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The Me too movement was created 10 years ago to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and assault in society. In October 2017 the #metoo discussion went viral on social media.
The women and men who have broken their silence span all races, occupations, income classes, and all corners of the globe. Time magazine named these silence breakers Person of the Year 2017. In this interview, #impact Podcast host Regina Larko sits down with two women who are dedicated to deepening the discussion further in Hong Kong.
Recording with Karen See, Co-Founder of Embrace Worldwide, and Karina Calver, Trauma and Relationships Counsellor
In this episode you will:
- get actionable advice on how to address sexual assault and harassment and tools to speak out and up
- hear what you can do as a parent to start the conversation about body safety at home with your children
- learn why the #metoo debate is an empowering opportunity for all people alike
A safe place for intimate conversations
In close collaboration with The University of Hong Kong and Camel Assembly, Karen See, Co-Founder of Embrace Worldwide and Karina Calver, Trauma and Relationship Counsellor, organise workshops around the theme: #metoo – NOW WHAT? With this intimate discussion series, they aim to bring solutions to the workplace as well as the home when it comes to sexual abuse and assault in society.
The organisers and facilitators of the #metoo – Now What workshop series at their January event hosted at Mettā Hong Kong.
A Refreshing Format
The format of their interactive workshops is refreshing. After a short panel discussion framing the topic, their emphasis has always been on the group coaching session with each professional coach guiding a small group of 5-6 participants. Their aim is to provide a safe and open environment to speak openly about experiences and provide the participants with tools what to do next.
“I can’t unsee what I’ve seen given by the scandal we face now,” says Karen See.
As diverse as the community they want to reach with their programmes, these two women, shaped by their own experiences with harassment and assault, look at the debate from different angles.
Assault at the workplace
Having experienced harassment at the workspace, Karen sees her involvement in this discussion as a personal redemption. “I am doing this as a community service to ensure that those coming through in their career don’t have to cope with the same things I dealt with,” Karen shares.
Assault at home
Karina has experienced sexual abuse in her own childhood home and has just recently opened up about her own story in conversation with Jules Hannaford’s Hong Kong Confidential Podcast. It took Karina decades to learn how to talk openly about her own experience and pain. “There is no one fixed phrase that we can use because there are different degrees of sexual harassment,” Karina points out.
“People are still learning how to share their stories,” says Karen See.
On being inclusive
The way people share their stories of assault is evolving, so are the #metoo – Now What workshops. Their first workshop deliberately only targeted women. In their second workshop, they included women as well as men. The organisers are learning as they go along, driven by their mission to give the community in Hong Kong an opportunity to speak out and up about their own experiences and learnings.
“It is not just about women and it is not just about man either. It is about all people,” Karen See shares.
A diverse community – Culture matters
Karen and Karina agree that there is still a long way to go to bring the discussion to a wider audience, including people from all cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. So far their workshops have been running in English language addressing the diverse international community based in Hong Kong. Looking ahead they are working on offering programmes in Cantonese as well.
Starting the conversation. The Group Coaching sessions offer an intimate setting for sharing.
“There is a concern that #metoo can have a bit of a backlash as well,” Karen See points out.
They know that there are challenges ahead and that they will also face push backs when they go about raising awareness for a topic that is still considered a taboo in many circles. But as this interview attests, their drive will allow them to overcome setbacks along the way.
Starting the conversation at home and at schools
Karina is calling on parents and teachers to listen actively to minors. In this recording, she shares what strategies you can apply to ensure that you are starting the conversation in your own home with your children from an early age. There is a long way to go when it comes to addressing sexual education in schools in Hong Kong.
“I feel there is a gap in sex education,” says Karina Calver.
Karina encourages parents to start talking to their children about their body parts and body safety without sending them messages that give them the feeling that it is not okay to look at their own body parts, something that she feels is particularly lacking.
“All that shaming that starts from childhood, slips into our mind,” Karina says.
In this interview, Karina and Karen share why it is important to take a good look at what conversations you have with your child on a day to day basis. A simple twist in the way you phrase a question can have such a positive impact on the way you communicate with your child.
Have more open conversations with your children by asking the right questions and actively listen to what they have to share.
“Make sure that if you see something, that you address it. If you feel something, to question it. ” Karen
Scroll all the way up and press play to hear for yourself how Karen and Karina are creating a safe space to address sexual harassment and assault with their workshop series in Hong Kong.
Our learnings from this episode. Have something to add? Get in touch with us here!
impACT – some ideas to make a change
- Listen actively to what is really being said – in conversation with your children, your partner, your friends, your colleagues, your boss.
- Speak up if you are concerned about something you witnessed or when you personally feel uncomfortable about the way you are being addressed or treated.
- Reach out to Karen See at Embrace Worldwide to join the next workshop or if you want to learn more about the topic.
