Photo By Carlo Allegri
Sexual Assault is a serious crime that is often overlooked. Because many women have been afraid to speak up, their stories have gone untold for a long time. It is essential that in the rise of the #MeToo movement, we understand why these stories have been silenced for so long and why it is crucial that we respect, listen and support the brave souls who have participated in the movement.
Unspoken For Many
According to RAINN, statistics from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) show that only 334 out of every 1,000 sexual assault cases are reported to the police, so two out of three go unreported. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that 15.8 to 35 percent of all sexual assaults are reported to the police.
Many women feel the need to hide their experiences from others because they feel ashamed by it. Maybe they feel it was their fault or it could have been avoided. A personal issue, is how some women might view a sexual assault case which means that it is often embarrassing and humiliating for them to share.
The feeling that nobody else needs to know about their assault is hard to shake when it has been bottled up for a long time. Women could decide not to report an instance of sexual assault if they are frightened by the offender and fear of potential harm to themselves or that person as well.
Women may have remained silent because they believe that law enforcement can not or will not do anything to punish the offender, making it even harder to confide and trust in the authorities when it comes to a traumatic experience such as this.
As a crime that is extremely difficult to measure often due to the lack of hard evidence, it makes it more difficult for survivors to seek help and justice. The likelihood of reporting a sexual assault also diminishes if there are stronger relationships between the offender and victim. If the offender is an intimate partner, former intimate partner, friend or acquaintance; the chances of taking action become even more implausible.
#MeToo: The Movement
Alyssa Milano took a step to break that silence on October 15, 2017. She wrote on Twitter “Suggested by a friend: if all the 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.”
The words “me too” then sparked a movement on social media. Falling in place right after the Harvey Weinstein scandal, when several eminent women have accused him of sexual misconduct resulting in the loss of his career and wife, an array of women responded to Milano’s tweet with the heavy words “me too.”
“Westworld” actress Evan Rachel Wood tweeted: “Being raped once made it easier to be raped again. I instinctively shut down. My body remembered, so it protected me. I disappeared. #metoo.”
Sheryl Crow tweeted: “#metoo A manager on my first big tour as a backup singer. When I went to a lawyer he told me to suck it up bc the guy could do a lot for me.”
Lady Gaga. Rosario Dawson. Anna Paquin. Gretchen Carlson. Javier Muñoz. Patricia Arquette. Sarah Hyland. Tegan and Sara. Just to name a few. The powerful stories and/or support they shared on social media will go down in history as this movement progresses to provoke change in our society.
A huge turnaround has been made by this movement. Women, and men alike, are finding empowerment by sharing their stories along with the hashtag #MeToo.
With nearly a million tweets of the hashtag in 48 hours, according to Twitter, we are taking steps to alter our objectifying culture and make life better for women everywhere.