Introduction
Back in 2006, Tarana Burke a civil rights activist founded the Me Too movement with the aim of assisting survivors of sexual violence. When establishing the movement, Tarana Burke had young women of the color in her mind who undergo sexual abuse and wanted to help them towards healing. More so, the campaign was to help women who had been sexually harassed realize that they are not alone (Me Too Movement, 2018). The movement was also to empower survivors economically and help them contribute to finding remedies for sexual violence. The campaign is essential to prevent stigmatization of victims and attract more women who had gone through sexual abuse and had no one to talk to come out and seek help. #Me Too movement envisioned to create a national conversation on sexual violence, that will lead to all culprits being held accountable and strategies being put in place to permanently stop sexual harassment in the United States and countries around the globe (Me Too Movement, 2018). Me Too became popular in 2017 after the hashtag #MeToo went viral on social media platforms especially on Twitter. Under the hashtag women who had undergone any form of sexual harassment posted about their ordeal. The movement came into the limelight particularly after accusations of serial sexual harassment and abuse were made against film mogul Harvey Weinstein (Sayej, 2017). Allegations ranging from sexual harassment to rape against the Hollywood director opened doors for other people who had gone through the same to come forward and tell their stories. Me Too Movement sparked a legal response in the United States among other countries. Celebrities especially who came out to accuse various powerful men of sexual harassment and abuse have attracted support from various lawyers as well as women rights organizations so as ensure justice for the victims (Ricker, 2018). This paper is, therefore, going to explore the legal perspective of the Me Too Movement.
Legal Response to Me Too Movement
After a series of accusations against Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein for sexual assaults, and New York Times investigations into the matter, a commission was formed in to deal with sexual harassment and gender inequality in Hollywood. Anita Hill, a Law professor, and the attorney is the chairperson of the commission. This shows how the movement has received legal support. Moreover, Fatima Goss Graves, who is the leader of the National Women's Law Center has also involved herself actively in promoting gender equality and stop sexual assaults in the United States through the Me Too movement (Ricker, 2018). According to Catharine A. MacKinnon, a lawyer and gender impartiality activist, the #Me Too Movement has achieved a lot in combating sexual assault more than sexual harassment law has done for years. She acknowledges that through the movement, there is mass mobilization against sexual violence through opening up through various means such as social media (Ricker, 2018). In this way, most significant obstacles in fighting sexual abuse both in law and in life have been overcome. The most significant obstacles have disbelief as well as the victims being dehumanized rudely. Besides, the movement also created the need to support victims financially. Lawyer Tina Tchen has been leading the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund to assist victims of sexual violence. In 2016, lawyers joined hands and formed the Legal Network for Gender Equity. This was before the #Me Too Movement went viral on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Attorneys who established the network have been working hard to provide a hotline that will connect victims of sexual assaults with lawyers who will represent them in seeking justice (Ricker, 2018).
Sexual Harassment Equal Opportunities Laws in the United States
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Sexual violence against any gender contravenes provisions of the Title seven found in the Civil Rights Act enacted into law in 1964 in the U.S. According to the statute, sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination. This act furthermore applies to employers who have not less than fifteen employees. Uninvited a sexual advance , asking for favors in form of sex, as well as any oral or physical behaviors that are sexual in nature form part of the sexual harassment if they directly or indirectly impacts someone's employment, affects how they perform at work or even makes the working conditions unfavorable through intimidations, hostility and offending (Udice, 2018). Sexual harassment is also subject to interpretation by the court where the case is presented. Title seven in the Civil Rights statute of 1964 also prohibits discernment of workers on the basis of their ethnic background, skin color, religious beliefs or even their nationality. The law provides that it is unlawful to sexually harass someone, which ranges from touching someone without their consent to rape. #Me Too Movement has encouraged more women (and men) come out and report cases of sexual harassment and the Civil Rights statute enacted in 1964, under the Title seven has been vital in charging offenders. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the offender and victim of sexual harassment can be a male and female, and it is not a must for the victim to be of opposite gender. While at work, the offender can be anyone working at that particular place with the victim or even someone who is not and the behavior of the one harassing must be unwelcome. The commission has pointed out that the victim can help someone who was not directly harassed but was offended by the behavior of the harasser (Udice, 2018).
Executive order no. 11246
The order provides equal opportunities for employment for all competent persons despite their nationality, ethnic background, gender, or religious belief. The order as amended forbids government contractors and subcontractors from discriminating persons based on their gender. In a diverse society, there is need to give every person equal opportunities. People of color and women can do jobs the same way as their white and male counterparts. Therefore, this orders helps instill the affirmative action of having more women getting employed. It also protects women from sexual harassment (Udice, 2018).
Other laws included the Title nine of the Education Amendments passed into law in the year 1972 that prevent any form of sexual discrimination in learning institutions. More so, discernment based on the gender of an individual was also further prohibited in 1978 when Pregnant Discrimination Act was enacted. Enactment of Civil Rights Act in 1991 also played a huge role in ensuring equality is promoted at work as well as ensuring they were compensated for damages undergone during harassment. #Me Too Movement affirms the objectives of all these legislation. According to scholars, the movement has however achieved much more within a short period as people can speak out conventionally or through social media (Udice, 2018).
Role of Media in Sexual Harassment
Media has played an enormous role in the #Me Too Movement. #MeToo went viral in 2017 after nytimes through its reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor reported serial sexual harassment by entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein (Kantor and Twohey, 2017). Following their exclusive report in NYTimes, the message reached a lot of women and men who got the courage to open up about sexual discrimination and harassment. Many people across the world were reached by this report reigniting more women activists to push for the end of sexual discrimination and struggle for gender equality. Many women came out to write and tell their stories about sexual harassment as they felt they were not alone. When Alyssa Milano heard the report, she sent a tweet asking people who had undergone sexual harassment to reply to her tweet using the phrase #MeToo. Thousands of people majority of women responded to Alyssa Milano tweet while others posted on their status on Tweeter and other social media platforms. Was it not for both mainstream media and social media, the milestone achieved in the fight against sexual harassment and gender inequality would not have been achieved (Sayej, 2017). Mass media has played an essential role as #Me Too Movement is now an international phenomenon reaching people from all parts of the world. Those who could not get someone to report to about their ordeals could now post on their social media pages, and at least someone would hear them. Besides, for years, media has been investigating and reporting sexual violence cases, and discrimination of people based on their color and ethnicity and therefore helping fight these vices (Sayej, 2017). Additionally, despites the laws that are in place to stop sexual harassment and provide avenues for victims to speak out, investigations by various media houses have revealed that sexual abuse is still prevalent. A poll by NBC News/Wall Street Journal has revealed that almost one-half of women (Forty-eight percent) have gone sexual harassment at their places of work. Most of the people accused are now facing criminal charges in courts of laws for various charges.
Conclusion
Sexual harassment and gender inequality have been existence for a long time despite being illegal under the United States law. Investigations by New York Times on serial sexual accusations against film direct Harvey Weinstein ignited the spirit of Me Too Movement founded a decade ago by civil rights activist Tarana Burke (Kantor and Twohey, 2017). When creating the movement, the aim was to support survivors of sexual harassment and let them know that they were not alone. Besides, the movement aimed at providing a means to heal these victims. The investigations in Hollywood sexual harassment led to the viral social media hashtag #MeToo where millions of women across the world came out to share their own experiences. The media widely covered these cases helping them reach a bigger audience. Me Too movement has also attracted legal response with high profile attorneys taking an active part in addressing sexual harassment and gender inequality. Various laws discourage sexual harassment which is a form of discriminations. These laws ensure that there is equality in the diverse United States society. Besides, the laws prohibit any form of discrimination based on religious beliefs, color, race or nationality of any individual. Both mainstream media and social media have played a critical role in the Me Too Movement by providing victims of sexual harassment get a platform to tell their experiences. After social media and mass media has helped expose these vices, it is now the responsibilities judiciary to ensure that victims receive justice.