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Feminist matriarch Margaret Atwood has taken some heat from “new” feminists for trying to talk some sense into proponents of the movement by stressing that we must preserve due process; an accusation is not enough.

In the worst cases, a woman who has been hit upon by an unappealing guy for a date or given a compliment and didn’t really want the attention is accusing such men of harassment. The nervously incompetent and the boorish have become criminal predators. Men now will be too scared even to approach a woman and the preservation of the human race will require women to make the first moves. Perhaps that is what the new feminists ultimately want.

Let us all be clear: there should be no workplace harassment. There should be strict penalties for anyone guilty of it, and the companies hiring such individuals must take appropriate disciplinary action.

But how far can this go? A guy propositions a girl, perhaps with an awkward sexual innuendo, and gets rejected. Later the girl accuses him of harassment. Where do we draw the line now? The herd mentality has stripped the issue of all sense in this debate. Anyone who dares to differ on such matters gets banished from the elite feminist club.

With all of the accusations emerging against so many public figures, it has become necessary to define harassment in meaningful terms. Some women can clearly feel harassed by a man’s gesture without the man having intended it. Many men accused of unacceptable sexual behaviour are dumbfounded to learn that their actions are not just unwelcome but criminal.