Acknowledging #metoo

#metoo is everywhere I look. Friends and family, famous people are publicly acknowledging what happened to them at some point in their lives. And it’s depressing; terribly depressing. It’s awful that people (mainly men) in positions of power (but not limited to) are harassing/assaulting other human beings – this is 2017! Has the world not got it yet?

I read an opinion piece (Guardian opinion) which states that we now have a list of victims, but wouldn’t a list of perpetrators be now what we need? I think it’s admirable that victims now feel able to speak up, but I have to question how society has come to this. Surely this is an inherent problem within society. Is there a way to stamp it out? Can it ever be completely eradicated? It would be great, but I doubt that it can ever totally go away. The hashtag is useful for acknowledging the scale of the problem, but is that all it can achieve? What needs to happen now is some kind of investigation, or legislation to be able to reduce this abhorrent behaviour, otherwise it will fall into being just another trend. The hashtag, of course, is progress – acknowledging the fact that it has happened to you is brave, liberating and could be very influential. However, society also needs to recognise that men can and should have the right to use #metoo as well.