Shivani Mody - Week Eight

#MeToo In India: Huffpost

The #MeToo movement is a movement against the sexual harassment and assault of women. As a part of this movement, Raya Sarkar consolidated a list of men in academia that had been accused of sexual harassment. The list started out small and was limited to women from her extended social circle, it eventually grew to be the LoSHA as more and more women contacted her.

An argument against naming and shaming of harassers has been put forth by many feminists. It allows for an ignorance of due process of law and forces media trials to draw verdicts. However Sarkar speaks up against these allegations that reduce such lists to mere witch hunts, citing the obvious lack of due process of law in working efficiently in such cases.

Although the list had some concrete results, and several men had lost their source of employment and/or association with institutions, many colleges refuse to carry out investigations as no official complaints have been filed. Where investigations were carried out, several names on the list were held to be guilty. 

It is important to realise the merits of the #MeToo movement in creating solidarity and providing a platform to survivors. Over the years, many women have chosen to do away with the anonymity that was characteristic of earlier complaints. This might be direct impact on reducing fear of institutional ostracisation post the complaints. While it is understandable of institutions to be vary of taking action against an employee purely based on such lists, they do need to take suo-motto cognisance of such cases as suggested by Rutuja Shinde.

Tarana Burke – MeToo is a Movement and not a Moment

Burke outlines the numbness and exhaustion that comes with being part of a movement that faces constant vilification and obstacles. The numbness is born out of a conflation of the enormity of future struggles in face of current helplessness. Within the moment it is imperative to recognise that there is institutionalised power and privilege that play into propagation of sexual violence. This same power and privilege allow for dismissal of accounts and testimonies, it allows for labelling of a movement born of empathy to be labelled a with-hunt.

However, Burke emphasises the importance of collective empathy and hope. She says that trauma is what stops possibility, but movements give birth to possibility. This possibility becomes the guiding light in creating a world that is free of sexual violence.