On October 15, 2017, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Milano’s call generated thousands of replies within 24 hours, most from woman, but some from men, who tweeted #metoo. Among those responding to Milano’s tweet was actress Viola Davis, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, actress Mia Farrow and Grammy winner Lady Gaga. In addition to celebrities and political leaders, many everyday people also responded to Milano with the me too hashtag. Within 24 hour of Milano’s tweet, the me too hashtag was used more than 12 million times.
Not only did respondents disclose that they had been sexually harassed or assaulted, but some shared the intimate and gut wrenching circumstances of the abuse they faced. The people who chose to share their stories - many for the first time - showed extraordinary bravery and made others who had similar experiences feel less alone.
While Milano’s tweet catapulted #MeToo into a worldwide movement, she credits activist Tarana Burke with its creation. In 2006, Burke founded a nonprofit organization to help victims of sexual harassment and assault and began using the phrase “Me Too” to raise awareness. Burke says that she started the Me Too campaign “to spread a message for survivors: You’re heard, you’re understood.” Milano has said her goal with encouraging people to share their Me Too story was to “give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”
Thanks to people courageously sharing their stories of abuse, the Me Too movement has not only made survivors feel less alone, but has amplified what a gigantic problem sexual misconduct is in America and around the world. One in five women in the United States will experienced rape or attempted rape during their lifetime. In addition, nearly a quarter of men will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. Nationwide, 81% of women and 43% of men report having experienced some form of sexual harassment and/or assault.
The Me Too movement has also helped erode the disbelief and dehumanization of victims of sexual harassment and assault. Since April 2017, over 260 high profile celebrities, politicians and CEOs have been accused of sexual misconduct including: Bill O’Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, Mario Batali and Brett Kavanaugh. While many of the accused deny the allegations against them, the fact that allegations were made on the record and believed by many, is new. Since 2017, over 200 powerful men have lost their jobs after public allegations of sexual harassment and a very few have faced criminal charges.
In addition to many high profile men losing their jobs, the Me Too movement has also helped change the law. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Women’s Law Center, since 2018, at least 26 states and D.C. have introduced bills to limit nondisclosure agreements in instances of sexual misconduct. 15 states have limited or prohibited employers from requiring employees to sign nondisclosure agreements as a condition of employment or as part of a settlement agreement. 7 states have limited employers’ use of force arbitration and 6 states have expanded workplace harassment protections to include independent contractors, interns and volunteers.
At the Federal level, Democrats have introduced the Be HEARD Act. The bill would extend civil rights protections to low wage workers including: domestic workers, part-timers, interns, and contract workers. In addition, the legislation would end mandatory arbitration agreements and certain kinds of nondisclosure agreements. It would also eliminate the tipped minimum wage, which makes workers vulnerable to harassment from customers.
While a ban on confidential settlements does not stop sexual misconduct, it does provide the opportunity for abusers, and their employers, to be held accountable should a victim choose to share their story. Harvey Weinstein, R. Kelly, Bill O’Reilly and countless other men used nondisclosure agreements to silence their alleged victims. According to a report by the Harvard Business Review in 2018, more than one-third of U.S. workers are bound by NDAs.
While the initial goal of the Me Too movement was to connect survivors of sexual miscount to the resources they need to heal, the movement has grown to advocate for legislation making it easier to report abuse. On a grand scale, Me Too has come to represent the rooting out of misogyny, sexism and the degradation of women, which allows for a climate of sexual abuse to foment.
While the Me Too movement has forced important changes with respect to hearing out allegations of abuse and making it easier for victims to share their stories, there remains a concerted effort on the political right to subjugate women.
On September 1, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block a Texas law that bans abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy. This news came despite the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that established a constitutional right to the procedure. The court’s five most conservative justices - Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett - said they would let the Texas law stand while legal battles continue over it. In perhaps a surprising move, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberal members of the Court - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer - in saying the Texas law should not be implemented while its legality was considered by the court.
“The court’s order is stunning,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. “Presented with an application to enjoin a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, a majority of justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand.”
The Texas law, known as Senate Bill 8, prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The measure passed the Texas House of Representatives mostly along party lines with one Democratic and 82 Republican representatives voting yes. It then passed the Texas Senate with one Democratic and 17 Republican senators voting yes.
By banning abortions after a heartbeat is detected, the law represents an almost complete ban on abortion in Texas. Cardiac activity is usually detected around the sixth week of pregnancy, before many know they are pregnant. 85 to 90% of abortions in Texas happen after the sixth week of pregnancy. Notably, the law does not make exceptions for rape or incest. According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, more than 53,000 abortions were administered in Texas in 2020.
43 states prohibit some abortions after a certain point in pregnancy. 21 states ban abortion between 13 and 24 weeks after the start of the person’s last menstrual period and 20 states impose a ban on abortions at viability. However unlike abortion restrictions across the nation, the Texas law is unique in its enforcement mechanism. Senate Bill 8 deputizes private citizens to sue anyone who preforms an abortion or “aids and abets” a procedure. The law states that those found guilty of providing abortions, or aiding in the procedure, can be fined $10,000, with those funds going to the plaintiff.
Reacting to the Texas law, President Biden said in a statement, “it not only empowers complete strangers to inject themselves into the most private of decisions made by a woman—it actually incentivizes them to do so with the prospect of $10,000 if they win their case.”
The Texas law and other restrictions on abortion, are a reminder that there is deep-seated sexism and misogyny in America. There are not laws in America telling men what they can do with their bodies, but when it comes to women, the state has run rampant over reproductive rights. Legislation restricting abortion is rooted in the belief that women are not deserving of bodily autonomy, or the right to make decisions over one’s life and future.
The same mindset that “permits” men to sexually harass and assault women, allows legislators to pass laws restricting and controlling what women can do with their bodies. When one believes that women do not know what is best for them, there is no limit to what control will be exerted over them.
Even with a female Vice President of the United States and a Madam Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Me Too movement and the fight over abortion rights, exemplifies what a long way America has to go before women are treated equally to men. By ensuring that women have autonomy over their body and hence greater control over their destiny, America can further extend its promise of equality and opportunity for all.
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