Actress Alyssa Milano has started the #MeToo social media campaign, showing women they aren't the only individuals facing sexual assault and harassment. The campaign went viral, generating thousands of responses, retweets, likes, giving a supreme sense of magnitude to the problem.
Australian journalist and screenwriter Benjamin Law has created the hashtag #HowIWillChange in response to Milano's effort. He used it as a tool to publicly announce his support and to commit to change against the culture of sexual violence.
The act of sharing devastating #MeToo stories on social media shook the public, highlighting how many women have had similar experiences. Eventually, as the flood of these messages continued, women started asking men what are they going to do to address the situation. Law's #HowIWillChange is just what everyone needed. It will give voice to all who want to stand up. "I will never blame a victim," one guy wrote. "I will keep showing my 3 sons and one grandson how to honor and respect women," said the other. Scroll down to read how men are getting involved and upvote your favorite pledges.
More info: Twitter
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On Sunday I asked my father when was the last time he catcalled a woman. He looked me dead in the eye and said never. I asked him why. He told me his father had told him to not do that to a woman. My father is just short of his 88th birthday. He has always been a beacon of integrity, honour and honesty and calling a spade a spade. He is not and was not perfect. He is one of the finest human beings I know. I love you dad. I thank you for being a father to this crazy daughter.
I have taught my son how to respect women. He is only 15 and I am so proud of how he steps up daily to tell other teens to knock it off when they are cat calling, touching, teasing the young girls.
I give them props. They're recognizing and trying. I say Good for Them.
And this is where the problem lies Mr. George Hall..men like you.
"No more going along to get along"... So many men could do so much for this issue just by following that last sentence. Bless you ,sir
Thanks for doing your bit. U have no idea how many women are touched by this amazing response from men.
I would hope that you will learn to be a better friend too in being supportive.
Hope most of these promises aren't just made to enable us use the hashtags only. We really need to mean them and keep them #howIwillchange
If you screwed up and you were actually listening to women and not just hearing them, then you have no right to get butthurt. If you continue to do so, may I suggest therapy to work through the reasons your feelings get crushed when someone tells you that you sexually assaulted someone.
Listen to what she says - reading through all of these I kept thinking you guys are missing out on the most important part. And this is it. No more: 'Well at least it wasn't a stranger'. No more: 'At least he didn't beat you'. No more: 'Oh well, you were drunk, so really it was your fault'. And to hell with: 'Yeah, well, if you dress like that...'
Since many harassers and abusers have gotten stealthy about it, a lot of us are stunned and slow to react, even the targets many times. I wonder if role playing would help us recognize and react more in the moment?
Never understood cat calling. What's the goal? I'm serious, I literally don't understand the purpose. Is it to hopefully make the person suddenly become attracted to you? Is it to give a compliment? Neither of these make any sense, but I can't think of any other motivation.
That is a great idea but please don't just put women in your organization leadership because they are just women. Please make sure they are qualified for the position. Affirmative Action is not the answer nor the solution.
I adore these concrete answers. It does help to call out toxic behavior, it does more to actively empower those downtrodden. Kudo Benjamin!
