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DN editorial: It takes a man to call out men who sexually harass someone

MEN IN PENNSYLVANIA government: What is wrong with you? What gives you the idea that treating women who work for or with you as objects of your sexual preoccupations is in any way OK?

MEN IN PENNSYLVANIA government: What is wrong with you?

What gives you the idea that treating women who work for or with you as objects of your sexual preoccupations is in any way OK?

Vince Fenerty, who lost his job earlier this week after the Inquirer revealed, not one, but two separate complaints of sexual harassment against the Philadelphia Parking Authority head, is not an isolated case of bad behavior. He's only the latest.

Fenerty's downfall comes on the heels of the state's "Porngate" scandal - the revelation that thousands of misogynistic, vulgar, sexually explicit emails were being passed back and forth on state servers among top officials throughout state government, including the judicial branch. A porn-entrenched office may or may not qualify as direct harassment, but it does fulfill a major criteria by creating a hostile and offensive work environment.

Both cases are part of the same syndrome: an entrenched male-dominated culture that winks and nudges at disrespecting and dehumanizing women for sexual thrills.

But the individual offenders are not the only problem. Because it takes a village to create a hostile work environment. Sexual harassment doesn't happen in a vacuum.

Even when Fenerty was forced to pay for an investigation that found he had indeed harassed a senior level woman at the state agency, the PPA board gave him a pass and let him keep his job. Only when a second harassment complaint against him came to light did the board move.

A handful of men lost their jobs over "Porngate." Who knows what small fraction this represents of all of the porn participants? (We do know that many landed elsewhere, including three prosecutors who went to work for District Attorney Seth Williams, whose response to their participation in the scandal was to order "sensitivity training.")

These responses go to the heart of the problem here in our sex-obsessed state government: A culture that allows this behavior is a culture that invites this behavior.

The details of Fenerty's behavior - kissing, touching, unhooking a woman's bra - read like the diary of a 12-year-old boy. But these actions are deeply damaging to those on the receiving end: professional women who know they are likely getting paid less than their male counterparts, who know their work performance could be judged on their looks, who know that they are often a minority among a male-dominated workplace, who must put up with this from a man they are forced to call "Boss." It's understandable that many women, fearing retaliation, don't report this behavior.

But victims are not the only ones who should speak up. Witnesses have a responsibility, too.

We know there are at least a few good men in Pennsyvlania goverment who abhor this behavior. But we know, too, that there are plenty in between: maybe men who wouldn't do it themselves, but see others engaged in bad behavior and do nothing. Maybe they even do a little winking and nudging.

Don't. If you witness a male colleague acting like a creep, say something. If you work with someone who expects you to applaud his predatory behavior, don't. Call him out.

Maybe the question isn't "What's wrong with men in Pennsylvania government?" Maybe it's "Are men what's wrong with Pennsylvania government?"