This article was written by Victoria Owens and Cinthya Rubio
Approved by a 5-4 vote of the Scroll Editorial Board.
#MeToo.
What seems like a simple hashtag was seen all throughout social media platforms the afternoon of Oct. 15 and into the morning of Oct. 16.
The origin of this hashtag began with activist Tarana Burke back in 1996, but actress Alyssa Milano began this movement on social media by asking all of those who had been sexually assaulted or harassed to post #MeToo after allegations of sexual assault had been made against Harvey Weinstein.
According to Twitter, #MeToo has been used 825,000 times since Sunday. Facebook said in less than 24 hours, about 5 million people had taken part in the conversation.
The point of the #MeToo is to bring awareness to the number of people, female or male, who have been sexually assaulted or harassed
We at Scroll believe now is the time to stand behind the women and men who have been sexually assaulted or harassed and keep the focus on them.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 91 percent of the victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and 9 percent are male.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there were about 13,000 charges of alleged sexual harassment in 2016. This report only included harassment allegations “if they are also alleged in a charge.”
In an article from The Washington Post, the author Lisa Bonos voiced that it seems as if everyone she knows has experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment.
“This doesn’t surprise the women reading this. It shouldn’t surprise men, either,” Bonos said. “While men have published supportive and well-meaning #IWill posts, in which they’ve promised to call out other men’s demeaning or predatory behavior, many clearly weren’t aware of the prevalence of the problem.”
Countering the #MeToo with, “but not all men have sexually abused or harassed someone” is equivalent to saying that we shouldn’t be concerned with Breast Cancer Awareness Month because not all people have breast cancer or there are other types of cancer out there.
We also saw this when the #BlackLivesMatter movement was created.
People were much more concerned in making sure everyone felt included and began to use #AllLivesMatter, removing the focus from the main point of #BlackLivesMatter.
Each of us is responsible to raise awareness of sexual violence in today’s society. It isn’t solely up to women, and it isn’t solely up to men.
This hashtag isn’t about pointing a finger at every single man in the entire world. This hashtag isn’t about accusing those who haven’t sexually assaulted or harassed someone.
This hashtag is about giving a wake-up call to thousands of men and women. This hashtag is about uniting those who have been sexually assaulted or harassed, so they know they are not alone. This hashtag is about taking a stand. This hashtag is about showing that sexual violence is all too common.
Women have just as much power in their voices as men do. And with this power women are standing up and sharing their own #MeToo.
The published article can be found at byuiscroll.org
Victoria Fowler 