The news over the past few weeks has been, to put it short: chilling.
With allegation after allegation being made towards Harvey Weinstein - one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers - names such as Kate Beckinsale, Angelina Jolie, Care Delevingne and Rose McGowan are only a ‘small’ number that have stepped forward in hopes of achieving justice and to raise awareness of what really happens behind the scenes.
After the arrival of these allegations, it really makes you feel sick to the stomach that fellow women have had to endure this while others turn a blind eye to it. It really makes you question whether it is happening closer to home and who doesn’t have a conscience in attempting to cover this up. Over the past week, a recent hashtag ‘#MeToo’ was trending, where women came together on social media platforms and revealed what they have been through, while offering support and advice for people that have been through similar situations.
However, celebrities like Katie Hopkins haven’t been so understanding and supportive, as she tweeted ‘Women. Man the f*ck up. Quit with the #MeToo cr*p. Toughen up. And stand alone.’ A woman who makes such a strong impact on people’s opinions (whether they agree with her or not) is creating an alarming stance in not commending victims, but instead segregating them with insults.
This has had a huge amount of backlash from people who have added to the ‘#MeToo’ hashtag. @xcheesenick11x tweeted: ‘you censor the word crap out but think that rape victims need to toughen up? Lmfao.’ I would personally like to ask Katie Hopkins to define what she means by a woman ‘manning the f*ck up’. Do victims of sexual harassment and assault have to react in ways a man would? Which is ironic as it is MEN IN POWER who have been orchestrating these crimes.
Why would a female want to get rid of her compassion and empathy towards fellow victims? Standing together as a group surely would create more of an impact in comparison to standing alone in fear. We need to discuss how sexual assault is spoken of. Sexual assault isn’t just a ‘Hollywood problem.’ It can happen wherever, whenever and however the perpetrators want it to. We need to scrap this idea that this only happens to people that dress a certain way, act a certain way and are in the industry.
Sexual harassment and assault is everywhere. We need to stop believing that this is only carried out by ‘men in power’ like Harvey Weinstein, and accept that fact that it could be anyone… a neighbour, a friend or that person you just walked past in the street. As a society, we should accept these claims and help build the victims confidence to confront this. Actress Emma Thompson demonstrates in her recent interview with the BBC in how this can be helped: ‘this has been part of our world — women's world — since time immemorial.
So what we need to start talking about is the crisis in masculinity, the crisis of extreme masculinity, which is this sort of behavior, and the fact that it is not only OK, but it also is represented by the most powerful man in the world at the moment.’ We all need to take better care in analysing our own actions, words and reactions to certain situations.
Both males and females need to have a united stance in the world and take a step forward in society, together. If you or anyone you know have been affected by the issues raised in this article then seek out the following helplines: · Rape Crisis - Helpline: 0808 802 9999 · Victim Support - Helpline: 0808 168 9111
