I don’t know about you, but the last few weeks have felt all too familiar to me—and I’m not talking about Bennifer breaking up again. Horrific sexual misconduct allegations involving powerful men are once again making headlines. How did we get back here?
This was supposed to be a turning point when the #MeToo movement became a global talking point after the first explosive allegations against Harvey Weinstein in 2017. Never again would so many women be abused in this way and silenced. We expose the culture of impunity that allows people like the disgraced Miramax producer to commit crimes and believe they can get away with it. Plagued.
So why does it suddenly feel like #MeToo 2.0 has arrived?
Take former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed, who was accused of sexually assaulting and raping a former employee of the Knightsbridge store. A BBC documentary interviewed more than 20 women who said they were attacked by the billionaire, who died in 2023, while the Metropolitan Police received allegations from 19 different women dating back to 1979 and, it said, is grappling with an “unknown number” of new reports. Lawyers claim they are currently assisting around 190 women who have come forward, with more expected.
And P. Diddy, 54, who is currently in a New York detention center, is accused of violent crimes against women, including forcing them to have sex while they were having orgasms, which he described as “freaking out.” (Combs vehemently denies all the accusations against him.) Can I go on? What about the unspeakable rapes currently happening in France?
It’s no wonder many of my group chats are filled with women asking “How many more?” Many of us can’t believe we’re still having the same conversation seven years after the Weinstein scandal broke. In many ways, it feels like we’re back where we started. Except, this time, we know how things unfolded: allegations emerged, the floodgates opened, more survivors came forward, the backlash began… did anything really change?
Let me be clear: I think women who have the courage to speak out about the abuse they’ve suffered are incredibly brave. It doesn’t matter how long it took them to get there. They should never have been put in this position in the first place, and they stay silent out of fear and a false sense of shame. “At the time (when the #MeToo movement began) I wanted to speak out… but I was embarrassed and felt like a failure. I thought everyone would think I was retaliating,” one of the women involved in Al Fayed’s allegations told the outlet.
Of course, all social change movements require moments of dramatic acceleration. They are not linear, nor easy. There is no true watershed moment, only an evolutionary catalyst. But this evolution needs to happen fast. Yes, some things have changed since 2017; workplaces have anti-harassment policies, the use of NDAs is declining, women know the power of the collective voice, and bravery is contagious. They also know better how to describe what happened to them – and that it can be a crime. However, those who have come forward still face difficulties. It is time to say “it’s a matter of time” – not just for as long as the headlines last, but forever.
