A viral TikTok trend is creating a space for individuals to talk about violence against women. The social media trend is known as ‘Man vs. Bear’ where women are asked which one they would rather confront in the face of danger.
In this case, the bear wins.
“With a bear, you have an idea of what the intent of that bear might be, but we don’t know what the intent of a man is when we are passing them in the dark,” said Lisa Miller, the Sexual Assault Centre executive director.
The University of Regina’s Women’s Centre executive director said the problem stems from what has been culturally accepted from men and that change won’t come until people can speak candidly about the issue.
“It seems like a silly little trend, but what it speaks to is that we still don’t trust what women say. We do not trust women’s experiences of walking in the world and being vulnerable and being targeted,” said Jill Arnott. “It doesn’t matter if it’s all men. The fact of the matter is that we know that women are targeted disproportionately for violence.”
The original question on TikTok was ‘Would you rather be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear?’ which has garnered millions of responses on social media and sparked a global debate on the need for a conversation about violence towards women.
— with files from Victoria Idowu