Children's Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (Crisp), a Bangalore-based NGO has come out with a new campaign called #MenToo aimed at urging men to speak out against women who harass them.
Crisp, a group of 15 members including former French diplomat Pascal Mazurier, launched the campaign last weekend in Bengaluru. Mazurier made the news for being a victim of false accusations as he was blamed for sexually abusing his daughter. However, he was found not guilty and acquitted of all charges in 2017.
National President of Crisp, Kumar V Jahgirdar spoke at the occasion and said that his group would also take up the fight for gender-neutral sexual harassment laws in the country. They are also demanding punishment for those who file false cases, reports News 18.
While Jahgirdar did mention that #MeToo was a good movement, he said that it should not be used to blame a man with false accusations. "This movement has only resulted in bringing disrepute to men who have worked hard to earn respect in society," he said. Adding that if affected women have a case of sexual harassment to report, they should take it up with the police and take the legal route instead of the name and shame that people tend do, putting the case on media trial.
He clarified that the #MenToo campaign is not to be taken as a counter to #MeToo, but a platform for men to address women's atrocities.
"There is real pain among men.. They are also suffering, but they are not coming out in the open against women and their misdemeanors," he said.
"We make laws to protect women. That is fine, but let us not forget half of humanity are men," he added.
IBTimes India has reached out to Crisp for comment and is yet to hear back from the NGO.
