Title IX has become more relevant in today’s society ever since Alyssa Milano launched the #MeToo Campaign on October 15th. The American actress, activist, and producer advised her Twitter followers to respond with “#metoo” to her tweet if they had been sexually harassed or abused. She received more than 12 million comments, retweets, and reactions within the first 24 hours of posting.
Milano began this activist campaign as an attempt to bring the number of women who have been personally victimized into light. By raising awareness of the magnitude of sexual abuse and harassment all around the world, the campaign was used to reach a point where the treatment of women could not be ignored anymore.
“I think that the sheer magnitude of people speaking up makes it harder for society to deny that these things happen. Because if it’s one person, they just shove it under the carpet but if more people speak up it’s hard to ignore,” Newtown High School junior Simone Paridis said.
Although Milano recently began this Twitter hashtag as a catalyst for awareness through social media, she was not the original creator of the title “Me Too” itself. Tarana Burke, Founder of Just Be Inc., a nonprofit aimed at helping victims of sexual assault and harassment, started her “Me Too” movement ten years ago. This was in response to hearing another young girl’s story of sexual assault from her stepfather, and to empathize, all Burke wanted to say was “me too”.
#MeToo is also a way of aiming the attention on the victims rather than the perpetrators.
The widespread hashtag gives victims a comfortable setting to share their stories and hear that others can support them because they have undergone similar experiences. The campaign revealed that there are millions around the world who have suffered from sexual assault or abuse and gave victims a platform to share their stories instead of being ashamed of their history.
“I think that it shows that [women] are very powerful because so many [...] are ignored or denied their claims because it seems like they’re making it up for their fifteen minutes of fame. It’s very brave that they’re doing it, even if it’s for catcalling or something,” NHS senior Megan Latte said.
In addition to the outpouring of personal stories from women all around the world, Hollywood has made strides in response to the increased awareness of sexual abuse and harassment.
Celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Cara Delevingne came out specifically with allegations against producer and co-founder of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein. Even men have revealed histories of being sexually assaulted by other men in the Hollywood industry. Actor Anthony Rapp recently disclosed being sexually harassed by fellow actor, Kevin Spacey at the age of fourteen.
“For me, it doesn’t say that all men are sexually assaulting people, but it’s okay to speak out for the people that have. If that happened to me, I would say something. If you don’t say anything, nothing’s going to happen,” NHS senior Matty Murphy said.
The #MeToo project’s increased awareness has resulted in men and women banning together as survivors to expose their perpetrators once and for all. Hollywood continues to make strides as well and held a march inspired by #MeToo on November 12th.
Newtown, Hollywood, and the rest of the world will continue to share stories and empathize with survivors. Future generations may have fewer victims of sexual assault and harassment as time goes on, just because people are saying “me too”.
Image Courtesy of Horizon