Empowering Women by Fighting Harassment

14 Apr 2018

News

Empowering Women by Fighting Harassment

By Dewa Ayu Tri Sadnyani Sastrawan

The Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs for short, are a set of seventeen goals that were created by countries in an effort to put an end to poverty, keep the planet protected, as well as to establish peace and prosperity in the world. These goals are interconnected and were established in order to push humanity forward in terms of creating beneficial change for people everywhere. The fifth SDG is to ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’, or ‘Gender Equality’ for short. This became a sustainable development goal due to how putting an end to discrimination against women and girls is significant to sustainable development. As women all across the world still experience all sorts of discrimination, from girls being unable to attend school and receive education, to limited access to essential health care needs for women. The aim of the implementation of this particular goal is to end any forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere, as well as to empower women.

2017 has been a very significant year for women in terms of pushing forward the advancement of gender equality all across the world. This has been possible due to more women breaking the silence and taking on fields that most conservative-thinking people would think that women could not take on. One of the most frequent manners in which women broke silence is in how many became courageous enough to speak on their experiences with sexual violence and calling out their perpetrators. Although sexual violence is not merely experienced by women, it is one form of the barriers that women everywhere still face. However, one of the biggest triumphs for women this year took place in the film industry, which was the case in which film producer Harvey Weinstein who was called out for his sexual misconducts on many women over the course of several years.

In October 2017, The New York Times released an article titled Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades. In this article, a handful of women speak out on their experiences with Harvey Weinstein, where he carried out acts of sexual harassment on women he worked with, or women he had promised to give opportunities within the film industry to. Allegations had been made that stretched over the course of almost three decades, and Weinstein had made settlements with the victims in order to keep the cases away from the public. However through this article, many of the victims were able to speak out about their own experiences with Weinstein.

The publishing of this article created a ‘domino-effect’ that encouraged other women, who were not mentioned in the article, to speak on their experiences with Harvey Weinstein. This included many female actresses, such as Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong’o, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The situation with Harvey Weinstein is an epitome of sexual harassment situations, especially when the perpetrator is a person of power.

It took almost three decades for these women to openly talk about the misconducts carried out, to the point where the situations started to accumulate. The reasons to why it took so long vary, such as fear of retaliation, embarrassment, or being afraid that it would harm them in the long run within their careers. This is also the case for most sexual harassment cases, where women who are victims, or victims in general, do not speak out when they experience sexual violence. They choose to stay quiet due to fear of not being listened to, or being afraid that their situation is not deemed important. They are often afraid that their case will not be taken seriously, or often out of fear that they will be blamed for what happened. Whether it be a person who has a name in the public or an ordinary woman, the fear of speaking out on experiences of sexual harassment are all the same.

The amount of time it took for the initial women to openly speak about Harvey Weinstein and his misconducts also displays a problem in how part of society reacts to cases of sexual harassment. It is often the case that people take sexual harassment lightly, or are reluctant to believe the victims. There is also the habit of victim-blaming, where when a victim speaks about their experience with sexual harassment, they are blamed for what has happened. In this case, the victim is seen to be at fault instead of the perpetrator of sexual harassment. This makes the entirety of the situation difficult for victims, as victims become reluctant to speak up due to fear. Fear of being blamed, fear of no one believing them, fear of receiving no justice in the end.

However, the act of courage taken on by the women who were harassed by a man with such power displays a step forward in terms of how women face sexual harassment. This is done not only as individuals but also as a collective. It is so often that women unfortunately experience sexual harassment or violence and are unable to face it or speak up about it. But the actions taken against Harvey Weinstein is one example of what kind of impact and power speaking up can have. The few women that first spoke about the issue initiated a domino effect that encouraged other victims of Wienstein to speak up. The entirety of the situation went so far as to getting Harvey Weinstein getting fired from his own company. Apart from this, not only did the article allow more women to speak out about their own personal experiences with Weinstein, but it also allowed more people to speak about the problem in general, and to defend and support the women who have become victims to Weinstein’s actions.

The situation in itself and the actions carried out by the victims of Weinstein may also encourage other people who have experienced sexual misconduct to speak up about what they have gone through. This is significant as many victims of sexual violence or harassment feel powerless and would rather stay quiet than try to talk about what they experienced and seeking justice. The case with Harvey Weinstein can be seen as a triumph, especially for victims of sexual harassment, as it illuminates a sense of hope for justice for them.

In the wake of women speaking up about the sexual misconduct carried out by Harvey Weinstein, a hashtag broke out on social media platforms. The hashtag was #MeToo, created to encourage other victims of sexual assault to speak on their experiences, and to raise awareness on exactly how large-scale the problem of sexual misconduct still is. This was an important step for victims of sexual harassment or assault, as it truly allows us to see just how bad the problem is, as thousands of people spoke up about their own experiences. The movement allowed for not only celebrities but for the general public to talk on the issue. It also allowed smalled communities to spark conversations on the topic, whether it be a large group of people, or a small group of friends. The launch of #MeToo created a movement that not only raised awareness, but could have possibly contributed to finding resolutions to solve this problem that is still being experienced by both women and men across the world.

The case of the victims speaking up on Harvey Weinstein is a very significant triumph for women, especially those who have experienced sexual assault. The situation displays how speaking up can sometimes help you, even if sometimes it does not seem so. It may create a good impact in the long run as it may encourage more women to talk on their experience with sexual assault. This in turn empowers women as a collective, as we can start to seek justice in a problem that has so often been put aside or taken lightly. It contributes in taking away the fear victims may carry with them, that usually creates hesitance when it comes to speaking up. Aside from this, it may also encourge society in general to create a mindset that helps and supports victims instead of going against them.

The case of Harvey Weinstein is just one of the many sexual harassment cases brought up this year. Pop singer Taylor Swift had also earlier on spoken up about how a radio DJ carried out misconduct on her. Actor Kevin Spacey was also accused of carrying out sexual harassment on a male actor, which clearly shows how sexual harassment happens to both men and women, and how both should be taken into account on the same level. These few confessions show how a bit of courage can go a long way, as it can encourage others to be brave in speaking up, which in turn may help reduce or even completely wipe out actions of sexual harassment.

How these women have spoken out helps us see how Sustainable Development Goal 5 is developing and moving forward. As it aims to not only end discrimination but to also empower women, we can see that the case does push forward this goal. Through the victims speaking out, it may encourage more women to talk of the subject. It may also empower women, as they may realise that women can in fact do brilliant things that change how the world thinks and works, and can become changemakers. Aside from this, the case also shows that people like Harvey Weinstein may still see women as lesser than them, or simply as objects. Thus, calling out Harvey Weinstein contributes to slowly but surely ending discrimination, as women should not be seen as mere objects, or as lesser human beings.

These women who have spoken on Harvey Weinstein may become role models to others who may still be afraid to speak out. Their impact may also create a great positive effect in the future and on our future generations, who will hopefully no longer need to deal with such problems on such a level. The actions of the women in this case has pushed forward SDG 5 and will hopefully continue to do so. What has happened may also encourage the general public to view sexual harassment in a different way, one that hopefully helps victims rather than pushing the backwards. Stopping sexual harassment cannot merely be done by victims, but bystanders must also contribute. Not only that, but it needs to be realised by that sexual harassment is wrong. Only then will it be possible for cases of sexual harassment to truly disappear. Until then, both women and men must work towards raising awareness, speaking up, and seeking justice.

Harvey Weinstein is just one person, and yet he was able to carry out sexual misconduct over thirty years whilst getting away with it. The proportion of this may make you wonder how many more men, or even women, out there might be like Weinstein, or possibly worse than him. Therefore, the fight against Weinstein is only the beginning, and the fight to seek justice and empower women will continue.

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