#metoo

Recently, Harvey Weinstein has made the news for multiple sexual assault, harassment and rape allegations made against him. Over the past week, dozens of women in the entertainment industry have spoken out about their unfortunate experiences they have had with Harvey in the past.

These allegations have shed light on the amount of women and men who face sexual assault and many people are saying that 'enough is enough!'

In a recent interview with the Today Show, Blake Lively, someone who has worked closely with Harvey said that she was saddened by the news and said that it's important to note that these kinds of assaults aren't just happening in Hollywood, but that women and men everywhere face sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.

Because of this, Alyssa Milano, a victim of Harvey Weinstein, tweeted this to her followers:

She hopes that if women would be willing to share their stories of sexual harassment, that the world would finally begin to understand just how many people are affected. Alyssa's call to action had a huge response, with 1.2 million responses on Twitter and many more million on Facebook. Women and men everywhere are responding with their own personal stories. 

This movement is powerful. It is a wake-up call for everyone that there is a problem and that there needs to be a change. This response has allowed people to courageously share their stories, but many psychologists have suggested that this movement, although empowering and eye-opening, can also lead to a harsh backlash.

Aida Manduley, a psychologist shared her thoughts. She said, "I am concerned with the victims of sexual trauma and violence who are saying to me 'I can't get away from the trigger, it's everywhere". Women who read these posts with feel anxiety and unwanted emotions about feelings maybe they haven't visited in years and thought were buried in the past, or have to deal with the trauma of their assault when they aren't completely ready to do so. 

As someone who has seen many #metoo posts online, I have become very overwhelmed and sad. The stories have brought scary and unwanted images in my mind and I have chosen to stay off of social media to avoid having to deal with the emotions. I have never personally experienced sexual assault, and so I can only imagine what these people have been through. But that's where my level of involvement stops. To get more involved in this movement is just too emotionally traumatizing for me. 

Another psychologist proves that this might be the issue for other people. She argued that for those who post their stories, they might leave worse off than had they kept their trauma to themselves. She said, "It leaves that person very exposed and vulnerable, especially if friends or loved ones don't respond or respond unfavorably, such as questioning if the abuse was real."

This is a type of compassion fatigue. 

Compassion fatigue is defined as "indifference to charitable appeals on behalf of those who are suffering, experienced as a result of the frequency or number of such appeals."

In this situation, there is an overabundance of people who have shared their stories of assault and many of those people have received love and sympathy from others, but there are also many people who have done nothing to support. 

They see these stories, recognize that they are sad, but then they go on with their lives as if nothing has happened. People may feel overwhelmed and as a way to defend their emotions, they avoid getting involved at all. They also might feel like they have nothing to offer, that alone, they wouldn't be able to make a difference, and because so, don't do anything. No matter the reasons, compassion fatigue suggests that since there so many awful things happening in the world, and because in this case, there are millions of people sharing their #metoo stories, people have become desensitized to the issue at hand. 

Like the psychologist said, this leaves these victims feeling vulnerable and helpless. The #metoo movement has the promise to make a real change, but only if people respond and do something about it. If not, it will just be another tragedy that people see on their timelines, and life will go on without any change. 

Sources: 
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/health/me-too-sexual-assault-stories-trigger-trauma/index.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/actress-blake-lively-calls-sex-harassment-global-weinstein/story?id=50505220

https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/919659438700670976