Putting the Black Lives Matter movement into perspective

The #MeToo movement

Just like the Black Lives Matter movement, the #MeToo movement began with the use of a hashtag. On 5th of October, 2017, the New York Times published an article in which several actresses accused well-known American film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment. Another article in the New Yorker exposed Weinstein’s decades-long abusive behaviour towards women in the entertainment industry.

A few days later, the hashtag #MeToo began to be used on Twitter by women who shared their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, but also on the street, in public transportation, or even in close relationships. The hashtag soon became viral and turned into an international phenomenon that highlighted how frequently women are exposed to sexual misconduct.

The #MeToo movement also reached countries with a strong patriarchal social structure, such as India or China, sparking a much-needed debate over women’s right to safety and the importance of consent.

After the Weinstein exposé, other actresses came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct. This led to him facing a criminal trial for multiple sex crime charges. In what has been named “the Weinstein effect”, many men in positions of power were subsequently accused of alleged sexual abuse, not only in the US but in other countries as well.

Like the Black Lives Matter movement, the #MeToo movement achieved visibility for a widely known but largely ignored problem: the exposure of women to sexual viole...