretended to be on the phone and turned to walk past the man, making comments like ‘Yes I’ll be there in 5 minutes’ to make him aware that someone knew where I was. After I walked past him with no issues, I realised that this man was just trying to have an evening walk like me, and I couldn’t help but cry. I was having a lovely walk and it got disturbed by the ever-so-common alarm bells in my head. That is what it is like to be a young woman. It isn’t wanting a female James Bond or wanting gingerbread men to be called gingerbread people. We want to feel safe. We want to feel as though the authorities have our best interests at heart and that we don’t have to be scared about doing normal daily activities. We want an end to the patriarchy once and for all, and we will fight for it with all that we have got.