Stop the Silence

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and other than re-tweets on Twitter, I’ve generally kept my point of view of the recent sexual misconduct allegations away from social media or my blog. But I feel like I should speak about it, because I hope it might change for my future, and those who will follow.

No one should be blamed for what has happened to them – that’s the biggest part. It’s not their fault, and shame on anyone who makes them believe it is. Being cornered and harassed in the way Harvey Weinstein did to too many women and the subsequent comments by some people of ‘Well, it got them the role’ needs to be immediately stopped. Feeling victimised and unsafe or uncomfortable is not a feeling anyone would choose to feel. It is not for attention that they are making their stories known, it is with the hope that their harasser might be prosecuted and stopped. For some, it has arguably come too late.

Those who were accomplices ought to feel ashamed – those aware of the incidents and did nothing to stop them, or the personal assistants of Harvey Weinstein who were aware and a part of his ploys. Do not confuse this with me referring to the women and men harassed but unwilling or stopped from coming forward – they did not ask to be attacked nor currently vilified by those on the internet, hidden behind their computers; they were scared or silenced, and felt unable to come forward with the information. I mean those who were aware of the allegations long before they recently surfaced, like Quentin Tarantino who mentioned after the news broke that he had known of Weinstein’s actions for years, but clearly did nothing to deter him. I don’t either brand actors coming forward now saying they were aware of the allegations as ‘heroes’ – Seth McFarlane, I realise it was not your right to say anything of your friend’s allegations, but maybe you should have, instead of only making the joke at the Oscars. It doesn’t make you a hero, because you knew but didn’t stop more women from becoming his victims.

In 2015, an Italian model, Ambra Gutierrez, alleged that Weinstein had “touched her inappropriately”, and later worked with the New York City Police Department to obtain an audio recording of Weinstein admitting to the allegations. At the time, almost all media platforms accused her of being an opportunist. And thus, she was silenced and so were the further claims against Weinstein. Journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey first reported allegations of three decades worth of sexual assault on Weinstein’s part in October and later that month, Ronan Farrow further pinpointed specific incidents. Farrow said at the time that NBC had been under pressure not to break the story, despite his attempts far earlier.

Do you know what my biggest problem with the case is? The fact he was able to continue taking advantage of young actresses and models because it was reported he had employed private intelligence and a private investigator in order to spy on the women he had assaulted, or reporters investigating the case and influence them so that none of the allegations were able to come to light. Over 100 women were alleged to have been abused by Weinstein.

It’s clearly not just a problem with Harvey Weinstein, as so many more allegations have started to surface.

It begs the question of does it stop, now that Weinstein is officially being investigated? Does it stop, now that more people know they will eventually be caught?

I’m terrified the answer is no.