My two cents on the #metoo movement
IN an unprecedented move by the women of Hollywood, stories of sexual harassment, sexual violence and sexual assault were released, most of which are accusations against Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax and a powerful producer in Hollywood. On, October 5, 2017, actress Ashley Judd broke the story in The New York Times about Wenstein asking her to meet him at his hotel and greeting her wearing a bathrobe, requesting her to give him a massage or to watch him shower. Similar allegations were disclosed in the article of The New York Times which investigated nearly over three decades of suppressed allegations of sexual harassment. Three days later, Weinstein was forced out of The Weinstein Company and thereafter, became the center of investigation by the police. Various awards like the BFI Fellowship award and the Du Bois medal from the Harvard University, and his membership with the Producers Guild of America, Bafta, Television Academy and the like were rescinded. Civil claims for damages were also filed against the mogul producer and a criminal case was filed by the New York state prosecution. As to this writing, however, no arrest has been made yet.
This investigation and the coming out of big time actresses sparked the #metoo movement, a hasthag popularized on social media by actress Alyssa Milano and coined by activist Tarana Burke which encourages women to reveal on social media their own sexual harassment and sexual violence stories.
This movement is laudable as it encourages women to talk about the trauma of sexual assault and sexual violence. Psychology purports that a big part of healing is the ability to come into terms with what happened to you and to be able to talk about it. The #metoo movement is gaining popularity worldwide, which is an acknowledgement that rape is a pandemic dis- ease that can lead to corrosion of societies if nothing is done.
The movement brought to focus the forces that perpetuated the growth of rape in society i.e. abuse of power and authority, fear of retaliation should victims file complaints against their abusers, the power of money in society, the weak implementation of legislations / policies and the victimblaming mindset of people.
It is the goal of this movement to make rape victims know that they’re not alone and to empower them to rise above their demise and help give power to other women and prevent more from falling victims to rape predators. Kudos to all the courageous women! Freda B. Dayog