Did you know that, according to an ABC News-Washington Post poll, 68 percent of women experience unwanted sexual advances at work? And of those 68 percent, 75 percent reported the harassment coming from someone in a position of power over their job. This is why Time is naming the #MeToo movement and its “Silence Breakers” as its Person of the Year.
The Silence Breakers are TIME’s Person of the Year 2017 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/mLgNTveY9z pic.twitter.com/GBo9z57RVG
— TIME (@TIME) December 6, 2017
The Silence Breakers are the dozens of people—both men and women—who have spoken out against the sexual assault they’ve experienced specifically in their workplace and contributed to rapidly spreading awareness of these incidences in the past few months. Publishing a cover featuring women with prominent sexual harassment stories, such as Taylor Swift, actress Ashley Judd and former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, Time has made a bold statement about the validity of these victims’ experiences, and many have applauded the magazine for its decision.
Deepest respect & gratitude 2 the Silence Breakers & all the voices in this moment of long-awaited change. U r Tide Turners & Change Makers. And 2 all who have been affected by this violence,this is only the beginning. We r with u #URNotAlone #IWillSpeakUp https://t.co/aIcaCexNJ6
— Mariska Hargitay (@Mariska) December 6, 2017
Shout out to some of the original silence breakers: Anita Hill, Mechelle Vinson, Teresa Harris, Lois Jenson, Kimberly Ellerth, Hester Vaughn. To every woman who was ever harassed, abused, assaulted, raped but who couldn’t speak out, we see you too. #TheSilenceBreakers #MeToo
— Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) December 6, 2017
“There is nothing new to these stories. They go back to the beginning of time, I suppose, but what is new is that women feel empowered and courageous enough to step forward with these stories.” @HillaryClinton https://t.co/akdgriU6rD
— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) December 7, 2017
From Judd’s experience with major film producer Harvey Weinstein to an anonymous hospital worker who only features her arm on the magazine cover, all of these people seen in the Person of the Year feature share one similarity: they had experienced sexual harassment while at their job.
According to the New York Times, the explosion of #MeToo, a movement initially created by activist Tarana Burke and made viral by a tweet from Alyssa Milano, has led to over 12 million people speaking out about sexual violence. This is a huge issue that has previously been silenced because the perpetrators are usually people in positions of power. People like Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer are manipulating other people who are vulnerable to their roles in their workplace.
Workplace harassment is not funny and it’s not a joke. This problem needs to be highlighted and victims’ voices need to be amplified so action is taken against these people of power. As seen in the National Women’s Law Center’s workplace justice fact sheet about sexual harassment in the workplace, employers can be legally responsible for sexual harassment against their employees. Perpetrators need to be held accountable for their actions, and Time choosing to highlight those who spoke out against their harassers is a major step in the right direction. However, criticism of the decision stems from factors such as naming President Donald Trump as the year’s runner-up while he is listed as an abuser in the cover piece and highlighting certain public figures over others who have spoken out.
I’m all for @TIME person of the year being the silence breakers but why tf is Taylor Swift somehow the center point of the conversation. Why isn’t Rose McGowan on the cover??? Or Kesha??? Women who actually stand up for other women when it doesn’t just benefit themselves???
— cheryl (@crowburd) December 6, 2017
Time mag highlights brave women coming forward against sexual assault on the cover but names a man with sexual assault allegations against him runner up to person of the year.. Really @TIME? #hypocrites
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) December 7, 2017
Regardless of these critiques, the only way to create real change is to speak up and out about it. Be a Silence Breaker. It seems that real change is stemming from this and we hope that change continues.