CNN senior international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, who formerly worked for ABC News, tweeted this morning that the sexual harassment misdeeds of Mark Halperin were an open secret at ABC News (h/t: Mediaite):
This was an open secret when I was at @ABC for years- brave of these women to speak up. https://t.co/xQgu2xZMUk
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
She was subsequently attacked on Twitter by those who thought she was a coward:
https://twitter.com/RealMcSlav/status/923572473878253570
https://twitter.com/RandyBoBandyLuv/status/923551393247584256
https://twitter.com/JamesABretney/status/923591041479045120
This implies you knew he was harassing or assaulting women "for years". Why did you not speak up? https://t.co/DlPaOsresU
— Alex Mauer (@AlexSMauer) October 26, 2017
After getting a slew of these attacks (just read the responses to her tweet this morning) she finally responded:
1) Amazing how many men lashing out on Twitter that I, or other women who had heard about sexual misconduct at @ABC are somehow responsible
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
2) As if these men have the first idea what it's like to be a 26 year old girl starting out a career at a major network or any company
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
3) As if these men have any idea how much courage it takes for a young woman to stand up to an incredibly powerful and well respected man
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
4) As if these men know what it's like to try to defuse an incredibly awkward and unwanted encounter with humor for fear of losing a job
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
5) As if most of us at that age aren't just trying to be seen as competent equals with a bright future ahead and not a potential HR headache
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
6) Let's be very clear- the one responsible for any sexual misconduct that may have taken place is the man who instigated it
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
7) NOT the women who were victims of it, nor their friends and colleagues who tried to support them through it
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
I thought she defended herself well. As we know from other women who have been sexually harassed, it’s often respected men in power who do this because they can. Everyone has allies and it’s sometimes difficult to be heard when people want to silence you, especially if you are young and still establishing yourself.