The power of women coming forward

Women won on Feb. 24.

Harvey Weinstein, one of Hollywood’s most powerful men known for his role in the film industry, was convicted for nearly three decades of sexual misconduct. He was found guilty of rape and criminal sexual assault, but acquitted of predatory sexual assault, the most serious charge held against him.

These initial accusations came to light in 2017 when The New York Times and The New Yorker released investigations uncovering stories of women who came forward with stories of sexual assault or harassment by Weinstein.

Common narratives coming from women included Weinstein scheduling private meetings in hotel rooms for business, where he sexually or verbally harassed or assaulted them. These stories began to pour out from women, marking a critical time for the #MeToo movement—women everywhere began to speak out against Weinstein and sexual assault in general.

The movement gained so much traction that the Time Magazine Person of The Year in 2017 was devoted to “The Silence Breakers,” a name given to women who told their stories of sexual assault and worked to hold men accountable. One of the women on the cover was Ashley Judd, a survivor of Weinstien and a prominent voice in speaking out against him.

Weinstein took advantage of women seeking his help to get a foot in the door of the film industry. If you wanted to get a role, a script, an endorsement in the film industry, Weinstein was the person to go to. He used this power to reel women in and abuse them. Speaking out against him posed many risks and dwindled opportunities.

How do powerful men in industries— the media, the law, etc.—capitalize on their leverage over women seeking to start their careers and go unscathed? How do men like Weinstein go decades without being held accountable for their actions?

Our justice system has been built and run by men who don’t hold each other accountable, perpetuating a lack of punishment for sexual assault cases. Weinstein was able to use his power to navigate around the justice system. He used his power to bribe women employees or women in the film industry with hopes that he would advance their careers if they partook in sexual activities with him. He used his power to taunt these women when they were uncomfortable in these situations. He used his power to keep the women he harassed and assaulted quiet, through both settlements and threats.

In 2016, we heard our president make degrading comments about women. In 2019, Brett Kavanaugh was appointed Supreme Court justice after being accused of raping a woman in high school. Video compilations have surfaced of Joe Biden visibly making women uncomfortable as well as accusations of assault.

Public figures have continually gotten away with sexual assault and harassment. In fact, according to Vox, Weinstein is just one of 262 public figures who have been accused of sexual misconduct since 2017.

That number is terrifying, and it reaches across all industries where powerful men in charge take advantage and violate women. These standards held by our justice system have trickled down from powerful men, to create a notion that this behavior is acceptable.

Take Brock Turner’s sentence for example: a slap on the wrist and an insult to the survivor, Chanel Miller, and survivors everywhere.

It is no wonder why so many women don’t come forward immediately or at all with their stories, when the unacceptable punishments and overall lack of justice create a feeling of invalidation, on top of all the trauma and hardships that come with being a survivor.

But when women do come forward, there’s so much power behind them. The silence breakers, 108 women who shared stories of sexual assault or harassment from Weinstein, helped to ultimately put him behind bars.

There is much progress to be made, but a new tide is turning. This decision is critical to cases of sexual assault as people are starting to believe women. If a man with as much power and control as Weinstein has been held accountable, maybe it is time all men who are perpetrators of sexual assault and misconduct be held to a stricter standard that should have been the case for thousands of other sexual assault cases in the past.