#MeToo campaign continues to grow on social media

One after another – Cosby, Trump, Weinstein (and many less famous men) have used their power and control to violate women.

“During this time, a female producer had me do a nude lineup with about five women who were much much thinner than me, and we all stood side by side with only paste-ons covering our privates”, Jennifer Lawrence said. This is an issue I have been researching for over a decade. I would be faced with some male bosses who were great, and many who were not.

Over time, others quickly shared their own experiences. Even where I live, outside the media bubble, in a small town in IN, I had already heard some of the stories that were shared.

Sexual assault is prosecuted under criminal law.

It’s estimated that two out of every three victims of sexual assault stay silent often out of fear of retaliation or embarrassment.

As an Argentinean woman who studies gender in the media, I find it hard to be surprised by Weinstein’s misdeeds. Me too, me too, me too. It was a man’s.

In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, there has been a social media “Me Too” movement where women have been asked to post “Me Too” if they have ever experienced sexual harassment or intimidation in the workplace. I no longer feel isolated, or like I will be judged for what happened to me so many years ago.

The incidence of violent crime in general went down in the country in 2015 compared to the year before, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A parallel tweet trend has started called #HowIWillChange which is seeing how men can respond just beyond arm chair activism and tweeting in sympathy. When this happens, men, in particular, act shocked and surprised that sexual violence is so pervasive because they are afforded the luxury of oblivion.

Milano called herself a “vessel” for the millions of women and men now publicly acknowledging they have faced sexual abuse or harassment. So many people want to believe there are only a few bad men. It should be the perpetrators and those whose silence allows the behavior to go on.

The Weinstein scandal started to unfurl after an October 5 New York Times report and a subsequent New Yorker investigation alleged that the producer had sexually harassed or assaulted women over the years, and in some instances paid off accusers. Or the guys who whistled and honked the auto horn while I hiked through Santorini this summer.

Men, people of colour and the LGBT+ community also experience sexual assaults. Maybe they didn’t even realize they were doing something offensive, instead believing themselves to simply be flirtatious or amusing. And it shows that things might finally-finally-be ready to change.

The accounts I read on the #MeToo hashtag include girls/ women being touched on trains or public transport, groped by boys at school (there is one of boys who kept snapping a girl’s bra), and fathers, uncles and other family members touching their daughters, nieces and even sisters. It begins to blur the line of an “us versus them” mentality, and instead presents an opportunity for change.

Let’s start today to make a difference. And important.” Farhan Akhtar posted, “It’s saddening to see the number of women with #metoo on their status. Thanks to Cif’s magic scouring fluid, she has time not only to clean but also to get dolled up for the prince – who, in case you were wondering, has no physical challenges preventing him from helping her tidy up.

So, I hope more men will, well, man up and admit to what they’ve done. The actress and activist initiated the movement to encourage victims of #sexual assault and/or harassment to share their stories and to shed light on the matter of sexual violence.

We already know victims’ stories.