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In the midst of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault and harassment allegations, more and more women are coming forward with their own anecdotes — both against Weinstein and against other powerful men in the entertainment industry.
The reports have become so ubiquitous that the act of scrolling through my Twitter feed has made me hard-pressed not to start crying. Not because this week is unusual, but because it reflects so little in the grand scheme of things, in the longstanding unspoken history of powerful men abusing their authority, abusing women. Seeing so many women (and LGBTQ+ people and men) bravely come forward with their own stories of harassment and abuse, both in the workplace and in their everyday lives, hints at how many are not able to. Almost all of us have a story. Of course, I suspected this, but to read so many in a week is emotionally draining.
I have also seen the question floating around social media too often in the past week: Why didn’t these women come forward when it first happened? Why didn’t they report it to the authorities? Even Lindsay Lohan, who I have made excuses for my entire life (because The Parent Trap), attempted to defend Weinstein, because he wasn’t predatory directly towards her — never mind the dozens of women (the count is currently 34) who he was predatory towards.
Evan Rachel Wood addresses these questions, these whys, in an eloquent, powerful video, heartbreaking in its pragmatism.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m afraid,” she titles the video, uploaded to Youtube October 11.
“I had some thoughts being an actress and a woman who was raised in the industry…and also a sexual assault survivor,” she says to the camera.
“When women come forth with a story about sexual assault people are very quick to try to discredit them or knock them down. People are wondering why more women didn’t come forward sooner or why they come out it numbers. It’s because it’s safer.”
Wood herself has not named her abusers publicily, and she explains why.
“I have not named my abusers. Not because I don’t plan on saying these peoples’ names eventually but because to start that process is an emotionally draining, financially draining, really everything draining thing to go through. I want to do it when I’m ready.”
She does say that they were “very powerful, very rich, very entitled, very narcissistic white men.” She also provides some reasons she hasn’t named them: “I’m one person against some very powerful people. Money and time and re-traumatizing yourself… to go after the person that assaulted you takes quite a toll.”
This is something we all need to consider in response to the “Wait, why is everyone coming forward now?” crowd. It doesn’t always feel safe to come forward. It can jeopardize a career. It can feel shameful. It can be traumatizing. It can be bankrupting. It can be dangerous. The best thing we can do for these women who are finally able to speak out and risk all of these factors is to believe them.
Wood encourages women to tell their stories of abuse and harassment, to share these names and to warn each other. And to cis men who have not experienced sexual assault and harassment, she has a message:
“Ask the ladies in your life if they have any story. I think you’ll be shocked.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kksbLCncAxM
