• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, November 12, 2017

Later this month -- on the 25th, to be precise is the international day for the elimination of violence against women.

It’s a United Nations-backed effort designed to create awareness of the problem as well as its root cause -- discrimination against women in laws and practice around the world.

The UN has created dozens of Women National Committees around the world to help combat this global pestilence.

Last week the UK chapter of the UN Women National Committee selected JWT London to spearhead a new campaign that is designed to fight violence and discrimination against women that will break on November 25th, according to Campaign.

When I first read this news, what immediately came to mind was the ongoing sex harassment and retaliation lawsuit against former JWT global CEO Gustavo Martinez.

And I thought, geez, how culturally tone deaf of the client to choose this agency for that assignment.

But on second thought, I wondered, okay, even if Martinez loses the suit, which he hasn’t yet, does that automatically disqualify the agency from working on any campaign having to do with the advancement of women? Do you essentially punish an agency indefinitely for the behavior of one bad actor?

It’s easy to rush to judgments in the current environment where sex predators are being outed at a brisk pace since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, primarily in the entertainment world so far but in other industries as well. Even the first president Bush has apologized for alleged inappropriate conduct towards women.

The UN group, explaining the rationale behind its choice, cited a JWT London effort called “Female Tribes” that is very much about women empowerment.

The more I think about it, the more I think that any organization equipped to combat the problem — and violence and discrimination against women remains a big one worldwide — ought to be at least in the consideration pool for clients looking for help coming up with solutions.

And the UK has a big problem on their hands, per Campaign, which reported that 25% of the country’s women are affected by gender-based violence. It’ll be interesting to see what JWT comes up with to help reverse that course.

Let’s solve the problem utilizing every potential solution that is available. Let’s definitely get rid of the bad actors. But let’s not go on a witch hunt, in Adland or other industries.

What do you think?