The #MeToo movement on social media always had a vision from the beginning- to address both the lack of resources for survivors of sexual violence and to build a community of advocates, driven by the survivors, who will be at the forefront of creating solutions to interrupt sexual violence in their communities.
In less than six months, the viral #metoo hashtag,led to a vital conversation about sexual violence that had been thrust into the national dialogue. What started as local grassroots work had expanded to reach a global community of survivors from all walks of life and helped to de-stigmatize the act of surviving by highlighting the impact of a sexual violence worldwide.
Along with allowing a safe space for victims to open to up about their experiences,social media and it’s widespread influence also made notable changes in the workplace dynamic of multiple industries and companies.Before the movement was this prominent, the workplace dynamic for the accusers was characterized by the ignorance and the lack of explicit action on behalf of the coworkers. Social media boosted this campaign and in turn changed the mindset of the individuals within a workspace. Hundreds of tweets and thousands of instagram posts of survivors, led to a conscious effort on the part of the coworkers to identify any wrong doing in their surroundings and take justified action for the same to ensure that the victims have a safe space to work in. Justice and compensation was given in the form of the termination of the contract of employment of the accused or aid in the form of emotional therapy.
An example of this was the dissolution of the ‘Phantom’ production house, which was a prominent part of the Hindi Film Industry. One of the famous and strong voices who spoke against the accused CEO of the company- Vikas Bahl, was the actress Kangana Ranaut which led to the company ceasing their operations. Thus emphasising the function of social media and its effects on institutional spheres.#MeToo movement, being a campaign crafted on the infinitely expanding medium of social media, is able to have this prominent impact mentioned above.
The #MeToo movement garnered positive attention and led to the creation of multiple non-profit organisations that focuses on empowering silent victims of sexual abuse.
What has been more surprising is the support and trust that the readers place into the the victims story and believing it unquestionably. Influential powers have also shown that the movement has spread like wildfire, making them take decisions that would determine the future of an industry as a whole as well as of an individual.