Behind the hashtags: Sexual harassment around the world
The words sexual assault or sexual misconduct have been used a lot in the past few months. These words have been making headlines in the news, on social media and almost everywhere you see. They have been accompanied by a certain hashtag that you may or may not have heard of. Ok, chances are that unless you were really trying to avoid it you have heard about the #MeToo trend. But in case you missed it the #MeToo online campaign encourages survivors of sexual harassment to post their stories online along with the hashtag.
The online campaign started with celebrity Alyssa Milano encouraging her followers to comment "Me Too" on her post if they have ever experienced sexual assault. The post went viral and has been constantly talked about ever since. While Alyssa did start the online campaign the term "Me Too" used for sexual harassment has been coined by community organizer Tarana Burke. Tarana founded the "Me Too" movement in 2006 to spread awareness about and help people who had to deal with sexual assault in communities of color.
The statistics are alarming and the problem is not new. Sexual harassment has been an issue for a long time now, so why now? Why is it that only now that such a huge campaign is organized? There are many reasons as to why but the main one has to relate with certain hollywood events. The recent case of hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein in which many women who had previously worked with him made public accusations about sexual misconduct, assault and some cases outright rape played a huge role. The whole event shook things up in the entertainment industry and got big stars that usually dominate the media talking about sexual assault and sharing their experiences.
Uk
Most of Uk seems to have welcomed the "Me Too" and "Times Up" movements with open arms. At a recent British award ceremony "BAFTA" majority of the attendants wore black in support of the "Times Up" movement in Uk. After the "Me Too" trend caught up with the Uk people have displayed their firm NO to sexual assault through rallies and have had great impact around UK. Many high level organizations and people have been exposed after the campaign. The presidents club, a men only charity event is one of the main ones that have been brought to light.
Many people around the world have appreciated and encouraged making "Times Up" and "Me Too" a global campaign including celebrities like Reese Witherspoon.
India
The problem of sexual harassment and assault in India has been persistent for an extremely long time. The numbers of rapes reported in India's capital Delhi have grown by almost 277 percent from 2011 to 2017. Cases such as the 2012 Delhi gang rape are common but not all of them come to light. India is a very traditional society and many victims do not come forward. A very big reason that people were not coming forward is victim blaming. Girls are blamed for "inviting sexual assault" by being out late or wearing short skirts by big politicians, which does not help the atmosphere for victims. But things have been changing. With campaigns and protests to stop victim blaming, sexual assault and demonstrations against events, India is no longer sitting quite.
But while all these riots and protest and with India's own hashtags #aintnocinderella #MeToo has influenced the Indian scene. The global campaign of "Me Too" is just what India needed to make real change in India. While India still has a long way to go to reach "Me Too's" full potential (for starters including the older more conservative generation) joining the world in a fight against sexual harassment is a start.
China
Luo Xixi, a young Ph.D. student at Beihang University, in Beijing is not the only one in China who has experienced some sort of sexual abuse. But she is the first few inspired by the "Me Too" movement in US to tell her story, with her name signed at the bottom. She posted her story of how her adviser (45 year old professor) lunged at her at his sister's apartment, where he had taken her to tend to his sister's plants (a task women were "supposed" to be good at) on weibo a chinese social media site. Many other women have formed secret groups where female students could anonymously tell their stories.
Women in China are trying to seize the global movement of "Me Too" to make change in China. But they have a huge journey ahead of them. The communist party in china has tried to stifle the feminist movement in china with censors online temporarily banning websites that encourage women to speak out about their experiences or talk about the global "Me Too" movement. But this campaign has remained resilient and has had a lot more influence on public opinion than any other social campaign. If all women in China continue marching together it could bring about huge change.
Outlook of the rest of the world
In France the "Me Too" movement has seen a huge celebrity backlash. 100 high profile French women signed an open letter arguing that the me too had gone beyond exposing guilty individuals, and had ignited "hatred against men and sex". South Korea has welcomed the "Me Too" movement with open hands. The new outlook has knocked down many influential people and has hinted to darker side of the famous k-pop industry. Brazil seems to have had a headstart with #MeuPrimeiroAssedio, or #MyFirstHarassment 5 years before #MeToo. It seems like #私も (Me too in japanese) has not caught up with japan since speaking out has drawn criticism and not sympathy as seen with Rika Shiiki.
"Me Too" has been received differently around the world, but it is fair to say that this online campaign has had a huge impact everywhere.
What next?
Women around the world are waking up, taking to the streets (or the web) to make their voices heard. The "Me Too" campaign does not look like it will be going away any time soon. Like any other campaign it has faced some backlash but the amount of support it is receiving will make sure that when it goes it takes down many perpetrators with it. And hopefully when Me Too is over the world can finally see some change and women can finally say never again and #MeNeither.