Maryam Amir – Hijab and separation are the solution

			We need to stop speaking about hijab and
		

			separation right now.
		

			Over and over, I'm hearing conversations on how
		

			to prevent sexual abuse in the future, and
		

			two of the solutions I've consistently seen is
		

			that we need to encourage men and women
		

			to segregate and separate more, that only men
		

			should be teaching men and boys, that only
		

			women should be teaching girls and women, and
		

			that women need to realize the importance of
		

			wearing hijab appropriately.
		

			When we center the discussion on prevention measures
		

			for sexual assault on dress and on segregation,
		

			what we do is demonstrate a complete lack
		

			of understanding of the nature of what abuse
		

			actually is, which is the abuse of power
		

			and control.
		

			We are not having a discussion of two
		

			adults who found each other attractive, neither of
		

			which was in a position of religious authority,
		

			who had a relationship consensually.
		

			We are talking about sexual violence.
		

			We're talking about * and grooming and spiritual
		

			abuse.
		

			These types of injustices can be perpetrated by
		

			a Qur'an teacher who's a man towards
		

			a little boy.
		

			Perpetrators can be a father and a mother
		

			towards their own son or daughter.
		

			If our solutions are going to say we
		

			need to be more separate, we need to
		

			wear more hijab, how do they apply in
		

			either of these circumstances?
		

			The discussions we need to be having right
		

			now in terms of preventative measures need to
		

			focus on systems of accountability.
		

			How our community is going to provide resources,
		

			rehabilitation for victims, survivors who are navigating the
		

			trauma and needing to heal from a spiritual
		

			lens need to actually be focusing on accountability
		

			for perpetrators and how to create the culture
		

			of accountability.
		

			And predators will work to breach preventative measures,
		

			which is why systems of accountability are so
		

			critical as a deterrent.