In October 2017, revelations of sexual abuse within Hollywood led to a global #MeToo movement on social media as women shared their stories of sexual abuse and discrimination, across all quarters of society sparking a wider debate over pay, representation and sexism. Marking a two year legacy of the #MeToo movement in the West and its one year head start in the East especially in Bollywood, we examine the consequences and the achievements of the campaign.
“The #MeToo movement sparked a new wave of activism that has led to millions of people internationally repeating the slogan, either in solidarity or as person of courage speaking from experience. It has enabled us to have a conversation against the hidden issue of sexual harassment that have gone unheard for decades.
“It gave me the courage to come forward as the movement created a culture of being able to talk about the issues and the effects on the lives of women. I believe it has achieved tremendous outcomes that have and continue to impact on policy, practice and society as a whole. As someone who came forward I know of the many fears victims will be experiencing, of all of them the biggest is not being believed,” said Jasvinder Sanghera, Founder of the charity Karma Nirvana and a campaigner against forced marriages and honour based violence.
She is also the same woman who stepped forward in confronting a Liberal Democrat House of Lords peer embroiled in a sexual harassment controversy. Lord Anthony Lester was later suspended from his Party after it emerged that he had tried to pressure Sanghera into having sex with him by promising to make her a baroness, and threatening repercussions if she refused. He had reportedly said,
“If you sleep with me, I will make you a baroness within a year.”
Lord Lester of Herne Hill resigned from the House of Lords last December following the allegations, which the prominent QC said were “completely untrue”. Whilst he remains suspended from Parliament, the 83-year-old, who had reported himself to the Bar Standards Board (BSB), said he was “delighted” to be cleared to continue practising as a QC. Perhaps, this clearance by the barristers' regulator highlights the real struggle that challenging authority and institutions brings for women. The struggle for women of colour perhaps can be more arduous. Jasvinder says,
“You may look at me and see an empowered woman, but it took me 12 years to come forward and I did not feel at all empowered. I don't feel the messages of speaking out against sexual harassment are reaching out to Asian women because these conversations are not happening within our communities. Asian women will have various struggles when speaking out and these may also relate to how they will be perceived and judged by others within their family and communities. I also felt this but not in relation to my family and/or community as I am someone who is disowned, I no longer feared this shame and stigma.”
One in four women reluctant to report workplace sexual harassment
A recently conducted research shows that one in four women in England and Wales would be reluctant to report workplace sexual harassment due to fears they might be fired as a result.
and people find it difficult to talk openly about the disease and seek help from the community.
Young Women's Trust, the institution commission the survey, has now called on the government to take action by placing a legal duty on employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and making them liable if they fail to act on reports of such incidents. Gender pay gap, representations and equal promotion opportunities lie at the core of this movement. These issues form and inform part of the broader discussions needed in the fight for gender equality.
Complaints up and convictions down
But despite some high-profile firings of abusers, many women fear their workplaces are not willing to tackle sexual misconduct, according to the survey of nearly 2,000 women aged between 18 and 30 in England and Wales. In contrast, the British justice system has seen a sharp rise in the number of complaints made to police of rape and sexual assault over the past two years.
The number of rapes, reported to police in England and Wales, which was already on an upwards trajectory, surged by almost 13,000 to 54,045 in 2017-18, compared with 41,186 the previous year. They leaped by a further 9% to 58,657 the following year. By contrast, the number of convictions for rape plunged over the same period – from 2,635 in 2017-18 to 1,925 in 2018-19. Kate Ellis, is a solicitor at the Centre for Women’s Justice in London. She is convinced that #MeToo has had a direct effect and in a statement to The Guardian she said,
“It’s encouraged people to feel able to come forward, but whether procedures are ready in this country [to handle complaints] is another question. The rise in reporting to the police is very significant and that’s probably an indication of victims feeling they will be believed and supported. I have clients say to me they were victims of sexual offences but didn’t report it. Then around the time of #MeToo they decided they had to go to the police.”
Now, a #MeToo movement for men has also been initiated. The Women's Equality Party is gathering immense momentum, but feminists advocate that the time is now for all political parties to take on these issues. Jasvinder says,
“I would say a #MeToo for men is long overdue and it has my full support, as mother who has a son and two grandsons, I want them to access support in the same-way as women because this is what gender equality is all about.
“We want to hear how they intend to tackle these issues within their manifestos and policies. The change also has to come from children and young people who I believe should be educated in schools about gender equality and healthy relationships.”
Watered down in Bollywood
In October 2018, almost a year to the day after the #MeToo movement erupted in the U.S. around film producer Harvey Weinstein, allegations of sexual harassment and assault flooded India. Women began recounting tales from years or even decades earlier, often at great risk to their reputations and safety. From journalist turned politicians such as M J Akbar to Anu Malik prominent names were mired in controversies around sexual harassment, exploitation and general attitudes towards women. Yet, Anu Malik's return as a judge at Indian Idol, India's prominent singing competition is a sign that perhaps the #MeToo movement in India is watered down.
