Shatter silence with ‘me too’
It was a scandal 2,500 miles away: a movie mogul accused of sexually assaulting, harassing and degrading women who came to him as professional actors seeking roles.
The initial allegations were made by a few. Then, the proverbial floodgates opened.
Dozens of famous women stepped forward to share similar experiences — to share publicly the personal shame, pain and fear they felt; to share anguish that their silence likely led to the mental or physical harm of others after them.
It has become a powerful message from people most of us wouldn’t consider relatable, though what they have to say is a universal truth to which all human beings should relate: in the face of wrongdoing, you don’t have to remain silent.
Speak up, speak freely, and expect that how you look or your gender are not the determining factors in how respectfully you are treated.
That initial wave has gone beyond just a message relayed to the masses by famous people, as well it should. It’s become a call for all victims of sexual assault and harassment to stand shoulder to shoulder with a united voice.
In the midst of all this, there was a suggestion, made in a Tweet by actor Alyssa Milano: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Thousands upon thousands — very few of whom were famous — responded.
“Me too,” they wrote, some explaining their response in the 140 characters Twitter allows.
Separate from that, Facebook and Twitter statuses and Instagram posts continue to be rife with the empowering #MeToo hashtag, an acknowledgment of solidarity about a problem that’s existed in whispers or silence.
If you think the bulk of the people who are using it are celebrities, you’re just plain wrong. It’s your friend, your sibling, your neighbor, your co-worker. It’s someone you know.
Sexual abuse or harassment isn’t a Hollywood problem; it’s a humanity problem. RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, estimates that one in six (SIX) women has been or will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. They cite Department of Justice statistics that there are, on average, 321,500 victims — 12 or older — of sexual assault yearly in the U.S. A whopping 54 percent of those are between 18 and 34.
And those are the reported assaults. If so many famous women, long quiet, have come forward to accuse a Hollywood producer — women of means and status — how many women on the flip side of that coin do you think remain silent?
How does this happen, and more importantly, when does it stop? The answers aren’t simple.
They require changing mindsets and attitudes; they require examining what example we set for our children.
It requires us to examine our behavior, and think about the impact that it has — far fewer are those who sexually assault than those who sexually harass.
The answers also require listening and encouraging action when someone breaks poisonous silence and says, “Me too.”