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The music industry giant Sean “Diddy” Combs faces serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse. Lawsuits reveal disturbing accounts of exploitation, while societal desensitisation and memes undermine the gravity of these issues and the plight of victims.

 

Trigger Warning: Mention of sexual assault and rape

The hip-hop music industry, which started off as a cultural rebellion born under the influence of Black Panthers, has become politically hollow and morally degenerate. Unchecked power and incalculable influence permeate the music record labels, shaping the sounds we hear and the faces we idolise today. The most prominent faces in the music industry, even our favourite celebrities, too imprudent and decadent in their greed for power and money, are often complicit in the toxic power structures that perpetuate the endless cycle of exploitation and corruption.

Sean “Diddy” Combs, a rapper and music magnate credited with helping launch the careers of some of the biggest stars through his record label ‘Bad Boy Records’ and creating a monopolist empire of his own in the music industry, was arrested in September on sex trafficking and racketeering charges with federal prosecutors alleging that Combs and his associates threatened, abused, and coerced women, minors, and others around him “to fulfil his sexual desires.” It also included forcing victims into engaging in recorded sexual activity, which he referred to as “Freak Offs.” On October 1, The Los Angeles Times reported, more than 100 people have planned to file lawsuits against Combs, alleging that he sexually abused and exploited them.

 

However, by 14th October, six more lawsuits were filed, mostly by victims who were sexually assaulted by Combs when they were minors. Combs, throughout his career, has been linked to a number of conspiracy theories and accused of numerous charges. In 2003, his clothing brand, Sean John, was accused of violating Honduran labour laws as the factories were based in Honduras. The National Labour Committee said that the employees were forced to work overtime and were paid sweatshop wages. In 2017, he was sued for sexual harassment by his chef, and the suit was settled out of court. However, since Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, singer and Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, filed a lawsuit against him in November 2023, a multitude of allegations have come out against him.

After years of silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story and to speak up. On behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” states Casandra.

 

Casandra met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 years old and was signed under his label. The lawsuit also states that Diddy used his position of power to “set the groundwork” for a “manipulative and coercive romantic and sexual relationship.” She also accused the musician of sexual abuse and rape and claimed that many of these incidents were witnessed by his “tremendously loyal network,” who “were not willing to do anything meaningful” to stop the violence.

 

They settled the case for an undisclosed amount a day after it was filed in New York. However, the chain of sexual assault lawsuits that followed after dates back to 1991. An anonymous lawsuit was filed by a woman who alleged that Diddy, along with another man, coerced her into engaging in sexual activities. In a separate case, Joi Dickerson-Neal accused the artist of drugging and sexually assaulting her when she was a college student in 1991. She further claimed that he filmed the incident and later shared the footage with others without her consent. In a third lawsuit, Liza Gardner alleged that Diddy and another individual sexually assaulted both her and a friend over three decades ago, when she was 16 years old. All of these lawsuits came forward shortly before the expiration of the New York Adult Survivors Act. The act gave the victims the ability to file civil lawsuits, even after the statutes of limitations have expired.

 

The prosecutors in the indictment claim that Combs and his associates allegedly transported sex workers across state lines—which constitutes sex trafficking and transportation—to engage in prostitution and allegedly drugged women to keep them “obedient and compliant.” USA attorney Damien Williams said Sean Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity including sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice. He further implied that there are three main charges that Diddy is currently facing: racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. During a search of Combs’ residences in March, investigators reportedly recovered over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, along with other items referred to as “Freak Off supplies,” according to the indictment. Additionally, firearms and ammunition were discovered, including “three AR-15 rifles with defaced serial numbers.”

 

The internet has restored “Thanking Beyoncé” as a meme following her alleged close relationship with Combs. In a spiral of various conspiracy theories that are being spinned, a theory linking Beyoncé and Jay-Z to the deaths of several prominent artists is gaining traction online. It is being alleged that the couple may be connected to the untimely deaths of figures such as Aaliyah, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and Michael Jackson, implying they were targeted for not aligning with the interests of a powerful trio, including Combs. Video clips presenting the intriguing frequency with which celebrities express gratitude towards Beyoncé and Jay-Z during award ceremonies, even without direct connections to the event, are also being highlighted. Adele’s acknowledgement of Beyoncé during her 2017 Grammy acceptance speech and Britney Spears’ tribute to the couple at the 2023 People’s Choice Awards have led fans to speculate about the couple’s influence within the entertainment industry.

 

Further, past videos of Combs with Justin Bieber, shot when the latter was still a minor, have resurfaced. In one of the videos, Sean Diddy mentioned spending 48 hours with Justin, which he referred to as a ’15-year-old’s dream’.

 

All of these charges against Combs are repulsive and excruciatingly horrific. The information regarding the 1,000 bottles of baby oil took social media by storm and entirely for different reasons. Too many memes related to the incident obscured the gravity of the situation. The collective moral apathy towards the victims exposes a deep-seated moral decay of our society. We are so beaten down by the endless cycle of exploitation and desensitised by the constant stream of media that we have resorted to humour as a coping mechanism. By turning a heinous crime into mere internet fodder, we allow the real predator to slip through the cracks, much like what happened with the Epstein Island case, all forgotten.

 

Read Also: Coldplay, Concerts, and Cash Cows

Image Credits: AFP via Getty Images

Reeba Khan

[email protected] 

TW// Sexual harassment & casteism

After a gap of three years, the Delhi University campuses have been covered in the hues of Student Union Elections. However, the true face of these elections may be found beneath the democratic facade. While money and power are the most addressed sides of this dark coin, there is another side that frequently gets overlooked: caste politics and gender-based violence.

 The Delhi University Student Union (DUSU) Elections are being held after a gap of three years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Pamphlets, roads covered with paper cut-outs, banners, posters, fights, and long traffic jams marked the beginning of the campaign of various student union organisations across campuses at DU. From the north campus to the south campus and off-campus colleges, every college at the University of Delhi is draped in the colours of elections. However, what lurks behind these hues is a mix of democracy and oppression.

Hundreds of posters, thousands of paper cut-outs all over the streets, and rallies of black and white cars tossing the same paper cut-outs you’re walking on speak volumes about how democratic and accessible the DUSU elections are. However, beyond these money and power dynamics lies the worst face of the DUSU elections: an open breeding ground for sexual harassment and casteism.

It is difficult to distinguish the inappropriate advantage taken of such packed surroundings at large-scale rallies with hundreds of party workers yelling slogans and the names of their candidates. Whether it’s a kind but unwelcome handshake or being unexpectedly touched in a throng or a bunch of guys gazing at every woman moving by, footage of mobs of men forcibly entering women’s colleges appears all over the internet every year. The fact that there are no proper caps on crowd control or codes of conduct gives these people the pass to repeat it again and again.

I have witnessed sexual harassment take place during election events. As soon as it gets crowded and people start getting pushed around, they start touching you everywhere. The language they use makes us feel disgusted. Right now, a person approached us and said: ‘Kya laundiya khadi kar rakhi hain’ (What women have they made stand here). We are also students, so what is wrong with us supporting any party just because we are women? The opposition, especially, really tries to make us feel uncomfortable as a part of their own political agenda.

– Two female party supporters in an interview to Newslaundry

 Students find it difficult to speak out about sexual harassment on campus due to the rising degree of fear culture established by these mobs of men. This year, too, hordes of ABVP members forcibly entered Miranda House’s campus twice.

When any left-wing organisation stages a tiny protest, massive police forces are deployed. They are sometimes detained for “disturbing the peace on campus. However, in incidents like these, where ABVP men forcibly entered the campus of a women’s college twice, there will be no police deployment or action, even after complaints.

-A student from the women’s college of DU 

Apart from toxic masculinity and a free pass for sexual harassment, caste-based violence is also common during elections. These elections are dominated by Jats and Gujjars. Every DUSU president from 2011 to 2017 was either Jat or Gujjar. These two communities dominate not just the president but the whole panel. Voting in the name of caste is also very common.

TW// Casteism

I heard my classmates say, ‘Ye AISA waale SC/ST ke chapri logo ki toli hai, isko kon vote dega’ (AISA is a group of people from the SC/ST community, who’s going to vote for them).

– A third-year BSc. student

 Vote appeals based on caste are fairly prevalent. Even upper-caste voters say it would be a disgrace if a lower-caste person won the election. In 2018, the Delhi Police released an advisory urging students not to vote based on caste. They warned candidates who appealed for votes based on their caste.

The larger question is whether left-wing politics, which is more issue-centric and nuanced in its narrative, is putting pressure on bigger parties to reform themselves. The pinjra tod campaign that seeks to make hostel and paying guest accommodation regulations less regressive and restrictive for women students is refreshing to see. In the past year, we can see a change in the way the NSUI has conducted itself, and this could have been an influence of left-leaning groups like the All India Students’ Association (AISA).

-Apoorvanand, professor at the Department of Hindi, University of Delhi in an article by Firstpost (2018)

The present DUSU elections have their foundation on four pillars: money, muscle, masculinity, and caste. The lack of a strict code of conduct and the administration’s inability to maintain a check on hooliganism give these individuals a free pass to do such things again and again. Whether it’s blocking traffic for their campaign, forcibly entering women’s colleges, or instilling terror in caste and gender minorities.

A safe, free, and fair election is often demanded. While most students would want to remain bystanders to the drama of these elections, such a stage is unachievable. Unification is required to bring about a complete transformation in the electoral process. Until then, the DUSU elections will be viewed as a reflection of the greater electoral landscape rather than a democratic practice.

 

Featured Image Credits: The Hindu

Read Also: Power and Politics in the Delhi University Students’ Union

 

Dhruv Bhati

[email protected]

 

India is a country with a population of 133 crore. In this population, 39% constitutes children; out of which, 29% are children between the ages of 0 to 5 years.  Amidst this demography, one child is sexually abused every fifteen minutes! These numbers and facts are the lived experiences of children in the country.

Child sexual abuse can be defined as the act of someone using a child for their sexual gratification. Sexual abuse can happen with or without physical contact. Someone touching a child’s private parts with sexual intent, a child being exposed to someone’s genitals, forcing a child to have sexual intercourse, making a child watch something sexual online or offline, in person or virtually, all comes under this offence.

Any act of child sexual abuse is heinous and produces grave psychological, social and physical impact on the child. In many instances, the child is traumatized for months, years or even a lifetime.  Added to this, a child’s self-expression and confidence may be curbed, their behavior may exhibit extremes – either completely withdrawn from the social circle or displaying aggression and violence. In some instances, the children may themselves become a perpetrator of the same. The conventional ideas of ‘morality’ in society blame the child for having faced abuse, or simply brush it under the carpet. Hundreds of cases of child abuse are left unreported, due to these notions, thus leaving the perpetrator free.

With the mission to uproot and eradicate this menace from society, in April 2018, Parwarish Cares Foundation launched its powerful campaign- AAO BAAT KAREIN. The campaign has already reached more than 45,000 children in the age group of 3- 17 years, and 5000 caregivers (teachers, counselors, parents, social workers). It has been running across schools and organizations, covering 31 cities in its mission, through workshops on sexual literacy- body science, puberty, adolescence, and the awareness and action to eradicate sexual abuse.

 

Session in Progress
Session in Progress

Parwarish has taken this campaign to schools (both private and government) shelter homes, NGOs, slums, vocational centers, and public spaces. These include Smile Foundation, Cheshire Home, leading newspaper-Dainik Jagran,  Uboontu foundation, Om Foundation, Saksham Foundation, Jamghat, Bal Shiksha Kendra, Navjyoti Trust, Shri Ratanlal Foundation, Shine Foundation, Prayas, Max Vision Foundation, Bal Shiksha Kendra, Udayan Trust, Sharamjeevi, Shri Ratanlal Foundation, and many more.

Parwarish Cares Foundation
Parwarish Cares Foundation

 

In a new attempt, Parwarish has transformed the content of this session in the form of a Street Play that would be taken to more such spaces to spread awareness to more and more children.

With every session conducted by trained facilitators from the organization, the campaign empowers children to objectively look at and identify the prevalence of sexual abuse in the country and their own lives. The children also recognize a safe space with the Parwarish facilitators as they talk about their lived experiences of abuse of this form in one to one conversations. These sessions have also empowered children to practice ways to deal with any situation of sexual abuse – endowing them with the power of ‘NO’. Similarly, caregivers have expressed willingness to dialogue about sex, sexual health and the prevalence of sexual abuse with children to ensure they are well informed and there are safe spaces all around. Organizations and schools have also aligned themselves with the objective of sensitization of children, adolescents, and adults as a part of the mission to eradicate sexual abuse, beginning with the need to remove the stigma and taboo that comes with the idea of talking about sex and sexual abuse.

The Power of No
The Power of No

Join hands with us to create a safer country with empowered children. For more updates, you can visit www.parwarishcares.org or take a look at our facebook page.

 

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