The #Metoo Movement and Its Global Impact on Gender Equity
It has been five years since the #MeToo movement blew up and sparked a societal reckoning. It was in 2017 when this awareness movement around the issue of sexual harassment and abuse of women in different sectors grew its prominence. It highlighted gender inequities and power dynamics as millions of women came together to voice the sexual violence they have experienced. But did anything really change?
THE BEGINNING OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT
Tarana Burke, survivor, and social activist, coined the phrase ‘Me Too’ in 2006 on social networks to help survivors of sexual abuse, especially women of color, to heal and promote ‘empowerment through empathy’ among them. But it was in 2017 that the phrase was reignited as the slogan against rape culture and sexual harassment.
If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.
This was Actress Alyssa Milano’s tweet that quickly turned into a movement.
THE IMPACT #METOO HAD GLOBALLY
Within a span of six months, the phrase reached a global community of survivors and suddenly there were millions of people from all walks of life saying ‘Me too’ pleading for help and justice.
What started as a movement against workplace harassment rapidly became a national debate with some of the biggest and most shocking revelations involving top government authorities, media, and film industry veterans. Needless to say, the #MeToo movement rocked some of the mighty men across the world, and rightfully so.
IMPACT OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT IN INDIA
Actress Tanushree Dutta opened up in an interview about the sexual harassment she faced on a film set and it inspired many young Indian women to open up about their #MeToo experiences. The movement called out many famous faces from across industries who were accused of sexual assault and harassment.
Nana Patekar, Chetan Bhagat, Alok Nath, Kailash Kher, Vikas Bahl, Ganesh Acharya, and Sajid Khan among others are tied up in legal battles but they still roam around scot-free. From winning popular film awards to getting a mainstream platform like BiggBoss to clear his name, we have seen them all. This brings us to the question, “Is #MeToo really enough in the present times?”
In fact, it was only in the month of March that a group of students of the Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai resorted to protests against inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment by four members of the faculty. Though the main accused was arrested in two days, he was granted bail.
That said, all is not lost and there were many positive impacts of this movement in our country.
POSITIVE CHANGES IN THE MOVEMENT
The MeToo movement in India paved way to many women sharing their experiences openly. That itself was a big start.
As the movement grew, there have been many social, economic, and cultural impacts across industries. Laws against sexual harassment, especially in the workplace were made aware in a prominent way. The Indian government made several amendments to the Prevention Of Sexual Harassment Act (POSH) in 2018. Women are braver and condemn working in misogynistic, unsafe workplaces. Many patriarchal norms that fed on women’s silence have changed for good. From recent events, we can understand that the Indian police have taken preemptive steps in arresting the guilty.
The incident in December 2022 where a young South Korean YouTuber was verbally harassed, being followed in a bike, and attempted to be pulled to their vehicle, by two men while she live streamed came to light for many reasons. The duo was arrested just hours after the incident. And two and most importantly, we can see clearly in the live stream that a couple of men who were at the scene rushed to her aid. Such active intervention of male bystanders plays a crucial role in forming a community of responsibility.
There’s much the #MeToo movement is yet to accomplish and it is an ongoing process.
