Suzanne Harrington: Turns out that there are no valid reasons for a man to assault you

Accused multiple times of sexual assault, although nothing ever stuck. Until now.

The jury in a civil action for assault found that he had assaulted her and awarded damages.

We have learned many things from our ringside seats — primarily that guts, determination, and the drive for fairness and justice can be more powerful than the presumed untouchability of men like the one a civil-case jury found had assaulted Nikita Hand, and whose business interests have taken a catastrophic hit in recent days as a direct result of this.

We have learned that victim blaming and ‘slut shaming’ are no longer standard foolproof tactics for aggressors to employ, no matter how hard they try, no matter how much cash they can throw at it. We have learned that behaviour or demeanour are not valid reasons for a man to assault you; that being drunk or high are not valid reasons for a man to assault you; that initially partying together is not a valid reason for a man to do anything to you without your consent.

It’s astonishing to even write this in 2024, and yet here we are. Turns out that there are no valid reasons for a man to assault you, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the story, no matter who he is, or who you are not. Not rich, not powerful, not famous, not important. Except you are important — you are the most important person in the room, and the most powerful, when you speak up and use your voice. When you refuse to be silenced, intimidated, dismissed, shamed.

In tech, in politics, in sport, in entertainment, we regularly learn of the monstrous behaviour of rapists, sexual predators, misogynists. Another questionable character is soon to be placed in charge of the world’s richest economy, put there by the millions of citizens happy to elect him because his crimes were deemed not serious enough to prevent him from becoming president.

This is the culture in which we reside, where a loud, powerful strata at the most toxic extreme of the manosphere appears to have taken over, to the detriment of the non-violent womanosphere. (The spell check doesn’t recognise the word womanosphere, whereas manosphere incurs no such red wriggly lines; even our keyboards are biased).

Thanks to the grit and tenacity of an ordinary Dublin hairdresser, the dial has moved a fraction. All over the world, people now know what happened to her, who hurt her, and how both parties behaved afterwards — one with bravery and dignity, one with pathetic cowardice. Thanks to her actions, more women have been protesting, mobilising, ringing rape crisis centres.

“Speak up,” she urged. “You have a voice.”