2017/20: Exposing sexual harassment and assault: has the #MeToo movement done more harm than good?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On October 19, 2017, ABC (American Broadcasting company) News televised an interview with Alyssa Milano in which she explained her hopes for the #MeToo movement she had helped to initiate.What they said...
'If all women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote "Me too" as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem'
Actor and activist, Alyssa Milano
'There must be a balance between believing women and ensuring that the lives of innocent people are not destroyed'
Herald Sun commentator, Rita Panahi
The issue at a glance
On October 15, 2017, United States actress and activist, Alyssa Milano, encouraged victims of sexual harassment and assault to use the phrase #MeToo on social media as part of an awareness campaign in order to reveal how widespread the problem is. Within 24 hours, more than 500,000 tweets and 12 million Facebook posts had been shared with the phrase.
Reactions were immediate and diverse. Within the United States lists were published of supposed sexual abusers.
Some social media posters began to name their alleged assailants while in other countries, such as France, there was a specific call for perpetrators to be named online. In countries like Australia, investigative media units began appealing to women to nominate those who had sexually abused them so that these people could be examined and exposed.
High-profile men around the world began to be named. Many either stepped down from their positions or were removed.
The backlash was almost immediate with critics warning, in particular, that justice was being denied those named as perpetrators as they were being regarded as guilty merely because they had been accused.
On January 8, 2018, an open letter was published from a group of prominent French women, including internationally-known actor Catherine Deneuve, which was critical of the #MeToo movement.
On January 21, prominent Australian author and feminist, Germaine Greer, condemned the #MeToo movement for being retrospective. She argued that women should act when the offence occurs.