By Rhea Mathur
Four hundred and twenty million people access the Internet in India daily. Most of them have read about some form of sexual abuse through the several forms of social and print media. Spreading awareness, which was once a task that needed to be conquered in India, now can be done with ease.
Harvey Weinstein’s case
In Hollywood, women have used these platforms to talk about issues they have faced, giving rise to a debate about sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace. With over three hundred women coming forward with their cases on sexual harassment by the movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, the question of womens safety expands before our eyes like never before.
Weinsteins first movie came in 1981, The Burning and has, since then produced more than twenty movies. The lengthy list of women with sexual allegations against the producer includes women like Cara Delevingne, Kate Beckinsale and Lea Seydoux. All of them have spoken at length to various publications about being lured into an uncomfortable situation under false pretenses. In fact, several women have even come forward to claim that Harvey Weinstein repeatedly threatened them and warned them of the consequences of rejecting a personality such as himself. Salma Hayek told the New York Times that Weinstein once told her: “I will kill you, don’t think I can’t.” With the influence of this fear and pressure, the mogul was able to harass hundreds of women without any effect to his own reputation or position.
Voicing against abuse
By stepping forward with their experiences, these Hollywood stars have helped highlight a major aspect of the movie industry that, for years, has been ignored. It also brings to light the fact that women all around the world, in every industry, face forms of sexual harassment and are unable to act against it. It may be due to a lack of funds or due to the stigma associated with the victims of such harassment. Women who speak out against such acts face a different set of problems within society due to the image of a ‘sexual abuse victim’. Though this fear of affecting their own reputation in society should be completely irrational, even in 2018, the victims are seen to face more troubles than the perpetrators themselves.
The Harvey Weinstein scandal has encouraged the realisation that suffering in silence means allowing the perpetrator to find a new victim. Women have learnt that it is integral to stand together and fight for their rights.
#MeToo campaign
This hashtag was used around the world by women who chose to speak up about their past experiences of sexual abuse or being forced into uncomfortable situations by men. Tarana Burke started the use of this hashtag in 2010, but it was refuelled by Alyssa Milano. The purpose of the hashtag was also to give other women the strength and support to reach out and share experiences they felt no one would listen to. This hashtag was used up to six million times on social media between the months of October and December in 2017. Knowing that they are not alone, women pledged ‘solidarity’. The fact that personalities like Angelina Jolie have also once fallen prey to this despicable form of workplace harassment helped women acknowledge that they were not the problem.
Thus, the #MeToo campaign was able to use the strength depicted by actresses and facilitate women in all fields with a platform and a voice.
The TIMES UP Campaign
The motto of the campaign: We want all survivors of sexual harassment everywhere to be heard, to be believed and to know that accountability is possible.
This campaign is primarily funded by celebrities, who now realise the difficulties women face in calling out sexual harassers in the workplace. Women have been inspired to call out the Harvey Weinsteins of other industries and Hollywood is ready to provide the funds for that. Actresses like Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Aniston have all donated large sums of $500,000 to fund this campaign. In eighteen days, it has almost reached its goal of sixteen million dollars. It has received support from even the Steven Spielberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation and the creator of Star Trek, JJ Abrams both donating two and one million dollars respectively.
The purpose for this money is to fund the legal defenses and support needed by women who have been sexually harassed in the work place. This is available to women from any sector and is especially for women of colour, disabled women, bisexuals, lesbians and transgender women who all face greater levels of discrimination and find it increasingly hard to rise in their field of work. Most fields are dominated by men and this campaign was launched to change just that.
Not only have celebrities funded this campaign but people across the country have funded it donating sums of $5-$25 in order to show their support. On 7th of January, men and women alike attended the Golden Globe Awards 2018 dressed in all black. This was to show their solidarity to the empowerment of women. They also launched a pin to show support that was worn by many celebrities on the red carpet including Steve Carell, Justin Timberlake and Seth Meyers.
Moving the campaign to India
In India, celebrities such as Ranveer Singh, Kangana Ranaut and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar have openly spoken about sexual harassment and their experiences. Kangana Ranaut named Aditya Pancholi as the man who abused her when she had started out in the industry. Her speaking out however, was not seen as a new movement but instead, has been under constant scrutiny. The negative response by Aditya Pancholis wife, Zarina Wahab, negates the ‘solidarity’ that took effect in Hollywood. This mentality allows men to escape without any repercussions for their actions and makes victims afraid of taking names.
A problem with such a campaign in India is also the media. Women like Varalaxmi Sarathkumar have tried to protest against the mindset and the suppressors in the film industry. Yet, they have received no support from the media. Hardly any of the four hundred and twenty million people using the internet have heard about her protests. The media has also fixed their attention on only big stars such as Priyanka Chopra or Deepika Padukone, waiting for them to comment on the issue.
On the contrary, a campaign could confirm that Bollywood acknowledges the presence of men who misuse their position. Several rape cases have had the power to question this male dominant society in the past and with financial support for their legal bill, women may themselves start to fight the injustice. The unmasking of one Harvey Weinstein in Hollywood may be enough to make a change in even the Indian society. This can be proven by the fact that the ‘Me Too’ hashtag found its place in the Indian society and that several brave women came forward with their past experiences.
Thus, the development of a similar campaign may prove to be helpful for several brave women who are supported emotionally by their families. Whether it will really help change Bollywood or the mindset, the way it has in the West is still up for debate.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay