I compare the case of tzniut (modesty) that the writers brought up in the Harvey Weinstein/Mayim Bialik article with car alarms (“Weinstein Scandal’s ‘Big Bang’ In Orthodox Community,” Oct. 20).
People install car alarms in their cars to prevent car theft. Does it always work? No. Can it act as a deterrent? Yes. Does tzniut always work in preventing unwanted sexual harassment? As the writers clearly point out, no. But can it act as a deterrent? As Bialik and others have pointed out, and what the writers in The Jewish Week do not want to acknowledge, is that yes, it can. Just listen to m en’s conversations when they think women can’t hear them. They don’t talk about how a woman dressed modestly turned them on. Their talk is about the women dressed immodestly. It’s not an excuse for bad behavior but shows that tzniut can be a deterrent.
Sadly, what neither article delves deeply into is how do women defend themselves when they have been the victims of sexual assault and what preventative measures can be taken to prevent sexual assaults. If a woman is the victim of a sexual attack, don’t wait 20 or 30 years to report it as many of the women in Hollywood did. Don’t thank the perpetrator for helping you to win the Oscar or other award as some of the victims did. Hold accountable people such as the Manhattan District Attorney who refused to prosecute Weinstein, yet took a large campaign donation for his reelection campaign from him once the charges were dropped. Call out and boycott the newspapers for failing to publish such stories years ago, allowing the abuse to continue.
