Award-winning Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood has been criticised over an opinion piece knocking the #MeToo movement.
In , published in Canada's Globe and Mail on Saturday, The Handmaid’s Tale author called the campaign against sexual assault and harassment the “symptom of a broken legal system”.
“All too frequently, women and other sexual abuse complainants couldn't get a fair hearing through institutions – including corporate structures – so they used a new tool: the internet,” she wrote.
“This has been very effective and has been seen as a massive wake-up call. But what next? The legal system can be fixed, or our society could dispose of it.
“If the legal system is bypassed because it is seen as ineffectual, what will take its place? Who will be the new power brokers? It won't be the Bad Feminists like me,” she said.
The campaign has had a particular focus on incidents in the arts and entertainment industries.
'Guilty because accused'
Atwood claimed that some alleged perpetrators had been branded “guilty because accused” without evidence and compared it to the Salem witch trials, a series of prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts in the 1600s.
She referred to an open letter she had signed calling for due process regarding the former University of British Columbia creative writing professor Steven Galloway, who faced allegations of sexual misconduct and was fired in 2016.
“Several years ago, the university went public in national media before there was an inquiry, and even before the accused was allowed to know the details of the accusation. Before he could find them out, he had to sign a confidentiality agreement.
“The public – including me – was left with the impression that this man was a violent serial rapist, and everyone was free to attack him publicly, since under the agreement he had signed, he couldn't say anything to defend himself. A barrage of invective followed.
“But then, after an inquiry by a judge that went on for months, with multiple witnesses and interviews, the judge said there had been no sexual assault, according to a statement released by Mr Galloway through his lawyer. The employee got fired anyway. Everyone was surprised, including me.
“His faculty association launched a grievance, which is continuing, and until it is over, the public still cannot have access to the judge's report or her reasoning from the evidence presented.”
'Deeply offending'
Atwood's article has received a mixture of compliments and condemnation on social media, with some saying Atwood had failed to show solidarity with victims of harassment.
Slamming her view, one Twitter user said the author should “stop declaring war against younger, less powerful women and start listening”, while another declared “I am neither a ‘good feminist’ or a ‘bad feminist’ and quite frankly dividing women up into groups and giving them such ridiculous labels is deeply offending.”
'Genuinely upsetting'
British journalist Matt Haig tweeted that he found it “genuinely upsetting to see Margaret Atwood attacked for pointing out that ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is the key to a civilised society”.
Another Twitter user wrote: “It’s good to hear perspectives from all sides – Margaret Atwood is the perfect person to see and say a differing opinion.”
“If she’s a bad feminist, none of us want to meet a good [one],” added another.
Atwood took to Twitter the day after the piece was published to say: “Taking a break from being Supreme Being Goddess, omniscient, omnipotent, and responsible for all ills. Sorry I have failed the world so far on gender equality. Maybe stop trying?”
