From Weinstein to Kavanaugh: One Year of #MeToo

WNYC News | Oct 5, 2018

One year ago Friday, The New York Times broke the story detailing sexual assault allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Since then, survivors of sexual assault have gone public with allegations against numerous other powerful men including, most recently, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Now that the Senate will likely confirm Kavanaugh with a vote on Saturday, protesters are holding #CancelKavanaugh rallies in Washington, D.C., and across the country. It's the latest display of collective rage in a year that has seemed like a societal tipping point, fueled by women and survivors demanding that their experiences be taken seriously.

"Women aren't just angry about what we're seeing on television right now," said Tanzina Vega, host of The Takeaway, in an interview with All Things Considered host Jami Floyd. "This is a culmination of I think years, or decades, or centuries of being treated unfairly, of not being heard."

But Vega and Floyd also cited some examples when women had successfully channeled their anger into action. Last week, comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to ten years in prison, the culmination of more than a decade of legal battles. Also, last week, two activists confronted Arizona Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator about the Kavanaugh nomination. The Republican later called for an FBI investigation.

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