The world is currently struggling to find a vaccine for the emerging coronavirus virus, known as a Covid19 associated with its severe economic crisis, and the resulting mental and social effects, which reinforces the curiosity of social researchers towards exploring the future and form of negative social phenomena that will increase significantly during the coming years.
Some of these phenomena will play a crucial role in reshaping the ‘social map’ in many countries of the world, especially developing ones.
The phenomenon of sexual harassment which leads to other violent crimes like raping is one of the most dangerous phenomenon that international organizations, governments, NGOs and companies, reconsidering their social responsibility agenda, will have to address.
The story features begin with family values including equality and non-discrimination. These standards differ between societies and families, based on religion, race, gender and culture in terms of community traditions and education level.
The common type:
The most common type of sexual harassment is the gender based as the relationship between a male and a female from the ancient ages until now has its own unique challenges. Obviously, there are other groups targeted for harassment and sexual violence, such as children and the disabled.
The degree of community evolution and the existence of heavenly and earthly religions that urge the rejection of moral and physical violence, also did not help curb this kind of discrimination.
In other aspects, we can see some religious or legal provisions deny the female social and financial rights. Many families foster masculine values based on a misunderstanding of religious texts.
Often, but not all, the woman appears to be the weakest part in the equation and pays the price and the society also pays a full price. Today, she is harassed. Tomorrow, she will be raped. Then, she will be a deal in the sex trade.
We do not need to cite example of the sexual scandals of religious and political leaders throughout history, but rather we see now that they are used as valuable assets in political campaigning as ‘No publicity like bad publicity’.
The idea is simple for a type of ‘social injustice’ has turned into trade and political promotion. Therefore, with a lack of social controls it became a common notion.
Financial stress leads the wagon:
We will also see the picture differently in the societies that adhere to religious values and suffer from economic problems. The minimum age for a man to marry has increased by about 35 to 40 years in a youthful community and with the pandemic we can raise the bar a little bit by 3 or 4 years at least.
Searching for the costs of marriage may make you go through many adventures, some of which will work and others will fail to cost you your life. Families oblige you to find apartments, luxury furniture, and jewelry which causes a lot of financial stress.
Of course, when you apply for the job in the ‘marriage institution’ you will be asked about a stable income from which to support your family, which is difficult to achieve these days and it will not be easy in the future as health care costs increase and the economic pressure increases.
To most of the Egyptian youth, they cannot afford these financial commitments and if they managed to survive these financial obligations, their marriage would not be happy because many of them are indebted to the installments of what was previously purchased, problems abound and the marriage ends painfully.
According to the government statics divorce cases in Egypt have become one case every two and a half minutes. This contributed to raising the spinsterhood rate to 15 million or more. 99.3% of Egyptian women are subjected to a form of harassment.
Of course, this leaves frustrating social effects that make you hesitate and even avoid such obligation. Moral anomalies will be associated with harassment and rape crimes. Of course, the social map will change and circumvention of laws is the easy solution.
Work from Home and Cyber space harassment:
The situation changed completely after Covid 19 and working from home remotely became an ideal solution to avoid harassment at workplace but there is a new type which is taking its shape but with a slower pace which is the virtual reality harassment.
Although some countries made legislations to address this issue to ensure that cyberspace becomes safer. It cannot be avoided and made social media play the ‘daredevil’ role.
Perhaps this is the funny aspect for a person like with a fertile imagination that he can commit such a crime in virtual reality without being held accountable. How to treat the topic as not intended to harm, but a simulated crime experience, is really exciting.
In many cases, the owner of the profile is not necessarily a real person. You can commit your favorite crime with chat bot, or with a robot. The question that I have always wanted to ask Sofia is, has anyone mistakenly molested you to find out your reaction? The answer was astonishing to me when I saw how she reacted to Will Smith.
Despite Sofia’s response during this video, we see how artificial intelligence and technology play its role in raising awareness of the dangers of harassment, even if it is hypothetical or with a robot.
This method may help to find a funny formula for treating the addicts of this type of behavior, so that behavioral sciences develop unorthodox approach to comply technology with criminal legislation not only to curb the occurrence of such crimes but also to help to treat the perpetrator.
#Human rights #anti harassment #workplace #cyberspace #AI #Robotics #behavioral science
The Arab Digital Media Journal
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