#MeToo, Not Just for Adults

The month of March is Women’s History Month, and in light if this special occasion, I decided to talk on a topic that is very in the now.

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Arguably, one of the most powerful movements of our generation is the #MeToo movement. Over the past year women (and men in some cases) have been sharing their experiences about sexual misconduct and harassment in their daily lives, usually in the workplace. But that made me question: What about school?

The Me-Too movement feels like something that is ignored in school. Most of the time it’s something that we fail to address successfully in a school setting, but the dark truth is even high school students are sexually harassed or even worse, are the victims of sexual assault.

I interviewed some people at school to see what they thought of the movement or if we should even be addressing such serious topics such as sexual harassment and assault.

"What are your thoughts on #MeToo?"

Kaya: Originally, I felt like it was a great platform for victims to confess their hard past and challenges, but women have started voicing their accusations at very ‘ironic’ timing.

Trinity: I think the MeToo movement is a great way for women to gain confidence in each other, haring other women’s survivor stories are helping them cope and come out as a survivor, but I think there are some women who use the movement as an opportunity to take that power away from other women. Even though they aren’t the victim of sexual assault, they want to be a part of something special. I don’t mean to undermine victims, but with every good thing there are people who ruin it.

Ms. Savoy: I think the MeToo movement has been a long time coming. I’m glad that it’s finally happening now.

Mr. Perry: I think it’s bringing to light a lot of things that’s been in the Hollywood industry all along. I remember when R. Kelly was first at his trial and it was a thing that changed Hollywood and the culture behind it, for its time.

Elijah: I think it’s a good thing that people are being open and telling people about their stories.

Noel: I think it’s an important movement for women especially, and for men as well. For some it might be misconstrued for a few minor incidents and some minor statements. But overall, I feel like it should be more embraced in this climate than it is.

Yusif: Well, if one person says it then other people will join in too because they feel like they’re not alone.

Za’veon: I think it’s good, but some people might be lying for attention and saying it because other people said it, and they want attention.

Ms. Clements (my mother): I think it’s something that should’ve been stated or talked about a long time ago, because as a female I don’t like that we’re seen and treated differently. Not only sexually, but financially as well. Men get paid more than women for doing the same job.

"Some of the people who have been accused during the MeToo movement are starting to get back into their positions of power or are getting hired again, what do you think this says to victims? Do you think this discourages people from speaking out?"

Kaya: I do believe it discourages people from speaking out because abusers aren’t facing consequences, but good things happen to crappy people.

Trinity: I think what it says to victims is, “Yea we heard you, but we weren’t listening.” And I feel like it does discourage victims because it shows there’s no consequences for horrible actions. They feel like it's useless to speak up.

Ms. Savoy: I think if the accused continue to hold their positions - it is discouraging, but there are a large group of people who stand behind the victims, so they can push for justice. Overall however, it is a bit demoralizing.

Mr. Perry: Yes, I think it is discouraging and you know, we as consumers must be responsible. If someone has committed a heinous act, it’s up to us as consumers to not support those products and companies.

Elijah: I think it would discourage people, but it could also make others think to speak out more and bring more awareness to bad people.

Noel: It probably does discourage people from speaking out. Cause if you speak out and people don’t think it’s true and nothing happens then why would you speak out? And for the men in power, it’s all about the money for them. They don’t care about victims.

Yusif: I feel like it’s not fair to victims because people aren’t listening to them, like say the victim comes out and says what happened to them. And then the person who violated them just goes back to their normal life, it just shows the victim wasn’t noticed.

Za’veon: It probably does discourage them because the guy who does a crime is just able to go back to his regular life.

Ms. Clements: It says to the victims that they’re going to be victims no matter what. That them speaking out isn’t going to matter. And I just don’t understand that, it’s telling people that they don’t matter, and I’m hoping that it doesn’t discourage future victims. But if men keep getting hired and women subsequently are leaving their jobs, I hope that it’ll be a wake-up call for companies. I’m hoping that it will bring justice.

"Finally, do you feel like we should address topics such as sexual harassment in schools?"

Kaya: A lot of books already have that kind of narrative that involves sexual harassment, so I feel as if we should elaborate on such topics. Teachers should know if their students are mature enough to handle stronger subjects.

Trinity: Yea, because some people don’t' really know that consent is important, and they should be forced to look in the mirror and see the terrible reality we live in from other people’s perspectives. We lack sympathy. When the truth is it could be them or their family members. It shouldn’t have to be taught, but we live in a harsh and messed up reality where that’s unfortunately the case.

Ms. Savoy: Absolutely. Education regarding sexual harassment should be talked about ASAP so we can avoid generational miseducation. Some people may not realize what they’re doing wrong and by then it may be too late.

Mr. Perry: Yea I think there’s a place for it in schools. Especially in civics and social studies classrooms, looking at it from a historical and legal standpoint, we should know our rights and violations. A lot of young men coming up probably don’t know where the barrier lies, and we should definitely educate that at a young age.

Elijah: Yea, we definitely should, because half the things we learn in school aren’t real skills, but this is something that we can use to educate and prevent it from happening. Because sexual assault is a terrible thing.

Noel: With the right audience I think we should. Without people getting ignorant about it. It’s hard to bring up certain topics without people being disrespectful. Some people are slick about touchy subjects, so in this school I don’t think we should be talking about it.

Yusif: Yes, because you have to be aware about the world and certain situations that could happen. You just got to be prepared.

Za’veon: No, because some people might not be comfortable, but on the other hand yes because some people might be able to express themselves through stuff like discussions.

Ms. Clements: Yes, because it does happen in high school. When young men see popular people and family members demeaning women, they think it’s okay to do it to their classmates, to me that’s wrong. It’s because no one is teaching them the right thing to do, or how to address and acknowledge women. They demean women because they think it’s funny. So, it’s up to the teachers to teach them. As a parent, I rather teach my kids about topics like this, but if I can’t teach them responsibly then I’d rather someone else do it.

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