KATIA CUETO
ABUSE AGAINST WOMAN“ME TOO MOVEMENT”
My name is Katia, for my final project I created an online platform focusing on girl empowerment, in particularly the Me-Too Movement. I decided to talk about abuse against woman because it’s a topic that is not much spoken about and it has come to light in the recent years. For the project itself I decided to create an Instagram account because social media is where I felt more comfortable and it is an easier way to bring awareness not only to people, I don’t know but to my close family and friends. This topic is not only real stories and real experiences of real people, is also a teachable moment on how as people we can do better and be better.
What is the Me-too Movement?
The Me-Too Movement is more than a Hashtag, it is a movement mainly focusing on sexual abuse crimes against woman. The movement became popular in 2006 when Tarana Burke who is a feminist and artist made it known through various activities such as the women’s march. It became very popular when many people around the world shared their experiences and how they coped with their own personal situations. Burke encouraged using the phrase as a hashtag to help reveal the extent of problems with sexual harassment and assault by showing how many people have experienced these events themselves.
Sexual assault can be verbal, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. It can happen in different situations, by a stranger in an isolated place, on a date, or in the home by someone you know. Sexual assault can happen through physical force or threats of force. Sexual assault includes rape and sexual coercion.
What is Consent? The importance of Consent is clear as water, the word yes and no has large important meanings. Consent is a clear “yes” to sexual activity. Not saying “no” does not mean you have given consent. Sexual contact without consent is sexual assault or rape. Being in a relationship, being drunk, and wearing attractive clothing does not give a reason to consent to an unwanted activity.
In the United States, one in three women has experienced some type of sexual violence. According to the Office Women’s Health, every 73 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, making an average of 433,000 victims every year. 82% of Females ages 18 to 24 experience sexual assault and college students are 3 times more likely than women in general. Sexual Violence can have long term effects on victims, such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), many contemplate suicide and about 13% of women who are raped attempt to commit suicide. People who have been sexually assaulted are more likely to use drugs than the general public. Pregnancies, eating disorders, and sexual transmitted infections can be an effect from the abuse.
Seeking help is one of the first steps to recovery and making sure that you are safe. After someone has experienced sexual assault, seek help from close family and friends. Going forward to reporting the incident to the police can help put your attacker behind bars. The reason the Me-Too movement became very global was because the amount of people coming forward speaking about their assaults and experiences. It makes it easier for those victims who are shut in suffering alone to speak up and protect themselves.
The Me-Too Movement has impacted lives literally around the world from the United State to China. It has impacted the lives of people in different careers such as sports, law enforcements, Doctors and military force. More employers are approaching sexual harassment complaints more serious and create new policies that protect their employers. In 2017 Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was called out on sexual abuse against his students as young as 6 years old. After more than 150 young girls came forward against Nassar, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Through my research I came across many real stories of those effected by abuse and it completely compelled me. The reason I consider myself someone who fights for women and is pro girl power is because I am a woman myself, and I would like for to create an environment that feels safe to me and to others. One of my career goals is to become a special victims psychologist helping abused victims. My message for my audience is to learn the importance and awareness of these types of abuses, that not only effect women, it effects people in general. Movements like the “Me Too Movement” is way to bring awareness and strategies on how to reduce the unsolved sex crimes. I decided to create an online Instagram account that will allow people to express their own stories, seek information, and find strategies on how to stay aware and protect themselves when facing an assault. I want to give someone who is reading my posts and research the support they need to seek help and for them to know that they are not alone. I want to give someone the voice that they might not know they have. My Instagram posts and conversations with my followers have given them the opportunity to start up a conversation about abuse and how it may affect everyone. Although the project is still ongoing, my main goal is to reach out as many people as possible and spreading the support.
If you have been sexually assaulted or know anyone, please call.
- National Sexual Assault Hotline (link is external), 800-656-HOPE (4673)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline (link is external), 800-799-SAFE (7233)
3 Quotes:
· “If you’re in a situation where you’re a little afraid to speak up, put a mask on, you won’t believe what comes out of your mouth” – Guerilla Girls
· “Wearing those clothes with gorilla masks confounds the stereotype of female sexiness”- Guerilla Girls
· “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”- Maya Angelou
Poem: Finding Freedom Wadia Samadi, November 27th,2017
I wake up every morning scheming my escape
But what about my children?
Who will believe me?
Who will give me a home?
Years go by And I am still waiting
When will this end?
But what about my children?
Who will believe me?
Who will give me a home?
Years go by And I am still waiting
When will this end?
My makeup does not cover my bruised face
My smile does not hide my haggard visage
Yet, no one comes to help
They say: it will get better
They say: don’t talk about it
They say: this was my fate
They say: a woman must tolerate
Don’t air your dirty laundry, they say.
When will this end?
My smile does not hide my haggard visage
Yet, no one comes to help
They say: it will get better
They say: don’t talk about it
They say: this was my fate
They say: a woman must tolerate
Don’t air your dirty laundry, they say.
When will this end?
Once again, he drags my body to the floor
He chokes me and I beg him not to kill me
Once again, he demands my silence
Once again, he tells me I don’t deserve to live
He chokes me and I beg him not to kill me
Once again, he demands my silence
Once again, he tells me I don’t deserve to live
I have had enough
I will not be silent
I will live
I will find freedom
This will end today.
I will not be silent
I will live
I will find freedom
This will end today.
· YouTube Video #1: #Me too: how it's changing the world | The Economist
·YouTube Video 2: Tarana Burke On How The #MeToo Movement Started and Where It’s Headed
TedTalk: Elizabeth Acevedo: Elizabeth Acevedo is a Dominican American Poet and author. I came across her TedTalk which literally got me of guard, I related to her in many ways. We both come from a cultural background where woman is subject to men and we are raised to be the home taker. Her TedTalk is a poem about Domestic Violence.
Artist: Guerilla Girls
Laetitia is an artist and activist from West African who utilizes her hair to bring awareness to many different issues from The Me-Too Movement to violence against guns. Her Instagram Is @Laetitiaky
Luzene Hill:
Hill visually represents the number of rapes that go unreported in the United States in every 24 hours: 3,780. Her performance installation begins with the artist lying on the floor in the center of the gallery, her arms and legs bent, as 3,780 red khipu style Incan knots are poured over her.
Short Voice memo about my project ;)
Instagram account : Together_girlpwr https://www.instagram.com/together_girlpwr/
Spread love always. talking can make a change!
ROWLAND, Z. V. (2018). Gendered Power Disparities, Misogynist Violence, and Women’s Oppression: The #Me-too Movement against Workplace Sexual Harassment. Contemporary Readings in Law & Social Justice, 10(2), 57–63. https://draweb.njcu.edu:2077/10.22381/CRLSJ10220184
Ward, S. F. (2018). Times Up: As the Me-Too movement continues to shed light on sexual harassment and assault, sparking changes in various industries, the legal and judicial systems have been slow to adapt. ABA Journal, 104(6), 46–54.
Time. 2020. SVU Changed the TV Landscape. It Also Changed How People Think About Sexual Assault. [online] Available at: <https://time.com/5681433/law-and-order-svu-sexual-assault/>
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