Right.
Instinctively, all women will relate to the recent story of Luis Rubiales forcing his now-infamous Kiss on Jenni Hermoso and the kind of behavior that a high-ranking official like Rubiales should not display.
Strangely enough, this question was asked by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Official Spokesman during the daily noon briefings:
“Question: Thanks. Given that gender equality is such an important issue for the Secretary-General, I just wondered if he has any comments on this row that’s engulfing the Spanish football chief, Luis Rubiales, and over his allegedly non-consensual Kiss of the Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso. Does he have any comments?
Spokesman: I mean, how difficult is it not to kiss somebody on the lips? Right? There is a critical issue of sexism that remain in sports and we hope that the Spanish authorities and the Spanish Government deal with this in a manner that respects the rights of all female athletes.
Question: Sorry to clarify, so he does see this as a sexual assault?
Spokesman: That is a criminal term. Right? From what we see here, I don’t see any indication that anything was consensual.”
Spoken like a steadfast defender of women’s rights and advocate of accountability to end impunity against sexual predators, harassers, and rapists in the United Nations.
We have the answer since you’ve asked Mr. Spokesperson and Mr. Secretary-General.
“I mean, how difficult is it not to kiss somebody on the lips?”
Particularly for United Nations Senior Officials.
It seems extremely difficult.
You can start by asking Martina Brostrom, who the United Nations fired in retaliation for having reported the former deputy executive director of UNAIDS who forcibly kissed her in a hotel elevator, groped her, and tried to drag her to his room during a conference in 2015.
Martina recounted her nightmare to CNN:
So. Mr. Spokesman, it is very difficult for United Nations Senior Officials NOT to kiss their subordinates on the lips.
And when they do so without consent, the United Nations fabricates allegations against their subordinates and fires them to protect those same United Nations Senior Officials.
For instance, in the case of Martina, the United Nations fabricated a case of sexual and financial misconduct against her because she was having a relationship with her now husband and father of her child!
The same UN that turned a blind eye for a decade over UNOPS senior leadership misappropriating over $60 million in questionable business dealings, resulting in massive financial and reputational losses to the Organization.
And yet protecting those sexual predators is always first on the Secretary-General’s agenda.
Martina sent four separate emails directly to the Secretary-General, asking him to intervene in the case. She never received a reply other than a confirmation of receipt.
Immediately after, she was offered a promotion if she withdrew her claim against the senior UN official, but Martina refused. So, she was fired.
The very fact that the former Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS was so difficult to remove from his role is a reflection of something much bigger, of what all these zero tolerance policies for sexual harassment, abuse, and protection against retaliation policies that the Secertary-General continues to advocate for in the political arena represent nothing but a pleasing façade in a bid to secure the yearly assessed financial contributions of member states.
You can also ask Malayah Harper, who used to run UNAIDS programs in Uganda and Kenya, and who previously told CNN that the former Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDs assaulted her in an almost identical way, a year earlier than Martina, also at a hotel. Those were her words:
“He got into the lift with me, and then kind of lunged forward to – you could call it – kiss me, but I thought a kiss had to be consensual.”
You can also ask a third woman, who, according to CNN, still works in the UN system and wished to remain anonymous, described a very similar incident with the former Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS.
“He forced himself on me; he stuck his tongue in my mouth, tried to touch me all over, into my blouse.”
Mr. Spokesman and Mr. Secretary-General, it is beyond impossible for senior United Nations officials NOT to kiss staff on their lips, and it is beyond impossible for the Secretary-General to hold those Senior United Nations officials accountable.
So, to answer your question, Mr. Spokesman:
What is undoubtedly easy is the retaliation against those women who dare to report the Kiss.
