Since October, we have seen a massive unveiling of sexual misconduct allegations perpetrated by people with high levels of power. New allegations seem to be made against others in power every day.

In the last three years, alleged long-term sexual predators have been accused, notables including Bill Cosby and Bill O'Reilly. While we as people seem to have been more hyper-vigilant since the allegations of the famous dad of the 1980s sitcom, we were not expecting this barrage of allegations coming out of Hollywood, Capitol Hill and the news business.

Since the Harvey Weinstein bombshell was reported by the New York Times and The New Yorker, upward of eighty women have publicly revealed their own stories of sexual misconduct, harassment, assault, and rape.

While horrifying, these allegations have brought light to these issues on a larger scale. Since the initial allegations of Weinstein’s misconduct were made public, many people have revealed their similar experiences.

“From companies taking a second look at their sexual harassment policies to the tide of #MeToo stories flooding social media, the controversy has sparked the biggest national conversation on sexual harassment since the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas battle in the early '90s. Prominent actors and actresses have come forward with stories that put fellow Hollywood A-listers sharply in the spotlight.” (CNN)

The list of those accused of sexual misconduct runs long… and grows daily.

Harvey Weinstein, Andy Signore, Roy Price, Chris Savino, Robert Scoble, Lockhart Steele, John Besh, James Toback, Terry Ricardson, Leon Wiesltier, Knight Landesman, Rick Najera, Mark Halperin, Ken Baker, Kevin Spacey, Hamilton Fish, Michael Oreskes, Andy Dick, Kirt Webster, Brett Ratner, Jeff Hoover, David Guillod, Ed Westwick, Jeffrey Tambor, Benjamin Genocchio, Roy Moore, Louis C.K. , Andrew Kreisberg, Eddie Berganza, Steve Jurvetson, Al Franken, Glenn Thrush, Charlie Rose, John Lasseter, and Mark Schwan.

It seems silly to me in retrospect that I didn’t realize the high levels of sexual misconduct and abuse to come out of Capitol Hill based on who has been elected and accepted into the White House.

We see strong women of power who have publicly told their stories, such as Angelina Jolie, Cara Delevingne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz. This list goes on and on. When you see these successful and powerful women take control and say it has happened to them to it truly makes you realize how common and prevalent these issues have become in our society.

Sexual assault and harassment is often thrown under the rug, unfortunately as a female college student knows this all too well.

But it’s not just women. Actor and former NFL player Terry Crews has come public with his own story. At an industry party, Crews was allegedly groped and harassed by Adam Venit in February 2016.

Venit was an executive for William Morris Endeavor, where he has represented top actors and actresses including Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, and Emma Stone. Note that two of his clients Dustin Hoffman and Brett Ratner have been accused of sexual misconduct this month.

We as a community must stand up and prevent sexual assault and misconduct. The stigma of coming out and reporting these crimes has existed for too long. The issue cannot be fixed if the victims do not have a safe and accepting place to report them.

We start by educating everyone on what sexual misconduct is. It’s a dynamic line in the sand of what is unwanted sexual conduct versus what is acceptable behavior such as innocent flirting or expressing interest. When does flirtation or expressing interest cross the line?

This is something we will all have to refine and redefine. We need to continue to stress that we will not stand for abuse and will use our voices to reject without recrimination, expose those who continue to abuse their power and care for those who are victims.

The LA Times

The Washington Post