Ambiguities and dilemmas around #MeToo: #ForHow Long and #WhereTo?

Ambiguities and dilemmas around #MeToo: #ForHow Long and #WhereTo?Hardly a day has passed since the accusations of sexual harassment against US film producer Harvey Weinstein in October 2017 without a new allegation being made.Powerful men -producers, actors, directors, politicians, well-known TV anchors, journalists and sports doctors -have been publicly accused of sexual harassment, assault and rape by a growing number of women.Within days after the first accusations against Weinstein appeared in the media, women who had had similar experiences began to use the #MeToo platform to tell their story.Since then #MeToo has become a global phenomenon, spreading from the US to the UK, Canada, Australia, Israel, India and beyond.The end is nowhere in sight.Given that the new EJWS co-editor Christina Scharff is on maternity leave until April 2018, and Kathy has agreed to stay on as guest editor, we decided to use this editorial to explore some of our concerns about #MeToo and, more generally, feminist responses to the problem of sexual harassment and sexual violence.It is worth remembering here that #MeToo started in the USA a decade ago as activism by Black women who had experienced sexual violence.It was supposed to 'let other survivors know they are not alone' and create solidarity with the victims. 1 This is what the present #MeToo campaign is claiming to be doing now.However, we have found ourselves asking if this is actually what is being accomplished.We have both worked on issues of violence against women, and have watched the unfolding of the accusations of sexual assault around #MeToo with mixed feelings. Kathy:I came of age as a feminist in the 1970s.Sexual harassment, rape and sexual violence were top priorities on the feminist agenda and one of our strategies for combating them was the personal testimony of what we at that time referred to as the 'survivors'.I remember as a young student helping to organize a teach-in at my university.In addition to offering many fiery feminist speeches decrying sexual violence against women in any form and blaming individual men ('in every man lurks a rapist' was a popular slogan) or, more generally, patriarchy, we had one -and only one -personal testimony from a woman who had been raped.She bravely, but with a shaky voice, described her experience to a mostly sympathetic audience, although there were a few hecklers in the room as well.It felt daring to be breaking the silence and we were prepared for contemptuous reactions from men who did not see sexual harassment or even sexual violence as a problem.(Those were the days when a married woman could not be raped according to the law.)749436E JW0010.