NEW YORK — Six months after bursting into the spotlight, the #MeToo movement has toppled scores of men from prominent positions and fueled a national conversation about workplace sexual harassment.
There is also ample evidence that the movement has some staying power that will make it a force six months from now and beyond as lawmakers across the nation enact an array of anti-harassment legislation, corporate America roots out bad behavior in the workplace and more women feel emboldened to speak out.
And the movement has the potential to guide the conversation surrounding the midterm elections, as evidenced by the record number of women getting into politics in 2018.
“We are in the midst of a national reckoning concerning sexual harassment,” Connecticut Senate President Martin Looney said as the state debated anti-harassment legislation, including a plan to eliminate the statute of limitations for sexual assault crimes. “Our constituents are in need of our protection.”
The movement took shape in October 2017, when reports in The New York Times and The New Yorker gave voice to numerous women accusing Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Soon afterward, the #MeToo hashtag went viral, becoming worldwide shorthand for speaking out about sexual harassment.
Along with the steady stream of harassment cases involving other powerful men, there has been extensive activity in statehouses across the country. More than a dozen legislatures are considering bills that address sexual harassment in workplaces statewide; an even larger number are addressing harassment affecting officeholders, staff and lobbyists at the statehouses. Those in-house efforts often have been fueled by scandal: At least two-dozen legislators have resigned or been ousted over the past year due to sexual misconduct allegations.
#MeToo activists believe the legislatures’ collective efforts will produce lasting change. They also believe #MeToo has provided new awareness and resources for women experiencing harassment in the workplace.
The Times Up Legal Defense Fund was launched in January by the National Women’s Law Center with the aim of providing attorneys for victimized women, notably those in low-wage jobs who couldn’t afford a lawyer on their own.
Fatima Goss Graves, the law center’s CEO, says more than 500 attorneys have signed up, and complaints have been fielded from more than 2,300 people. The fund underwriting the program totals $21 million, provided by about 20,000 donors.
While many of those seeking help are hotel and restaurant workers, complaints have arrived from about 60 different employment sectors, including retail, farming, government, construction and the military.
Goss Graves hopes the initiative proves long-lasting.
“There is not a quick fix to this problem,” she said. “If there was, we would have fixed it long ago.”
Others are skeptical about the movement bringing about real change.
“Mostly, I’ve seen a lot of talk and gnashing of teeth but not much change,” said Donna Ballman, an employment lawyer in Florida. “Women continue to be disbelieved unless they can find others to back them up. Women continue to be retaliated against with damaging transfers, ostracism, and worse.”