Women of colour face different battle in sexual harassment scandal

In the overwhelmingnumber of sexual harassment and assault complaints being revealed en masse, it's easy to overlook. We often miss what we can't see.

But if you're a woman of colour, you notice.

Since allegations surfaced against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, provoking a landslide ofmore high-profile perpetrators including James Toback,Kevin Spacey,Brett Ratnerand Louis C.K.,few minority voices have come forward. And when they have,the response can sometimes be different.

If you are more powerless, more vulnerable, it can hurt your job opportunities, your reputation, your chances in the job market-Yunxiang Gao, RyersonUniversity professor

"That there are obstacles due to race and gender are still a surprise, a shock to a lot of people," says Phani Radhakrishnan, a professor of organizational behaviour andhuman resources at the University of Toronto.

"Whenever visible minorities claim that they were harassed due to their gender and race, they have to establish that they perceived the situation accurately. It's compounded with the attribution of race. It doesn't just add, it multiplies in its effects."

Radhakrishnansays she wasn't surprised to see that of the about 80 women who have comeforward accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, Kenyan-Mexican actressLupitaNyong'ogot a direct and public response from Weinsteinafter she wrote an op-edin the New York Times.

Power dynamics

Weinsteinsaid he had a "different recollection of events" after Nyong'oclaimed he wanted to give her a massage on one occasion and on another, propositioned her during a meeting. He had remained silent in the days following accusations from dozens of white women.

"Clearly he felt even more powerful so he had the standing to disparage her claim," said Radhakrishnan."He felt in a relatively more powerful state to react against that compared to the other women."

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Power dynamics like these ones aresomethingYunxiang Gaohas been researching for years. Gao, who specializes in cultural history and gender studies at Ryerson University, says every sexual assault victim is in a vulnerable position. But those with less power are even more so. And more often than not, women of colour arethose with less power.

Coming forward can hurtalready precarious positions

"You have very few high-profile non-white actresses anyway," she says. "If you are higher up, no one can punish you for speaking up. If you are more powerless, more vulnerable, it canhurt your job opportunities, your reputation, your chances in the job market."

Voices belonging to those more powerful can alsode-legitimize those lower in the hierarchy.

Girls creator and star Lena Dunhamapologized Saturday after defendinga writer on her show, Murray Miller, against assault accusations by actressAurora Perrineau. Her original post sparked backlash online.

"Every woman who comes forward deserves to be heard, fully and completely," she wrote, after initially releasing a statement saying she had "insider knowledge" that the claim was false.

Stakes are higher

Because many minorities are already on the "outskirts of power" or the "margins of their industry," the stakes are higher to come forward,says U of T sociology professor Ellen Berrey.

"The few who have made it into these majority-white workplacesare so often running into discrimination or micro-aggression and they're trying to hold on," said Berrey.

Some women might also be more reluctant to accuse one of their own.

"There's an additional pressure not to air the dirty laundry of their community," said Berrey. "When they already know men of colour are facing discrimination of some sort, they already feel an obligationto protect their community."

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Gao explainsthat in China,there is an "unspecified rule" that female actors will exchange jobs for sex.Everyone acceptsand plays by these rules, she says.

"Women in the Chinese entertainment industry who came forward were punished. These women's careers were destroyed because no other film actors or producers would touch them. It broke the unspoken rule."

Joining the movement

But the more who come forward, the more difficult it becomes to ignore.

"Historically we've had to insert ourselves into movements," said TaranaBurke,who started the MeToomovement a decade ago before actress Alyssa Milanopopularized itas a hashtag in October. "Movements haven't been started for us."

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"Yes, the attention paid to this moment started clearly because these are rich actresses and people in the Hollywood spotlight and white women," Burke told CBCNews in Los Angeles."But that's not where it's going to end."