Fred Nile criticises the male hostage victims again. Really? - Women's Agenda

Fred Nile criticises the male hostage victims again. Really?

The leader of the Christian Democratic Party, Fred Nile, has used another television appearance to continue his criticism of the male victims who were held hostage in the siege in Sydney’s Martin Place last year.

On Channel Seven’s Sunrise program earlier this morning he expressed disappointment in the way the male hostages behaved.

“Usually men try to protect the women and it seems that the men were saving their own skin and leaving the women there,” Nile said. “It was very traumatic. We saw Katrina Dawson holding up the flag and tears running down her face. She was obviously traumatised by that situation. Well, where were the men? The only man really there was the man with the gun.” 

The reverend clarified this on social media after his appearance, saying the only man was the man wrestling the man with the gun.  Earlier this week Nile said bravery awards should not be given to any of the hostages who fled the café.

It’s an understatement to say his comments are disconcerting. Aside from the obvious dearth of compassion in castigating anyone for their reaction to a terrifying ordeal that no person had any way of being remotely prepared for, Nile is evidently deeply wedded to the notion that men need to be heroes whilst women need protecting.

However romantic that view might be, it’s antiquated and reinforces a false divide between the sexes. The obvious thing about gender stereotypes is that they don’t simply limit men or women; they limit both.

No man or woman that was held hostage late last year deserves their reaction to be judged or scrutinised by bystanders who did not experience the ordeal and they certainly don’t deserve to have their reaction judged according to their gender.  Gender equality does not mean that men and women cannot look after or protect one another; it simply renders the expectation that will happen because of a person’s gender, irrelevant.

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