When older men are caught committing sexual harassment these days, one of the typical excuses which is trotted out is, “you need to understand that I grew up in the 60s – 70s – 80s and it was a different culture then.”
But was it so different then?
In the 80s I was a member a men’s community workers’ anti-sexism group. Our group was concerned with what men could do to support women’s demands for change in a sexist world. We did practical things like running creches at conferences as well as meeting and talking. This was before the modern days of CRB and DBS checks, but we knew enough to make sure that children were protected by making sure no-one had one-to-one access to children, everything was in the open.
I don’t make this point to win prizes, the point is that even in the 80s men made choices and many men made the right choice. So abusers blaming “the culture of the time” is simply their desperate attempt to avoid taking responsibility.