November 7, 2024

The MeToo movement was initially started by sexual abuse survivor and activist Tarana Burke in 2006. Eleven years later, #MeToo regained popularity on social media and quickly reached traditional television through commercials and segments.

If you are new to this movement, it is crucial to understand the mission. MeToomvnt.org explains that “the primary directive is to deeply listen to survivors, then expand and shape a constituency of survivors; finally, they are calling for a change in the rules.”

MeToo needs to be advertised more on traditional media so we can take action and to inform not only victims of sexual abuse, but also those who have not been affected.

Many people are not aware of the prevalence of sexual abuse in our society. The facts metoomvnt.org has reported are chilling; one in 10 elderly persons suffer abuse, including sexual abuse, and one in 10 youth detained in juvenile facilities experience sexual assault or sexual abuse while in custody. One in four women have experienced rape or attempted rape during their lifetimes and one in four women returning from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan reported that they were sexually assaulted while they were deployed. But not all victims are women; one in eight people had someone threaten to post and/or post sexually explicit images of them without their consent, and one in every five survivors of confirmed sexual abuse in ICE detention is transgender, even though people who are transgender only make up one in 500 people detained by ICE. These are only several of the alarming statistics.

In the 2019 Impact Report, Burke says, “The future of ‘me too’ is in all of our hands. We each have a role to play because we’re all affected by it. In 2020, we will introduce a number of tools and resources that help guide you, no matter who and where you are, understand the spectrum of sexual violence and accountability.”

The movement successfully did exactly what she proposed. I can almost guarantee that everyone reading this knows someone or of someone who is a victim, so if you think this movement does not apply to you, you’re wrong.

Like all controversial topics, backlash is expected. This topic should not be considered controversial at all; it’s simply based on morality. 

This generation needs to rise up and start changing the world so it is a better place to live in for our future descendants. This is another cry for help, a call to action and an opinion from a fellow student. Just like everything else needing change, it starts with you. I don’t know how many times someone can say those four words before change is permanent.

You should want to take action, and if you want to help, there are a few ways to start.Metoomvmt.org has several resources, including action toolkits, organizations in action and the MeToo global network. 

The MeToo website also has several resources for victims of sexual abuse, including hotlines and live chats, healing toolkits and information, Telling Our Truths blog and the survivor story series. 

Are you looking to stay informed and be up to date? Browse the news and press using #MeToo on any search engine or social media. Yes, we want traditional media to air more coverage of the MeToo movement, but taking action always starts with individuals first. Start the trend and inform others. The smallest acts count toward reaching our goal.

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