The Power of One
Photo of the message Time’s Up attempts to convey. This was posted on Instagram by hundreds of influential females in support of the Time’s Up campaign, which was in response to the accusations against Harvey Weinstein and several other male figures in Hollywood.
One person. One person is all it takes to start a domino effect crashing down on those who rape, sexually harass, abuse. One person is all it takes to start a national conversation and social movement to put sexual harassment on the map.
Harvey Weinstein was first only accused by one woman. One woman that turned in to two, in to three. Then it was one dozen, and now almost five dozen women have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct. The bravery of that one woman was enough to make another woman speak out. And out of nowhere, a long chain of women abused by Harvey Weinstein was only growing by the day.
When Aly Raisman spoke out against former U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar first, Simone Biles did after her. Now 130 women have accused Nassar of sexual abuse. Nassar pleaded guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, landing him in prison for 60 years.
The scariest thing is how reluctant victims can be to speak out about what happened to them. Allegations against Larry Nassar date back to 1997. Those victims have been silent for 20 years. If not for Raisman, Nassar would still be working in his field.
Matt Lauer was fired as co-host of NBC’s “Today,”, after he was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. The stories shared by the women he harassed have been brutally detailed, hard to read, and undeniably inappropriate.
How many other prominent or highly praised people have committed sexual misconduct but whose victims have remained silent? How long until the next scandal sweeps the media?
There is power in the first voice. The first voice to speak out against a predator harassing and abusing numerous victims. From what the patterns have shown, one voice will in all likelihood pave the path for more victims to speak out.
Attendees of The 2018 Golden Globe Awards wore black in honor of the Time’s Up Campaign which works to fight sexual harassment and support the #Metoo movement. This was a powerful and lasting message that will define this generation and those to come.
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My name is Anna Reinhart and I am a senior at Kennedy. I have been a member of the journalism program at Kennedy all four years of high school and have...
