Editorial: Court cases following #MeToo movement show victims’ bravery in describing abuse
Friday
LORI RUSSENBUSCHE-TELMONTE, Associated Press
Posted on August 30, 2017
SILICON VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — The women who courageously spoke out about sexual and physical abuse experienced a tidal wave of empathy, compassion and support.
The men who abused them also were subjected to a backlash, their careers ruined and their lives destroyed, victims’ attorneys say.
The #MeToo movement that began with an Associated Press report last year on sexual misconduct has led to a reckoning at the highest levels of American business. It has inspired the #TimesUp movement and toppled powerful lawmakers who have been accused of sexual misconduct and misconduct — including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
For women who have suffered sexual abuse, the reckoning has been deeply painful and profound.
For men, the spotlight on the issue has left their reputations and livelihoods in shambles, and they’ve been subjected to a wave of vitriol.
In the face of the sexual misconduct allegations against men like Weinstein and his business partner and co-founder, Bob Weinstein, as well as several others including Mark R. Weiser, the founder of the Weiser Law Firm, the men have faced an onslaught of attacks both public and private. They’ve been accused of sexual misconduct, and even of child endangerment, but they’ve been spared so far.
What’s more, the women who have come forward have said that Weinstein, R. Kelly, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby and many others — and their supporters — have attempted to silence them.
In the #MeToo era, women are speaking out
Just days after The Associated Press’ story on sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein became worldwide headlines, The Times of London reported that a man threatened “to kill” a woman after she spoke out about the abuse she faced from the movie mogul.
She told police in a phone call that a man who had raped her at a Manhattan hotel in the early 1970s threatened her life if she spoke out about his abuse. The woman, who asked not to be identified because she fears repercussions from Weinstein, also told police he had raped her.
The Times of London