Ronan Farrow deserves one too!
I wonder about that.
I’m not questioning the predatory nature of this guy, but the incident still looks like a trap to dispose someone conveniently, who certain fractions of the IMF did not like to become President in France.
Brava. This article points out what many have missed -- in the effort to celebrate the un-silencing of victims (which, don't get me wrong, is critically important), we have not solved the problem of sexual harassment by those with power over those without or with less power. Disclosure is a first step; it doesn't eliminate the need to change a culture that enables harassment and cover-up. Our perceptions of women (and sometimes men) need to change; how we build respect for women in the eyes of men is essential. How we change deep-seeded behaviors? Therein lies the real and most important challenge. Therein lies the real rub as the adage goes.
1
It's strange that The NY Times, also known as The Great Enabler, seems to basically ignore their former reporter, Sharon Waxman. She says that she had the Harvey Weinstein story about abused actresses and other victims ready to report 13 YEARS ago! That also included information that she had researched for The Times about him and his employees in Italy and England.
However, she says that Weinstein and his cronies applied massive pressure on The Times to conveniently forget the story. The Times ran a vaguely related story that buried all the parts related to sex and other Weinstein problems. Would The Times also have ignored similar derogatory reports about non-PC people (or whatever the corresponding term was at the time)?
[Fortunately, they later did send their valuable reporters to do big exposés on people such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). They reported shocking information such as he had 4 DMV tickets over 17 years (two of which were dismissed). Apparently, none involved accidents. Naturally, they also reported that his wife had 9 tickets over that time. She didn’t have any accidents either. That’s the type of hard-hitting unbiased reporting that we can expect from The Times.]
2
Excellent article. Please turn your attention now to other industries-auto makers, service work etc and perhaps real change will then be possible. As long as the focus continues on high profile men, low profile men will not be effected.
1
A predator is a predator, pure and simple. But a predator with money and power is an entirely different animal. Google Joseph DeGregorio of Sarasota FL. He was a serial pedophile who spent decades "adopting" young boys by bribing their homeless jobless single mothers and using his in-house attorneys to threaten, harass, and sue anyone who crossed him - neighbors, cops, employees. Everybody knew. Nobody did anything. Everyone feared him. And his henchman was a PI who was a retired FBI agent who threatened victims into recanting! He would still be going strong today except an employee filed a qui tam accusing him of defrauding Medicare of many millions. When the feds seized his computers, they found child porn. Even in jail, he wielded power by purchasing commissary items to bribe other inmates. But when the feds froze his accounts and his on-hand cash dwindled, and his in-house lawyers were no longer receiving their 30 pieces of silver, he became just a chomo inmate. He has much in common with Weinstein - gross and unattractive, meglomaniacal...fortunately he is serving life without parole in a maximum security prison. Weinstein belongs there too as well as the politicians who knew and accepted his money and support anyway.
2
Self absorbed and baseless. This topic is getting quite beat up lately.
Time to move on?
3
Takeaway number one: Ronan Farrow, a man, got the story into print while Cokie Roberts and sundry other lefty 'feminists' enabled Conyers predations for decades. There's plenty of infamy to go round, but the preening of celebrities who put careers and self-interest before justice and protecting the weak is right at the top of the list. I'm surprised Judd took this long, she had no trouble screaming about Trump from the rooftops. No wonder Roy Moore looks to get elected. Conservative voters know that a Kennedy, a Conyers, or a Clintion, or a Weinstein is inside the 'magic' circle, as one victim described Obama's embrace of Clinton good buddy HW. Hillary isn't giving the money back. So much for solidarity. I'm with her!
"...confidential legal settlements..." enable predation. Prosecute those who enable and end 'confidential'.
2
Brava !! To the Koch brothers for buying Time magazine just in Time to me #MeToo the women of the year.
More money well spent.
Thank you for this reporting and your courage to keep going to bring this all to light. I hope with it comes changes across the spectrum -- but especially in industries like housekeeping, janitorial services, farm work, where the work itself may isolate women and put them at higher risk. Pair them on the job, have a report in time, provide walkie talkie check-ins, and room cameras -- whatever it takes.
10
I was glad to see that the word "alleged" was not used one time in this article. Perhaps 20 or 30 famous actresses and 100s of background confirmation: When does it get to a point where the words "alleged abuser" can simply be left out of the article?
Does ANYONE have any doubt? About Mr. Weinstein, about Bill Cosby, about Bill O'Reilly, about Roy Moore, and yes, certainly, our very own President, Mr. Donald Trump? (And yes, I would add Bill Clinton and other Democrats too.)
I am really glad the Times dug so deep into this story and hung on until they could publish it. This is a true service to our country.
18
So men's abuse of women is prevalent, systemic, and curbs women's careers. Perhaps we have finally discovered the reason so few women have been able to make CEO, or earn equal pay.
24
"Another prominent expample, she said, is the new scrutiny over confidential legal settlements ..and if they really protect the abused or whether they enable predation to continue unabated, "
Exactly how would confidential settlements "protect the abused." ?
Of course, what these settlements do is to enable the predation to continue unabated.
8
Great work NY Times. Thank you!
9
Kantor, Twohey, and Steel: if they don't get the Pulitzer for their reporting of this once-in-a-lifetime cultural shift, then the Pulitzer isn't worth its weight in words.
18
Kudos to the NYTimes reporters for this generational-culture-changing reporting. THIS is why I pay to be a subscriber.
10
Janet Porter (she's from Ohio), the Moore spokesperson I wrote about some five hours ago was just given fifteen or twenty minutes on Anderson Cooper's show. I said that her ridiculous claim about the millions of women who had not accused Moore would gain traction. Well, she rode roughshod over Cooper and probably has Moore supporters standing and cheering her on.
1
Most of us readers cheer at reporters who break the stories of victims and of course we cheer the victims.
But they alone are the ones that the predators "go after" once the stories break. There are lawsuits, and intimidating phone calls and letters from attorneys and maneuvering to intimidate them into silence.
We need to support and protect the brave whistleblowers who tell the stories and who report on them. There should be personal liability for HR representatives and colleagues who shush victims or glossing over complaints.
One way is to make punitive damages really hurt for "superstar" or highly compensated persons who harass women, and liability for others who know and do not take action. Another way is to create a right of action for retaliation against women who blow the whistle on sexual harassment either by going public or by publishing.
7
I am sharing my thoughts as you invite me to: What about Donald Trump and his accusers? Will they be named? Will he be subjected to the same headlines re this "crime" as Rose, Lauer, Weinstein. et al?
4
How is being an assistant for Harvey Weinstein - basically a glorified gofer - such a valuable "career" that you willingly participate in his sexual assaults and rapes?
19
It’s how a lot of Hollywood works, actually. At an agency like WME, for example, the path famously often started in the mailroom- or as an assistant to someone powerful. On a movie or TV set, the PA or production assistant is the lowest rung on the ladder- that eventually leads to the next thing. It’s not unusual to start in a grunt/gofer/assistant role - from there you build access and connections.
3
This is what paid journalism produces. The NYT will continue to get my money monthly. Great work. Thank you.
27
I think the last one, continuation, is most important. Bad guys will be quiet for a while with half-smile: "A wonder lasts but nine days.” "Any storm dies away."
Excellent article. I think the next step is to eradicate the EEOC requirement that women (and men) who have suffered job-related sexual abuse/harassment first go through arbitration before seeking court redress. After filing an EEOC case, the complainant MUST go through arbitration, there is no choice. The vast majority of cases that even make it to EEOC are settled in arbitration with NO PUBLIC RECORD. Allowing all complainants the choice of going to court would make the charges against employers part of the public record and make it clear exactly how many employees are harassed by specific employers. Decades ago I brought charges against a large utility company in NYC for sexual harassment (e.g., language, used condoms in my workspace, attempted assault, pornographic films in the company break room). My case was settled in arbitration in my favor but at that time I was only the latest in a string of women who had filed sexual harassment/assault cases against the same set of managers. None of these cases created a public record. So of course the culture never changed.
26
Agreed. And in a just world, Clarence Thomas would retire from the Court and Anita Hill would take his place.
10
Now that harassment and abuse are more visible, it is time to consider the proper punishment for offenders. The big picture reveals that most women claim to have been harassed. That means there are millions upon millions of offenders. While there is innocuous misconduct that is equally widespread -- like breaking the speed limit and puffing on your tax deductions -- harassment is not considered innocuous. On the other hand, if tens of millions of men do it, it is unlikely that the intent of all is evil. Acts of serious moral turpitude are simply not virtually universal. While women are outraged at harassment, many offending men don't seem to understand that. They appear to be oblivious to the harm that they do. The seriousness of any offense is based partly on harm to the victim and partly on the intent of the offender. It is time to formally grade offenses and to explore the intent of the offender so that the punishment fits the crime. Until a system of punishment is in place, the victims lack an adequate remedy.
6
I watched this twice out of admiration for all of the participants and a deep appreciation for the conversation and its ramifications. Today, TIME magazine contributed to the conversation by its choice of 'Man' of the Year. But, the work these reporters, editors, contributors did advances what can be said and which powerbroker can be held to account. I hope the reach for the story continues to grow and look forward to more of this excellent work on behalf of many many victims who remain voiceless.
4
I had the misfortune of working under O'Reilly when my career first started. Bill was rountinely, and quite openly, verbally abusive and threatening to men and women. Now, I am not trying to equate my suffering through Bill's tantrums to what he did to women. There's no comparison. What I am trying to point out to business owners, and HR heads, is if you have an employee that feels comfortable being verbally abusive and threatens peoples jobs IN FRONT OF OTHER EMPLOYEES, it's safe to assume that when there aren't witnesses, their behavior is even worse. No one should feel at ease threatening another's job. If someone needs to be fired, it should not be a public spectacle. No employee should feel comfortable screaming obscenities into another employee's face. That behavior must not be allowed to become routine. Bill O'Reilly created the very definition of a toxic workplace. Whenever Bill was on the road, it was like a 45 ton blanket had been lifted from our collective shoulders. The sense of relief was palpable. Those are the conditions under which we were all asked to work and I actually heard executives wonder out loud why morale was so low! I hope that all those that turned a blind eye to it, spend the rest of their lives haunted by the blood on their hands. True, it was Bill that was the actual abuser. But YOU enabled it, and emboldened him, by allowing his repugnant and corrosive behavior to make all of us miserable. You need to own that.
75
Jayce, as one who went through abusive behavior at work I really felt chilled reading your comment. Thank you for this. YES. A million times over YES!
4
It was great to see Ashley Judd made the cover of Time. Her experience wasn't the most shocking but she was the first celebrity to step forward and put her name on the record. She will be an example that I will teach my daughter about.
15
My silence as I witnessed the president of a client company sexually harass his female colleagues at a holiday party about 25 years ago amounted to nothing less than negligent complicity.
My mind raced as I watched in disbelief (or denial?) as this man continually tried to lift the skirt of one of his female VPs. As I watched, I calculated how much revenue our company would lose if I stopped him, which would have resulted in his embarrassment in front of all the party attendees. The end result of my calculation was -- silence.
Then a good thing happened: the brave victim of his harassment saved me -- and all of the other silently complicit bystanders -- from further moral dilemma by grabbing his hand and simply stating to him, "If you try to lift my skirt again, I will punch you in your face." Embarrassed, his face turned red as he melted back into the crowd. He was well behaved -- at least for the rest of that party.
I still squirm when I think of what I could have/should have done that night. But I know that if presented with a similar situation today, I will not be silent.
22
Well, I'm here for my #metoo moment, but it's a little different and one that I am interested in know more about. I was not sexually harassed, but I was bullied and "tag teamed" by two men at a company I worked at a few years ago. The way it worked was that a new team member that reported to me did not like my decision making and openly refused to make the necessary changes to the work we were tasked with, he would, instead of talking to me, go to a more senior male member of our group to complain about my decisions. That man then would pull me aside in conference rooms and - I kid you not - would yell at me at the top of his lungs about my choices. Once it was so bad that afterward I had to leave the building to gather my nerves because I was shaking so much. And yes, I did let people know this happened. I reported these incidents to my boss who still had full confidence in me. The only thing that happened was that the more senior guy was "talked to". The incidents still kept happening. Eventually the entire division was laid off in a restructure, but I have been haunted by these moments since.
When we talk about sexual harassment in the workplace, can we please also talk about this kind of bullying? I am not the first woman to experience this kind of harassment or the last. I realize this is non sexual, but it still feels very similar to me. It's about abuse, suppression, threats.
32
I experienced a similar, albeit lower level type of bullying when I was appointed to lead a team and teach a new production technology. It’s called “malicious compliance”. It was nasty. There was no screaming but sabotage and isolation. Made my life miserable for some time with loads of extra work getting everyone on the same page. Ultimately things somehow worked out and they were grateful I saved and upgraded their careers.
1
Macbloom, I was working in Palo Alto when this happened. (saw you are in Menlo Park...) Their behavior seemed methodical, definitely intended to chip away at my ability to lead my team. I was holding a coveted position that the male colleague wanted, and I am sure that is what motivated his abuse. I am really glad to hear your situation worked out.
Libel is something to be considered, always, when making accusations. I certainly do not support harassment or worse, but I also do not support unsubstantiated claims of harassment simply for the fact that it is too easy for untruth to be used as a weapon.
I point to a claim I read in another NYT article today, that some women business owners and others in positions of power who suggested they may not hire men because, apparently, they are now of a belief that all (?) men are predators or perhaps simply "risky". That kind of thinking works both ways, and again, if mere claims are proof enough against a man, or anyone, as to harassment, women will be seen as dangerous to hire.
Thus, my point is that claims need to be supported by evidence. How to make that easier, I have no idea, and understand quite well that it is difficult, yet again, there is absolutely no reason that one person's word should be more believable than another's without some sort of history of complaints, etc., and even that is shaky grounds.
Right now, there's just panic, thus the ousting of so many men. But sooner or later, someone is going to say "prove it," and if the claimant cannot, there will be a big pause to things, and it may get ugly.
So again, mere accusations are not enough.
(And please, I am not speaking of Weinstein or others who have multiple claims/etc. against them.)
3
Back in the free love period of the late 1960's this type of behavior was OK. Free love, drugs aplenty and all was alright with the world. Now these young adults from that era are beginning to realize that this behavior is not. Disgusting on both parts.
1
Sorry, but where did you get that idea?
Consensual "free love" is an entirely a different topic than sexual harassment and abuse of power aimed at someone entirely unwilling.
Actual "free love" involved love. It was not harassment or assault. Back in the day, people who understood the "love" part knew the difference. There were always the pseudo types who didn't know the difference. Don't blame what you don't understand.
Anyone who has seen Ashley Judd's background on Wikipedia, knows that she has graduated with distinction from Harvard, in addition to being a highly successful actress, a field which is competitive in its own right. For these accomplishments,
no less than her charming persona, she richly deserves the seriousness accorded her.
40
Actually, she went to Univ. of Kentucky, and she did the same one year mid-career degree from Harvard in government as did Bill O'Reilly. But, nice try...
2
@David: Ashley Judd is a serious activist with impressive credentials and experience. As you say, she’s been highly successful as an actress, as well. I was struck by your reference to her “charming persona.” She is very poised and articulate. I wonder if you would refer to a man in he same way, however. I would replace “charming persona” with “her intelligence and professionalism.” Confronting sexual harassment and systemic abuses of power do not require a charming persona.
16
A woman who graduated from Podunk U also should be taken seriously.
10
Great article. It prepares us for what to expect when we report things. A lot of womens' dismay comes from unrealistic expectations of support. Know what you are getting into, and be prepared for real combat. Your co-workers are not necessarily friends. Then report it anyway – because if you put up with shabby treatment, your only reward will be more of the same.
10
Beyond accountability, beyond dismantling the Complicity Machine is finding the language to re-shape our hard-wired thoughts.
Or the behavior goes underground again.
Emily Steel replied that O'Reilly must be angry, etc., when he did not look at her, but at her colleague Mike. Queried again, with a pointed gender aspect, she says that she was not in his head.
Excuses for bad behavior is ground zero for protecting the patriarchy. Denying your person hood is a silencing. Not every slight is intentional, but the oppression narrative is pervasive. When we are free to name what we are told to overlook, real change occurs.
If a couple is spoken to as if the women does not exist - call it for what it is. Now, remind me of the word for this.
4
Thank you to the women who have spoken out and the journalists who continue to uncover and breakdown the structure that allows abuse to thrive. These stories have provided a background for conversations with my friends where we realized within a close circle of friends, multiple mutual abusers and a pattern of silence amongst us that now is unmuted. We are all in this together and we will knock it down.
9
This is a well timed recognition to these brave women, and some men as well. The pattern of abuse is clearly seen, but the question is "Where does the movement go from here?"
I hope this help cleanse the rot inside many HR departments that seem to be neither human nor a resource. If anything they are II - Inhuman and Impediment.
But I am equally concerned about how these abusive men will be punished. I hope they are dogged by law suits that makes them paupers. That, to me, will be more sweet justice than sending them to jail because in jail they'll be eating and living on public dole. And, I don't want to spend one dime of public money in supporting them. Let them become paupers and see how an average American lives.
7
We have now read many thousands of words about Harvey Weinstein. We have also read a lot about other bad actors in the entertainment industry and the media. Most of your stories have involved famous and prominent men and women operating in a world that most of us know little about and can barely imagine. Several of those men have been effectively destroyed, at least in the short term.
As for Weinstein and O'Reilly, it seems to me that your reporters are beating on dead horses. They're easy, schadenfreude targets--oh how the mighty have fallen--and they're mostly done for (well, maybe not O'Reilly). Women like Ms Judd and Ms Paltrow were stars. They and other big stars made, what--millions of dollars over the course of their short careers? Why the focus on all the famous people. Enough with the movie stars and news anchors.
What about the working level no-name men and women in other places--banking, the drug industry, the financial industry, the medical profession, the sciences, the manufacturing and service industries? By continuing to make a front page attraction out of people like Weinstein and their misbehavior with respect to various star actresses and would-be media stars, your reporters are shooting at sitting ducks.
And by the way, are there any women harassers and abusers?
7
You my fellow dear Portlander, have some schooling to do. Blowing off the victims, the patriarchy of powerful rich men and their henchmen is inexcusable. Then you lower yourself with a flip comment about women harassers and abusers, have you not been listening to the fact that most women have suffered from sexual harassment? I wonder if you are just another defensive male. Can't tell by your name, but shame on your for your insensitive, uneducated comments.
7
When the no-name men and women in other places are ready, they will rise. Be ready.
2
I am a man and was harassed by a woman at work. She called me, left voice mail messages, sent texts, for months. I have tried to raise the implications of this experience in the discourse regarding harassment and have been met with outrage for doing so, just like one of the other respondents in his reaction to your question. The fact is, unless we are willing to look at the problem in all of its diversity, acknowledge all of the forms and directions it takes, we will only be perpetuating the longstanding pattern of denying its occurrence.
2
Thank You Time Magazine - finally the women are heard. And a Heartfelt * Thank you * to all the brave women coming forward. I hope this encourages more women to run for office - we need change. We need you in the Senate and House!
13
There was a rumor awhile back that Judd was going to run for a KY US Senate seat. I'd love to see her run - and win. Even better if she ended up in McConnell's seat!
63
Yes, it would be so just for Ashley Judd to win Mitch McConnell’s Senate seat!!! I think that she would contribute a lot of good to our beleaguered Congress and she could join other strong women in the Senate.
5
A good woman already ran against McConnell. Kentucky doubled down on stupid.
2
It wasn't a rumor--she was seriously considering it.
But by allowing herself to be named in the original Times article about Weinstein she ultimately accomplished perhaps more than any senator could hope to.
People who need to force others to love them are pathetic. Weinstein and Company -- try being nice instead. Buying flowers can work. It's not THAT hard.
1
Apparently some women were so harassed they went back two or three times.
6
This comment fails to account for the fact that women are often dependent on their harassers for their paycheck...so YES, they may have been harassed two or three or four times until they figured out how to change jobs and get another paycheck so they could keep a roof over their head and food on the table for their children.
7
This is not about sex.
It's about abuse of power and extortion.
25
We are dealing with a mania for power in which women are repeatedly used or abused in playing out the needs of men of no real principles.
7
There is an ugliness here,
and it's being uprooted.
It takes a lot of courage to yank up such a thorny weed.
Thank you to those who are standing up.
I will not say "why didn't you send up before?"
because I am not in your shoes. Just reading of this whole ugly Weinstein thing helps me understand how hard it can be to shout above the glitz, the sneers, the rampant abuse to say wait. He raped me. Wait. He bullied me in the ugliest, most brutal way. Wait. I'm drowning in your complicity.
Harvey, you thought you were producing "Shakespeare in Love," but with every vile act, you were actually writing "The Naked Devil in Disgusting Lust," starring Harvey Weinstein.
I don't type that to pile on. I type it to say we all have urges, we all have moments when we ignore what is right, and we must hold one another accountable to be decent human beings. To be just, if not kind to one another. When Harveys or Roys or O'Reillys are allowed to lumber around, wantonly destroying hopes, dreams, innocence, trust, self-confidence, we are all diminished.
So, good. Tear the covers off. Get to the root of it.
Let the sun shine in.
Thanks brave reporters.
Most of all,
thanks brave women who had to struggle through so much
to pull us all out of complacency.
We are better for it.
The next time someone wonders if
your skirt was too short,
or neckline too low,
or you didn't struggle enough,
you have my permission
to take their head off.
28
Please. This hysterical over-repose has reached epidemic proportions. Get a grip.
7
What is "hysterical over-repose"?
Objection to bullying and rape?
"Get a grip"?
I'd suggest that Mr. Weinstein was a little too comfortable getting a grip.
Please.
2
Please include the brave housekeeper, Nafissatou Diallo, who "outed" the World Bank president Dominque Strauss-Kahn for sexual harassment, in your list of women who have made an impact is this movement. That was a significant moment in the push-back by women who were assaulted by powerful men.
126
This entire "sexually assaulted/offended" bonanza seems to have reached pile-on status to the point that if a grocery stock clerk tells someone
that bananas look good today she/he will file an assault charge against him. There are, indeed, serious sex crimes to deal with. Al Franken posing for a tasteless but harmless photo that was clearly intended as a joke is not one of them. Nor is employing his tongue too enthusiastically in a comedy sketch. Tell him to cool it and move on.
I have been subjected to unwanted sexual advances from both male and female employers/bosses since the age of 17 when I first arrived in
Hollywood and started in the movie business. Never once did I feel so threatened or offended or morally compromised that I felt the need to
call the police or a press conference. I handled it, calmly and without violence, and it never happened twice. Had I allowed it to continue in order to keep a job, I would have absolutely no respect for myself, and I have little respect for any man or woman who would. Actual physical violence or intimidation aside, get over yourselves and find a new job.
15
You are completely missing the point, IV, to the degree I'm not sure you bothered reading this article. The women who have come forward - particularly in the cases of Harvey Weinstein and Bill O'Reilly, as discussed here - were repeatedly threatened, intimidated, and not given work as a punishment for rejecting sexual advances. In some cases, it harmed their careers for decades, merely for turning down these oversized male egos.
The bigger problem being exposed is the entire CULTURE that enables predators to continue abusing over, and over, and over free of repercussions, enabling men to abuse their positions of power and making women (and sometimes other men) feel powerless to change anything. The difference now is that silence is finally being shattered, so those subject to abuse can call out their abusers and be heard. And hopefully, we can create a healthier, more equitable work environment open to all men AND women - not just the ol' boys.
To "Independent Voter"
You say, " I handled it, calmly and without violence, and it never happened twice."
Lucky you. You were not, apparently, attacked by somebody much larger and stronger than you are, who was determined to have you and simply overpowered you. Or masturbated over you. You say about yourself that it was nothing you couldn't handle. That only speaks to the physical weakness of your harassers, and perhaps to their lack of tenacity and determination.
It never happened twice? What if it had happened over and over, and you felt stalked in your home and workplace; and your harasser had not only absolute deniability, but absolute control over whether you ever worked again? I'm amazed at how concrete you are --- unable to put yourself into another's shoes and think conceptually. You are only capable of dealing with exactly what happened to you and how you yourself were able (again, apparently) to get over it. I suggest you have not really gotten over it at all and have not honestly thought this through. Perhaps you are so deep in your denial that you cannot return to your circumstances and imagine a very young, petite person in the thick of a determined attack from the likes of a naked Weinstein.
1
Well, aren’t you special. I am guessing you are male and didn’t get inundated with the place nice, be polite, be a lady thought police to such a degree that you are expected to accept the idea that grabbing, groping, gross comments, and jokes about your body parts comes with the job of being female. Oh what a great joke, pretending to grab a woman’s breasts, a woman who has already shoved you away and rebuked your advances, and take a photo that is now all over the news. I cannot stop laughing. You dare to asses how that woman felt? You dare to decree it was harmless? What a great human you are that you can equate your experiences to everyone else’s and say get over it. NO. No more do we just have to get over it or be forced to look for another job. No. One voice after another speaking up, individuals stepping forward and sharing their stories. And these highly visible men are only the tip of the ice berg. I hope these stories causes every person out there who thinks the title on their door entitles them to grab, grope, or sexually harass, loses sleep wondering if their game is up. I heard a man the other day he didn’t want to have to think about his every interaction with a woman and I was stunned. As a women we are taught very young to think about our every action with men from eye contact, to mannerisms, to dress, to carrying pepper spray, to where we walk at night, to where park our car, to learning how to carry our keys so we are ready to stab, to where to kick a man.
5
Those who protected him, and smoothed things over and under the rug, should be outed, fired and shunned. The are guilty of assessory to sexual assault. Finally, they should be sued.
16
Apparently both Bill and Hillary knew about the sleaze and covered it up. Anyone be it male or female who participates in this level of behavior ought to be more than sued or shunned. They need to be arrested ASAP.
5
The fact that a woman in Alabama can get away with her statement that there were more women in Alabama who were not accusing Moore should be seen as a warning. The statement was ridiculous but in these times and in that state of Alabama it will probably gain traction. Trump's women are scary.
16
Women's response to Harvey et al
"No, one click to record on my phone and you're done.
We are women everywhere and you now see what we can do. We can marshal greater resources. We have more eyes and ears.
Go ahead, make my day."
9
I'm glad for women getting their day but I'd like to remind us all that these techniques are also used to do many things other than facilitate sexual perversions. From foreman on construction jobs to Lawyers working in our government people use manipulation, authority, position to "get" what they want out of others in ways that are not strictly right or even legal.
I was severely abused and sent into and awful mental emotional tailspin by the Prosecutor I was directed to report my situation to just so he did not have to take on a difficult case that would surely just as the Weinstein case has, attract many similar reporters empowered by my reporting. When I had a sudden realization during fitful sleep 5 days later that he not only should not have done that but that it was actually his job to not do what he did instead of properly debriefing me and soliciting me to find out what I could tell him I left a message telling him off. This got me police at my front door several thousand miles away, obviously to intimidate me into silence, who told me the Prosecutor was afraid of me and I was directed to never contact that office again! I asked the local cop what would happen here and he said "I'd just take the report. I have no idea why this guy doesn't just take the report."
This sort of corruption is widespread and many people in our Government think they have the right to operate in this way. In this case I know it is to hide a can of worms that will stink up the whole state.
2
This other story which appeared in today’s NYT, demonstrates some of the issues with the ‘witch-hunt’ of the day…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/obituaries/christine-keeler-75-centra...®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=9&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2017%2F12%2F05%2Fobituaries%2Fchristine-keeler-75-central-figure-in-a-british-scandal-dies.html&eventName=Watching-article-click
Here we have a woman who, when she was apparently a teen, was willingly wooed by a powerful man 20+ years her senior. She then continued to have affairs with a number of powerful men, and the story seems to suggest that the entire time, she was in control, knew exactly what she was doing, and got out of each affair, more or less what she wanted. I would suppose that all things being equal, all it might have taken is for this now-deceased woman to have been aware of/bought into the recent social media whirl regarding sexual harassment (of women) for her to decide that in fact she was in fact a victim.
Victim? Eyes-wide-open participant? Hypocrite? Opportunist? The actual instigator? It’s all very fluid, now isn’t it?
5
HR Departments are hopeless facades; their job is to protect the institution, not the individuals.
72
Harrassment of women has been going on since women were dragged by the hair out of the proverbial cave. A huge sea change is needed for our 21st century life that all women will not have to wonder who is a predator. But a cultural shift will not happen overnight. Various cultures deal with it in ways that do not mitigate the problem like strict rules between sexes or total facial body covering in public. But there still are predators who cave to their urges. They have no fear that harrassment or coersion for sexual favors is unacceptable and should be universally against the law. Like the brave women in 1900 who fought for equality we must now say this is the tipping point, we have not finished by a long shot.
14
I"m thankful for The NY Times and the reporters here who continue to pursue this issue and keep it on the front page where it belongs. Thanks to their efforts victims of sexual harassment are learning that it is safe to speak out. It is important to show that often predators do not operate alone but are protected by individuals and institutions alike. This is a systemic problem that wants to keep women back or blackmail them into complicity and silence. Thank you for showing that and for keeping up the pressure to change.
16
A lot of people and institutions, like "Time" magazine are declaring this a watershed moment, but I am not sanguine. For example, few of the headline use the word "rape" when it is clearly called for; other headlines make molehills into mountains. When our culture goes after incest in the same way, I will become hopeful. The Civil Rights movement made great strides for people of color, but black and brown people are still shot by police for no reason, and those policemen are almost never, ever convicted of any wrongdoing.
We may have passed the time period during which women were afraid to speak up, but that does not mean that we will change the culture or the justice system.
9
Ashley Judd is just as brainy as her appearance indicates she is. One look at her background at Harvard tells us all there is to know. God bless her for having the courage to come forward
13
People need to understand that HR is there to protect the company. Not the employees.
There are a lot of complicit HR folks in on this from the get go.
40
I work in an HR department - you're absolutely right. This protection is done at the top of the department, not by the low-level staffers.
18
Agree -- and I think one step in the movement forward should be that HR departments across the country should do a deep re-examination of their practices and retrain its HR staff. Having a sexual harassment policy on paper and making employees watch a 30 minute sexual harassment video is mere window dressing and totally ineffective if in practice, HR people ignore, dismiss complaints, or protect abusive managers/employees. I have seen it happen, even with non-sexual harassment complaints but say, gender neutral bullying in the workplace -- the accuser gets thrown under the bus, the bully-manager retaliates, and the accuser has no recourse but to quit. C'mon HR -- what's wrong with your field???
1
It's surprising to me, at least on some level, that there wasn't some stronger reaction from the victims. Knowing that your career was about to become cold toast, wouldn't you want to maneuver into a position where you could bean the perp with a table lamp? Was there no small satisfaction like that?
2
Those who believe they see are truly blind, and those who are blind have the gift of sight.
I know this isn't a partisan issue, because predators can be of any political persuasion, however, there is a reason this seems to be affecting the left in greater numbers. As the left has claimed the moral high ground on women's issues and rights, essentially believing they have better insight into how to protect women, they have in essence inflicted their own blindness by creating cover for their own - the means justified the ends of covering their own. Meanwhile, the right has been exposed to a constant stream of sunlight. Again, no side is greater in terms of its sins committed - just one side became blind to what was going on in their own house.
A lesson for everyone - left and right.
5
@William
I disagree, in part. The Response is clearly Partisan.
Republicans, lead by a Predator who made crass, overtly sexual comments about his own daughter, and who has openly bragged about abusing women, has made it the Republican Policy to support Roy Moore, a person who appears to make even trump look bland.
Trump, and his republican sycophants, would support a Child Molester as a Senator, rather than a man who prosecuted a man who murdered little girls in a Birmingham .church.
That, William, is as 'partisan' as it gets.
30
Ridiculous. It's not happening "on the left" in greater numbers, it's being ADDRESSED by "the left" with more transparency. Look at Roy Moore/Trump - the accusations are out there but "the right" is circling the wagons to protect them and discredit the victims. Mainly so that they can keep power and wealth in their own (mostly) white and (mostly) male hands.
The fact is our entire society is built on a rotten base of misogyny and racism. We need to open our eyes, see it for what it is (regardless of gender, gender-identity, or skin color) and start dismantling the institutions that allow and even encourage terrible things to keep happening.
28
We are all pretty much partisan. We can pretend we aren't, but in the end the great majority of us identify with a set of values. For the record, I have never registered with either party in my life.
The surface of the problem is harassment and abuse, but the root of the problem has stemmed from a culture of acceptance and cover-up for the purpose of protecting the "cause". My point was not that either party does it more, just that we on the right, have had to deal with ours on a more constant basis. Our news anchor was ousted last year before much of this, much to the applause on the left, and of course we had the more recent allegations against Trump and Moore. Now the one thing that seems to happen more on the right is that the accusations seem to come only when it is politically motivated, and that places the accusations to be somewhat suspect, similar to the ones that were levied against Clinton at the time. This political motivation casts doubts into voters minds on both sides.
The other big difference is that on the left, there seems to be mountains of evidence and corroborating witnesses that you end up with a different story - "oh yeah, everyone knew there was a problem." Really? Everyone knew about Weinstien, Lowry and others? So that's why it seems the dam is breaking on the left, especially by the supposed champions of women's issues, and therein is the irony.
Anyway, a self-reckoning is never pretty or easy - but it is necessary and cathartic.
After reporting like this and the inevitable very costly civil lawsuits against enablers to come, I hope more women who find themselves in such a situation feel empowered to quietly press record on their smartphone, get a lawyer and contact the organization's HR department.
It's a game changer.
108
Be careful. It is not legal to record in some states without the other party's knowledge. Still, it may be enough to just pull out the phone and press record in their presence.
5
@Paul: Thanks for the warning. From now on whenever I'm speaking with a woman I'll assume I'm being recorded. I used to behave myself in order to keep a good conscience. I guess that was kind of old fashioned. Now I will behave out of fear of Big Brother. (Or should I say Big Daddy?) What progress. This must be America, land of the free.
Well said Paul, thank you.
I think Ashley Judd may have given him a real problem. She's educated, already successful, and highly credible.
41
Does that mean that unemployed high school dropouts can be disregarded?
6
The errant love-child of J Edgar Hoover and the Baron Harkonnen. Utterly bloated and dissipated, with only the energy left for his bad intentions.
3
Predators should be prosecuted. HOWEVER women entered the workplace in numbers unheard of prior to my generation they entered a place where they are exposed to Men. Men are nice and love women (it makes the world go 'round) women love attention from men they are attracted to the result is a workplace kabuki dance for many and a mine field of misinterpretations for most. The tragedy is women who hate Men and Men who hate women and their abuse of each other. People deserve respect and security, who ever and where ever they are. The hashtag business reminds me of the early Tea Party, fervent believers in a good cause that become lost in the "Agenda" of those who co-opt the movement.
8
The workplace is a minefield only for those people who have a hard time with the word no, saying it or hearing it when it is said.
Women who hate Men and men who hate women have bigger problems than an HR department or a legal policy can fix. Fortunately, these people are somewhat rarer than your post would indicate.
8
Women have been in the workplace in material numbers since the Industrial Revolution and for sure since WWI...why is it still shocking to men to work with women? Are men such slow learners? And as to your definition of "tragedy", none of the disclosures are from women who hate men, simply from women who hate being abused by men. But thanks anyway for mansplaining...
12
The word Victim is a giant word that contains so much, victims are to be protected and fought for. My point was the Man Haters will co-opt the movement and the Truth and Justice issue will degrade to an Us vs Them that will be fodder for propagators of Hate Speech. I genuinely hope the real issue is not lost in the Religious Fervor of the agenda promoters that will dominate the news cycles.
What is sickening about this whole thing is that it was never a secret. Fox knew that O'Riley was paying off victims but his contract stated they would have to prove it in court or they couldn't fire him. Matt Lauer was openly sexual harassing during interviews. There had to have been too many rumors to ignore about abuse but the higher-ups believed that he racked his brain and couldn't think of any. Charlie Rose still can't figure out why Charlie being Charlie in the nude was sexual harassment. The women's supervisors knew it was going on. From way back, it was not a secret that some women slept their way to the top in Hollywood, willingly or otherwise. Women are still abused by the courts if they accuse a man of rape. Last but not least, we have James Levine, around whom rumors have swirled for decades, that he was abusing young men and nobody at the Met bothered to investigate or even wanted too. The common denominator is the money-making potential from these men's work.
What this means is that men, aided and abetted the sexual abuse of women and some men at their workplace. What does this say about people who have power over other people? Didn't their parents teach them to treat others as you would have others treat your siblings? I can't call them pigs because that would be an insult to pigs. Heads should also roll in the upper management circles for allowing criminal behavior on their watch.
69
The article on "Weinstein's Complicity Machine" horrified me even more than the allegations against Weinstein himself. There will always be Harvey Weinstein's but they can't survive in a world where they are recognized and stopped. That so many people helped him to continue his predatory behavior, and so many women among them, is the real horror of the "#metoo" movement. Will it stop? My answer is "no," and what else would it be when we consider who sits in the Oval Office, and the huge number of women who put him there and still support him.
50
And who sat in the Oval Office before (Clinton).
5
Number 6 is the Hollywood A listers to the C celebrities knew for a long time that Weinstein was a predator of women. Feminist women of Hollywood never spoke up. Hypocrites.
10
In this heyday of coming forward, I would like to urge caution. Women do accuse for other reasons than the truth. A close friend was involved with an unstable woman who wanted to punish him for something else. She put him in prison with her false claim. A lie detector test proved his innocence, but not until after prison time a felony plea, and SO designation, which do not go away. It does happen.
Many would love to get Al Franken out of the way, for example. He is too effective as a legislator. As long as he is denying some of the charges, I would be very careful about investigating them before trying him in the court of public opinion!
37
You can be successful at your job and still be a sexual harasser or abuser.
8
Look, plenty of women have been involved with unstable men who wanted to punish them, both in the workplace and outside of it.
3
And I am frightened for my son in this climate, almost more than for my Google employed daughter.
In the year 2017 one has to wonder how far we have evolved as men. Along with the opioid epidemic, we face a national sexual harassment epidemic that has been going on for decades from all levels of society. We have to weed out this scourge root by root. We have to interrupt during conversations about women that are disparaging, disrespectful, boasting and insensitive. Parents need to talk to the children and educate them about the dangers of sexual predators. Temples, churches, schools, the entire community needs to be involved in this education and speak out loud. The abuse of power from the patriarchy must end. Women must be hired. Norway is a pioneer in gender equality, maybe we need to take some lessons from them. And as for me, I will never understand how any human being could vote a sexual predator into the highest office of government in the United States. It sickens me and defies any logic in thinking. I hope the articles in the NYT are a huge wake up call for our entire society and I thank the New York Times for naming names and its' in depth coverage.
86
What must end is the patriarchy. We need equality. I wonder how this would have played out if the Equal Rights Amendment had been passed.
7
There are already laws against rape. Rape is epidemic to the point that the term "rape culture" is used by young women to describe the cesspool they have to wade through to make their way in the world. Would the ERA have changed that? No. We need a real, deep examination of our values, and a total rejection of using women as objects for men's pleasure. No law will do that.
3
Calling this an epidemic, as Mr Kennedy does in his reply here, may help us see additional ways to address sexual harassment: it is, in part, a public health problem.
3
The only other parallels that comes to mind matching the machine of coercion, intimidation, fear, and complicity by the hand of the powerful is that experienced by those suffering under the most repressive of regimes – the Soviet Union, fascist Europe, Putin’s Russia.
It is so disheartening that the U.S. legal system, through the use of these non-disclosure agreements, has and can be used to shield such horrific criminal behavior, its perpetrators and its enablers.
Fox News, Miramax, The Weinstein Company, and others are nothing more than criminal organizations. How many more are out there?
As for the rest of society, we need to look to our own Truth and Reconciliation, much like South Africa did in the 1990s, to have any hope of emerging as the free and democratic society we like to think we are.
25
Since you ask how many more, Franken and Conyers for starters in DC, several Dem congressmen in Calif. (who used taxpayer money to silence women), Rose at PBS, and lots to come in H-wood and the Silicon Valley. Ironically, so far, most are the kind of folks who've spent years accusing the u-know-who party of a War On Women.
2
Who are the lawyers and assistants that covered for all these predators?
53
Whoever they are, they're most likely cowering right now.
4
It will come out, but they're doubtlessly rewriting their resumes and LinkedIn profiles.
1
Thank you for continuing to report the nuances of this so we can all, finally, get a better understanding of the immediate, and long-standing harm and personal burden that sexual harassment, even in what looks like subtle forms, can do. The silence surrounding this has allowed levels of fear, shame, and guilt in victims to go unaddressed for way to long. Hopefully, the discussion will help people understand why we stay silent in these situations, for our protection, and give us a new language to speak.
27
I applaud these reporters and I also applaud them for asking: "What next?" One thing that's become clear is that company's HR departments are in many cases no good at policing the organization but default to protecting it. The Catholic Church and Penn State couldn't police themselves, either, so this isn't a surprise. Organizations protect themselves first. Victims need to have resources elsewhere.
As some victims complained about how there was no "district attorney for Hollywood," one possibility is that there could be. There could be a fluid reporting system (perhaps housed within the police department) that would allow people to report a harasser without filing immediate charges, and then the accusers would be notified if/when someone filed similar charges. These events often occur in closed rooms, behind doors, and it is this very "he-said/she-said" nature that makes them hard to prove (and the abusers exploit that, especially because they have powerful lawyers.) But if victims knew that there were four or five others with the same concerns, they could mount a lawsuit together, and prosecutors could be more optimistic about taking on such cases. Strength in numbers is the real story behind this story.
46
The Screen Actors Guild now combined with AFTRA is in a good position to provide leadership. Maybe writing codes of conduct into contracts is a good starter.
Fresh out of grad school, I worked for a Fortune 500 financial firm. Unfortunately, early in my career abusive scenarios unfolded. Moreover, when I brought predatory behavior to the attention of upper management, I was threatened with regulatory filings and lawsuits. My resignation was demanded; I declined. Women coworkers, including Human Resources staffers, did nothing but instead, protected the abuser. My work quality was cross examined and I was under vicious attack. No one in the organization covered me. Privately, I contacted a knowledgeable attorney who guided me through steps to protect myself. Shielded by this 'powerful weapon' I launched my 20-year career and took over a corner suite-- predators avoided me.
Summary: If you are are targeted by an abuser, your firm, including HR, will not support you. Coworkers may be in the same boat-- too terrified speak. Instead, be covert: find the 'powerful weapon' who will speak for you in terms that everyone can understand.
136
I'm in my 40s now and I finally got smart: Before any meetings with HR, I always consult with an attorney. It's worth the money.
43
I agree. Gives new meaning "it takes money to make money," or, "gotta pay to play." You don't have to be someone who instead of being an actress, business leader, scientist, doctor or lawyer, says you're gonna devote your life to this. Fight for yourself, the real you.
3
But most women posting about this, clearly state that HR and company higher-ups protecting the OFFENDER -- and did not believe the accuser.
And most women cannot afford a costly attorney, who can easily charge $400 an hour in a big city.
12
Good work but there are too many white women on the panel. Try harder to be more inclusive.
8
"There are too many white women on the panel"
Good God, and why aren't there men on the panel, we're not all sexual abusers.
12
How do you know they're white? Some of the women could be mixed race. And by the way, writing from Oregon, which 83.6% white. Isn't that a little too white for you?
13
If you want to insult me try harder. I grew up in Chicago and it is 32 percent black. Moreover I lived all over the USA in 6 different states......
1
This struggle is more noble for the call of duty that drove it to fruition. There is real admiration in the accomplishment, but the honor is in the pursuit.
5
Honor, Tony E? Women should be honored that they are stepping up and demanding basic human rights? No, the honor is not in the "pursuit". It is in Success and Women will have it.
10
This is not "Basic human rights", this is a calculate criminal activity where some woman rose above the threats to their careers and defended the injured. Those woman are heroes. Their heroic stance needs to be honored HERE. My point is to not lose sight of contribution and risk taken to expose this crime.
22
Thank you for clarifying you comment, Tony E. I agree.
1
Thanks and kudos to Time Magazine for naming #MeToo their person of the year in a salute to the movement to get women out of the dark ages.
Thanks to the millions of women and men who have stepped up, and are stepping up every day, to shine light on this travesty of humanity. It takes courage to tell their stories and by doing so they give courage to other women to tell their experiences of being sexually abused, harassed, intimidates and discredited.
Every single woman on the planet has been sexually suppressed. Every One. No exceptions. It is centuries past time that women step up and say,
"No More".
Socially Conscious women across The United States of America, and around the world, are stepping up and taking one-half the power in every segment of society to bring the world into balance. The movement must continue forever if we are to have relative peace in the world and stop the fear-anger-hate-lies,lies,lies-WAR-rape-pillage-plunder male model that continues to destroy the lives of average/poor people.
109
I fail to understand how it is that women in the U.S. felt the need for 'encouragement' from other women, in order to feel 'safe enough' to tell their own stories of sexual harassment and abuse. It's not as if we live in a conservative Muslim country, where we could be stoned for the mere suggestion that we were molested or were made unpure, and as a result are now object of 'shame' for our families.
Social media has created sheep-like mentalities and behaviors of most people now. So the whole sexual harassment conversation has become the latest 'trend'. That's not to say that sexual harassment does not exist, or that things don't need to change. But I find it interesting how suddenly everyone is coming out of the woodwork so to speak. I also tire of lame hashtags such as #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, etc. as at a certain point they ring hollow and become parodies of themselves....basically social media 'marketing gimmicks'.
This recent trend in conversation has also created more grey areas of exactly 'what' is considered sexual harassment. So long as we have situations where two or more adults find themselves in close physical proximity, there will always be potential for a sexual component...everything from simple 'thoughts' or 'feelings' to actual actions and words, which is then obviously up for a wide range of interpretations and responses. Life ain't perfect, nor should we want it to be. But now it seems everyone wants their entire lives to be 'curated'.
21
Time only did that because the Donald was too busy and turned them down.