The aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein fiasco has been the #MeToo movement.
The movement has been trending on social media after many victims of sexual assault and harassment, including celebrities, used the hashtag to share their stories.
The question that everyone should be asking is “Now what?”
We can let this be just another social media trend that only garners mainstream attention, or we can take the right steps to ensure that such predatory and shameful behavior does not persist in the workplace.
A-list stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Angelina Jolie have shared their stories while individuals, including former President George H.W. Bush and Kevin Spacey, have been accused of sexual assault.
According to CBS, there have been more than 12 million tweets, Facebook posts and comments made with this hashtag, which shows sexual assault is prevalent in workplaces. However, the conversation has focused only on who shared what story, rather than what the corrective response should be.
In response to the accusations against Spacey, Netflix suspended the production of its show “House of Cards.”
The Vic Theatre in London, where Spacey served as artistic director, has set up an outside inquiry into whether he persisted in making unwanted sexual advances toward actors during his time there.
Many people within Hollywood have been receiving the message that sex sells, and thus, predatory behavior like that of Weinstein has been persisting.
The abusers go on without fear of consequences, while the victims are silenced because they have been led to believe the lie that this is acceptable behavior and that they need to comply with these predators or have their careers ruined.
Maybe it is too early, but the steps taken by media companies are focused on damage control for themselves rather than preventive measures against predatory behavior.
After all, this movement gained media attention through Hollywood. Shouldn’t Hollywood be leading the way to finding a solution?
Let this not be identified as just a trend and die out as one, but rather as a message that whatever position you are in, no matter how famous you are, you do not have the right to victimize people and get away with it.
The world has spoken, and the message is clear: Sexual assault is not OK!
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