#MeToo

Last week renowned playwright Israel Horovitz resigned from his theatre company, Gloucester Stage Company, due to nine different woman accusing him of sexual misconduct. This adds to the conversation many people all over the world are having. The conversation about sexual assault and abuse.

This all started when people started discussing the Harvey Weinstein scandal. However, Actor Alyssa Milano wanted to change the conversation so she started the #metoo campaign which encouraged women to talk about their experiences. This has brought many women and men from all walks of life to bring forward their own experiences on sexual harassment.

This week actor Matt Smith emphasised Milano’s point.

“The conversation shouldn't stop at this industry just because these are 'celebrities' who we know about who are involved. It has to be broader. People in other industries have to have a platform to be heard as well. What happens to the cleaner or the lady who works in a clothes shop?" Smith told the Telegraph.

In his interview, Smith said that he too had been sexually objectified by men and emphasised that this isn't just a woman's problem.

The issue many people are having with situations such as the Weinstein case and the Horovitz case is why were these sexual predators allowed to do these horrible things for so long and why was this issue not addressed earlier. Many people have pointed the finger at bystanders such as Ben Affleck and Jon Stuart for either sticking up for men like Weinstein before knowing the facts or never knowing what was going on. However, how many people would actually say something if they witnessed a case of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can be found anywhere, in our workplaces, our schools, and our streets. So the question is what are we going to do about it?

The #metoo was a good start but in reality, just talking about harassment isn't going to make it stop. With regards to the entertainment industry, we need to stop being so scared of our reputations being tarnished because we spoke up. That was the main reason why noone spoke out against Weinstein. He threatened the girls saying that he will make sure they never got another acting job in their life if they told anyone.

Malta is already one step ahead when it comes to this aspect as we dealt with this situation back in 2015 when a young girl came forward stating that John Suda forced her to get naked and touch him in order to get a role. That actress is still working in the theatre industry and her reputation was not tarnished one bit.