Dr. D weighs in on #MeToo in India, and 'meaningful consent'

He is one of the leading doctors in the country. He values his privacy (but not of his clients.)

Dear Dr D,

I am in a bit of a quandary. Can you explain to me which of these situations (all of which are entirely fictional) meet the requirement of ‘meaningful consent’? This is a phrase that I have been introduced to quite recently and I am figuring out whether I have fully understood it.


1) A 50-year-old friend of mine hires a 22-year-old woman. He calls her into his office. He locks the door and kisses and gropes her. She does not say anything but flees. I am now told that this is not ‘consent’ on her part. But in the absence of a clear ‘no’ in advance, how is my friend to know what to do?

Also Read: #MeToo In India - Complete Coverage

2) The same friend named above tries to boost the morale of his staff with avuncular displays of affection. For example, a young woman’s bra strap is askew. He notices and helps her out by adjusting it. She says she is offended. Is ‘consent’ required before offering to help other people? What is this Kalyug?

3) My friend tries to hire only the best. To test the mettle of his recruits, he invites the female candidates to his hotel room. Offers them alcohol and sings them songs before lunging at them. This is, of course, to prepare them for the hard life they have ahead of them. Is such professional training requiring of ‘consent’? Please let me know.

Thanks.
‘Birbal’, Foreign Affairs & Home Affairs

Dear ‘Birbal’,

Thank you for this question. Women often face this siege within. It’s a tinderbox for them, as the predatory men run riot (after riot). I think your friend by now realises that he has not only ruined the lives of many others, but also his own.

STATUTORY WARNING: This humour column is not for the weak-kneed or the thin-skinned.

#MeToo Hits 2018 Nobel Prize For Literature, No Award In 75 Years

1/2

Japanese author Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2017. The man behind seven novels, a short-story collection and screenplays, Ishiguro was born in bomb-hit Nagasaki in 1954, and moved to England at the age of 5.

Japanese author Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2017. The man behind seven novels, a short-story collection and screenplays, Ishiguro was born in bomb-hit Nagasaki in 1954, and m..

Read More

The physics prize was divided, one half awarded to Rainer Weiss (L), the other half jointly to Barry C. Barish (C) and Kip S. Thorne (R) "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves".

They received the prize for the discovery of gravitational waves released in the world by violent events in the universe such as the mergers of black holes. Weiss, professor emeritus of physics at MIT, along with Thorne and Barish, California Institute of Technology physicists, pioneered LIGO, or the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, the scientific project that made gravitational wave detection possible.

The physics prize was divided, one half awarded to Rainer Weiss (L), the other half jointly to Barry C. Barish (C) and Kip S. Thorne (R) "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the obser..

Read More

See More Slideshows