Mar 6, 2018 - Economy
The global impact of #MeToo
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The 2018 Women's March in Berlin. Photo: Adam Berry / Getty Images
"Thanks to the vast reach of social media and the prevalence of sexual misconduct in virtually every society, the #MeToo movement has proven itself a genuinely global phenomenon," AP's David Crary writes.
But, but, but: "Worldwide, the fallout includes backlashes against women who speak out, divisions within feminist ranks and minimal repercussions for accused harassers."
- "In Western Europe, some VIPs have been discredited and some new anti-harassment laws are in the works."
- In Britain, harassment allegations last year "led to one high-level resignation — that of Defense Secretary Michael Fallon — and prompted political leaders to propose a new grievance procedure for people working in Parliament."
- "[I]n many countries, the U.S. included, the movement has consisted primarily of well-educated professionals, largely leaving out working-class and poor women. Some skeptics have coined the hashtag #WeFew."
- "No other nation has experienced anything close to the developments in the United States ... where scores of prominent men — among them politicians, media stars and movie moguls — have lost jobs and reputations after facing sexual misconduct allegations."
- "In China, discussion of #MeToo has sometimes been censored on social media and branded as a destabilizing foreign movement. To thwart the censors, social media users have made creative use of hashtags such as #RiceBunny — a phrase which in China is pronounced 'me too.'"
- What's next: Thursday is International Women's Day.
