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Ashlyn Talcott

Mrs. Burr

English 2010

7 April 2018

#MeToo Movement and Its Positive Effects on Sexual Assault

Sexual assault- it is one of the ugliest truths in today’s society. From behind closed doors,

with a “trusted” adult or friend, to walking down the street and being shouted at with sexual

slurs- this heartbreaking issue happens all around. While sitting in a classroom, walking through

a grocery store, or enjoying the subway ride to work- one should acknowledge that almost 25%

of women passing by could be a victim of sexual violence. This is absolutely devastating and

unacceptable. For far too long, people have been afraid to speak up and talk about this tragic yet

ongoing occurrence. Victims of harassment, particularly women, were afraid of the harsh

repercussions from telling their stories such as: loss of employment, hindered reputation,

mockery, or being called liars; however, there have been recent changes with this attitude.

Women were in great need of societal change, and fortunately, the #MeToo campaign was

started. Since its initiation, the #MeToo Movement has shown many positive effects regarding

sexual assault prevention and support for its victims.

Tarana Burke--American activist, founder of Just Be Inc., initiator of the #MeToo

Movement, and survivor herself--decided that it was time for an evolution. In a sit down

discussion with Burke, interviewer Gaby Wilson with MTV News talks with Burke about the

campaign and raising awareness of sexual abuse. In the interview, Burke describes the roots of

the movement. She explains how throughout her work experience, she continually heard stories
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about young women involved with sexual violence; however, she could not locate or provide the

proper resources needed to help these victims. Referring to her own experience with sexual

assault, she realized what information would have been helpful to her back when she was a

young woman trying to heal. She proposed that empathy and support from other survivors would

have been beneficial and effective for her own personal triumph, this is why she created the

phrasing #MeToo in hopes to help others.

The entire movement serves as a public platform on social media, specifically Twitter

and Facebook, that not only displays the magnitude of this issue, but also connects survivors

with one another and provides ongoing love and support. After Tarana started the phrase back in

2006, the movement really started to take off on October 15th, 2017, when famous actress

Alyssa Milano tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply

to this tweet.” After the tweet went viral and a sensational amount of victims spoke up, many

consider this to be the true spark of the Me Too phenomenon. Authors Bianca Fileborn and

Rachel Loney-Howes quote in their article, “#MeToo, Rape Culture and the Paradoxes of Social

Media Campaigns” located in ​Social Justice Journal ​that, “The allegations of sexual harassment

and sexual assault perpetrated by Harvey Weinstein led to a powerful and widespread social

media campaign, with Twitter and Facebook feeds flooded with the hashtag #MeToo. Within 24

hours, at least 4.7 million people made over 12 million posts” (Para. 1). This social media

wonder clearly reached out to a great amount of people. Without the abrupt popularity, this

movement might not be what it is today and might not have made such a beautiful impact on

survivors from all around the world.

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Even with the increased online visibility and awareness of the movement, many people

still challenge if the movement has even made any real changes regarding sexual violence.

However, since the spark of the movement, not only has there been a shift in behavioral

qualities, society has seen actual tangible responses. In an interview conducted with Turner

Bitton, Executive Director of Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault, he reports that UCASA’s

closest partner, The Rape Recovery Center, has seen an 80% increase in people coming forward

between 2016 and 2017. Bitton also explains how since the origination of the movement,

organizations like his have had an increased amount of self-reflection on what they are doing for

victims and the prevention of sexual assault. Currently, Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault

practices in providing mobile application for survivors, training advocates throughout Utah,

training all the sexual assault nurse examiners in the state, hosting open mic opportunities,

offering online live Q & A, and more. With the improvement of resources alongside the uprising

popularity of the movement, victims have increasingly come forward about their experiences as

well as taken advantage of the offerings available such as: online apps, phone services, meetings,

marches, etc. Another positive tangible outcome is the large bump in monetary donations. Many

non-profit organizations have been pleasantly surprised by this sudden increase and have

credited this charity to the movement.

Due to the movement and awareness, there has been a lot of pressure placed upon federal

and state governments to create, detail, and reinforce many legalities regarding sexual assault

cases. Victims no longer want to hear “what were you wearing?” or “what were you doing?” but

strive for real assurance and relevant questions towards their case. In the article, “#MeToo Has
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Done What the Law Could Not” author Catharine A. MacKinnon states popular wants on law

changes:

Institutional or statutory changes could include prohibitions or limits on various

forms of secrecy and non transparency that hide the extent of sexual abuse and

enforce survivor isolation, such as forced arbitration, silencing nondisclosure

agreements even in cases of physical attacks and multiple perpetration, and

confidential settlements. The only legal change that matches the scale of this

moment is an Equal Rights Amendment, expanding the congressional power to

legislate against sexual abuse and judicial interpretations of existing law,

guaranteeing equality under the Constitution for all. (2)

This quote indicates how the actions of perpetrators would no longer stay private or as private;

therefore, people can be aware of threatening individuals as well as the humiliation of the

coming out of these actions may stop someone from committing these wrongful acts. Changing

the laws in this direction would almost place a fear among offenders and not allow them to

hideaway or minimize their assaults anymore. The movement has driven new energy behind the

phrase “zero tolerance for sexual assault” and it shows in many areas: workplace, congress,

schools, etc.

The #MeToo Movement is such an important effort to address because there is factual

evidence that shows how pervasive sexual violence has been and what sort of effects it has on

the victims. Many victims experience PTSD, ongoing anxiety, distrustfulness, issues with the

male body, hypersensitivity, perfectionism, passive personalities, etc. This movement was

essential. Stop Street Harassment, an organization against sexual assault, conducted a nationally
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represented survey including 1,000 women and 1,000 men. Stop Street Harassment outlined in

their published report, “The Facts Behind the #metoo Movement: A National Study on Sexual

Harassment and Assault” that, “81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some

form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime” (7). Of those victims, nearly half of

them reported that they had experienced this harassment and assault by the age of 17. (7). These

statistics are devastating to learn, yet they show exactly why such a movement was needed and

put in place.

The majority of victims not only in American society, but globally, have been positively

affected by this movement. Even though the #MeToo Movement originated in the United States,

countries from all around the world have caught on and began to get involved. In the ​European

Journal of Women’s Studies​, an article authored by Dubravka Zarvok and Kathy Davis reads,

“...Since then, #MeToo has become a global phenomenon, spreading from the US to the UK,

Canada, Australia, Israel, India, and beyond. The end is nowhere in sight” (Para. 2). It is clear

that this effort is powerful and globally far-reaching. James Rogers also includes in his article

“#MeToo: How an 11-year-old Movement Became a Social

Media Phenomenon” that between October 10 to December

1, 2017, the hashtag “MeToo” was posted around 300,000

times online. Rogers stated that nearly 60% of the postings

came from within the United States. (Para. 5). That leaves

the remaining 40% of tags coming from other places

around the world which is quite substantial and is most

likely higher than what most would expect.

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The entire movement is putting pressure on many aspects regarding the prevention of

sexual assault. One of the greatest ways that many organizations focus on in order to help this

prevention is the academia of the subject. Bitton continues in his interview, “...every single year

we did earthquake drills...now they’re doing shooting drills. And yet, the chance of me living

through an earthquake, almost non existent...but we do know that one in three women in the state

of Utah experience sexual assault” to which he follows up with an explanation of how society is

not taught how to properly respond or handle this problem. This realization speaks volumes. The

simple lesson of teaching another to respect the word “no” as well as respecting boundaries and

consent should be taught at all levels, even as early as when the education program begins for a

child. Children are being taught many subjects in school, including some that are already

behaviorally themed. Students learn to share, be kind and not bully others, speak up when there

is fault, and many more. It is time society stands up and questions the education system for not

implicating simple yet essential lessons of respecting others’ bodies and standards.

Perhaps one of the greatest goals and motives of the movement is to show society that

victims and survivors of this harassment will no longer be silenced. They will speak up and bring

attention to the wrong-doings. This perception is an amazing quality to this new culture. When

society stands up for what is right and decides that it will no longer tolerate any deviations, this

is when the environment evolves and changes are made. As for the future, one should expect

many additional conversations about sexual assault and harassment to be made as well as

acknowledge that these themes are no longer taboo. Overall, the #MeToo Movement has been

such an amazing and powerful effort for individuals, communities, and society as a whole. The

movement has brought together survivors globally and provided them with continuous love and
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support, it has put real pressures on many aspects needed to make a change to the occurences of

sexual assault, and the upbringing of popularity in the movement ongoingly influences many and

has made many tangible responses that prove this movement is not just a “moment” but a

miracle. The world is finally listening, people are now believing, and society has started

supporting.
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Work Cited

Bitton, Turner. Personal Interview. 27 Mar. 2018.

Fileborn, Bianca, and Rachel Loney-Howes.​ ​"#MeToo, Rape Culture and the Paradoxes of

Social Media Campaigns." ​Social Justice Journal​. N.p., 04 Dec. 2017. Web. 30 Mar.

2018.

MacKinnon, Catharine A. ​"​#MeToo Has Done What the Law Could Not​.​" ​The New York Times.

05 Feb. 2018. Web. 30 Mar. 2018.

Rogers, James. "#MeToo: How an 11-year-old Movement Became a Social Media

Phenomenon." ​Fox News. ​FOX News Network,​ ​01 Dec. 2017. Web. 07 Apr. 2018.

"Tarana Burke on the #MeToo Campaign & Raising Awareness for Sexual Abuse | MTV News.”

YouTube.​ YouTube, 21 Oct. 2017. Web. 30 Mar. 2018.

"The Facts Behind the #metoo Movement: A National Study on Sexual Harassment and

Assault." Stop Street Harassment. N.p., 2018. Web. 30 Mar. 2018.

Zarkov, Dubravka, and Kathy Davis. "Ambiguities and dilemmas around #MeToo:

#ForHowLong and #WhereTo?" ​European Journal of Women's Studies.​ Vol 25, Issue 1.

2018. Web. 30 Mar. 2018.