MSWPG7214 SOCIAL ISSUE : SEXUAL ASSAULT - ASSIGNMENT SOLUTION

MeToo Movement Introduction:

The Actress Alyssa Milano on October 15th, 2017 began a viral awareness sensation with her #MeToo tweet on the allegations of sexual assault by producer Harvey Weinstein. In the first 24 hours, this hashtag was used 12 million times, where millions of women across 85 countries stormed social media with this hashtag. The phrase was created by the civil rights activists Taraa Burke in 2006 that used this phrase to spread awareness on sexual violence on women of different color. Till late 2017 #MeToo movement became a familiar word for everyone. This showed the magnitude of the sexual violence problem, it captured the eye of both public and media. In less than two months’ time, these stories and revelations led to the removal of influential and powerful people. The industries or the communities that were affected by it were at large ranging from media and fashion industry, churches, education, finance, politics, sports, medicine, music, military, pornography, astronomy, and many others. This movement has empowered women to speak up about the harassment and assault, for they were silent for too long. The sexual assault now has a trendy name which has affected the lives of millions. The positive effect of me too campaign which were led by people and had effects across the board.

Discussion:

Marcos, Cristina. “Lawmakers Unveil 'ME TOO Congress' Bill to Overhaul Sexual Harassment

Policies.” TheHill, 17 Nov. 2017, thehill.com/homenews/house/360489-lawmakers-unveil-me-too-congress-bill-to-overhaul-sexual-harassment-policies. Accessed 14 February 2019.

A couple of Female Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would fill the missing gaps of the policies to counter and report complaints of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill. 

This introduction of legislation led to a foundation of how sexual harassment should be treated, where the attitude of Congress towards is to be changed, as the current system requires victims to go through months of counseling, and even after it all documents and records are kept confidential. Seeking help from administration or court eventually leads to settlements which are paid through a special fund operated by the Treasury; $15 million in settlements have been paid in the last decade.  The strong points of this legislation will be that members will have to repay the treasury for any settlements occurred, issuing the name of office and employees publicly. The weak point of this legislation is that it does not cover all of the abuses a person goes through from racial slurs to discrimination. This legislation was presented in just one month of the viral trend; this law may not be as strong as it should be. Politicians grasp on the viral movements and gain points on it in Congress. 

Sabur, Rozina. “'MeToo' Victory in US Congress as Politicians Change Sexual Harassment Rules .” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 13 Dec. 2018, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/13/metoo-victory-us-congress-politicians-change-sexual-harassment/. Accessed 14 February 2019.

US politicians came to a consensus to improve the process for handling sexual misconducts and allegations in Capitol Hill. It is a breakthrough in MeToo movement.

In this protection of victims and not politicians led by Congresswomen Jackie Speier who has become the face of the MeToo movement in Capitol Hill was a victim of sexual assaults when she was a young staffer. The bill passed will require congressmen to be personally liable for settlements; it will also require public reporting of settlements even after they have left the office, eliminating the cooling period or administrative hearing before filing a complaint and protection of confidentiality to the victims and providing them with legal representation. This acceptance of bill is considered a major victory in the MeToo movement, defining that lawmakers themselves are not above the law and it provides a safe working environment for women.  The public reporting of these occurring issues can become a field for points scoring for rival parties these accusations can be pivotal in the election year or while an introduction of legislation.