Transitioning Times

In late 2017, the #MeToo movement catalyzed a change in our national conversation about sexual assault and harassment. The movement began when actress Alyssa Milano shared accusations of sexual assault and harassment against producer Harvey Weinstein. As other Hollywood mega-stars began to come forward with similar stories, #MeToo went viral. Twitter confirmed to CBS News that over 1.7 million tweets included the hashtag "#MeToo," with 85 countries that had at least 1,000 #MeToo tweets. Long before it became a hashtag, we are also aware that Tarana Burke began the #MeToo campaign in 1997, and we applaud her for her activism, her voice, encouraging others, especially women of color, to use their voices. This movement is shining a necessary light on an issue that has always been present for centuries. Historically, some people who have come forward regarding the violence perpetrated against them have had their voices elevated higher than others, particularly wealthy whit...

Recently, the #metoo campaign has received a great deal of online attention. Women share their stories of harassment or assault to bring attention to the widespread nature of sexual harassment and sexual violence. In response, some men have been using the hashtag #HowIWillChange to speak out about ways they will contribute to ending harassment and sexual assault. Much like sexual violence, domestic violence disproportionately affects women. And like sexual violence, domestic violence against women is influenced by institutional sexism, cultural misogyny, and widespread acceptance of subjugation of women. Men are also victims of domestic violence, rape, and harassment, but crimes against men have wildly different causes, solutions, and societal response. While violence against men is influenced by expectations of gender roles, violence against women is overwhelmingly a gender-based issue. Long-held cultural, societal, and religious traditions provide protection and reinforcement fo...