09: THE IMPACTS OF #METOO TWO YEARS LATER
October marks the second anniversary of the viral #MeToo movement that exposed the sexual harassment and assault perpetrated by powerful men across prominent industries. First coined by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, and then galvanized by Alyssa Milano in a tweet in 2017, the #MeToo movement became a collective mechanism for women who were fed up with the blatant abuses of power. A recent survey found that nearly 81% of women and 43% of men have experienced some type of sexual harassment within their lifetime. When Tarana Burke first began the #MeToo movement she aimed to, “to reframe and expand the global conversation around sexual violence to speak to the needs of a broader spectrum of survivors”. Burke recognized the need to cultivate community for survivors whose stories often go unheard, from survivors of color to child survivors to immigrant survivors. When Alyssa Milano tweeted asking survivors to disclose by replying “me too” she hoped to capture the magnitude of sexual harassment and assault rampant in our culture today.
The outpouring of violent, intimate, and heartbreaking stories from high profile celebrities, industry leaders and committed activists transformed the hashtag into a global social justice movement. 19 million tweets later the world was faced with a rallying cry for restitution and equity that could not be ignored. From the arrest of Harvey Weinstein, to the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, to a marked rise in sexual harassment complaints across human resource departments and anonymous hotlines, we saw the ways in which online movement building resulted in real time consequences. Experiences of trauma that were once concealed in silence and secrecy found redemption within the community of Twitter.
Some survivors commented on the duplicity of Twitter’s ethics, as a forum that embraced the #MeToo movement but rarely intervenes when women are regularly the subjects of cyber-bullying and online harassment. While it is important to recognize the benefits of Twitter’s platform as a means to connect global communities with a hashtag, it is paramount to highlight the courage of the survivors who shared their stories openly and honestly on a public forum.
The resounding flood of public disclosures reminded survivors that they are not alone, and it reminded the world that sexual abuse is a widespread, institutional force. Hollywood survivors took the forefront in media coverage, but the sheer number of participants throughout the movement spoke to the universality and multiplicity of sexual harassment in the workplace and beyond. The #MeToo campaign’s power rested on its ability to not only provide a communal space for survivors to vocalize their diverse narratives but also its capacity to establish of a forum that mobilized an international discourse on the dynamics of power, privilege and gender.
Undeniably, the #MeToo campaign captured the ubiquity of sexual harassment and assault, as an epidemic experienced in routine and violent ways by women-identified survivors across the globe. However, for many survivors this period of heightened publicity and international focus on experiences of sexual harassment and assault triggered their own experiences of trauma. Women-identified survivors have been recounting their experiences with sexual misconduct for years. While it is encouraging to enter a new era where these stories are finally believed and validated, it is imperative to recognize the post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that many survivors continue to shoulder. Sexual trauma is the number one cause of PTSD in women, and women experience PTSD at twice the rate of men. Acknowledging the long-term effects that survivors continue to face after the media attention has shifted is pivotal to addressing the ways in which we can systemically, financially, and sustainably support survivors moving forward.
Two years after the viral spread of two simple words, we have begun to see how the #MeToo movement has impacted institutional changes in legislation and workplace policies. The Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund has raised over $20 million for legal action for survivors, states are banning nondisclosure agreements for sexual harassment, some states have mandated sexual harassment prevention training for employees, and perpetrators are facing more legal action. As we continue to find ways to support survivors of sexual assault, online and off, we should bear to keep in mind that consequences are not prevention. The manifestations of sexual assault and trauma today are products of our entrenched history of violent patriarchy, the costs of which women of color, poor women, undocumented women, disabled women and more bear the biggest brunt of. The process of successfully healing as a survivor, as a community, and as a system comes with a fundamental acknowledgement of the way we continue to perpetuate this history and a collective responsibility to dismantle the structures of power that uphold it.
