#Metoo more than ever present for Women’s Day

On March 8, we celebrate International Women’s Day (international women’s rights day in some countries including France). It highlights the fight for women’s rights and the reduction of inequalities in relation to men.

Officialized by the United Nations in 1977, it is celebrated throughout the world with numerous events. This is an opportunity to take stock of the situation of women.

History

Women’s Day was born in the United States in 1909, in accordance with a declaration by the American Socialist Party.

The first date of celebration was February 28. Until 1913, it was celebrated on the last Sunday in February.

In 1910, the international character appeared. The movement for women’s rights and the achievement of universal suffrage are the foundations. The Copenhagen conference, which included more than 100 women from 17 countries, established it. Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland are the first to celebrate it on March 19. The right to vote, to exercise a public function, the right to work, professional training and an end to discrimination in the workplace, are on the program.

In 1917, after the fall of the Tsar, the Russian provisional government granted the right to vote to women following the demonstrations.

New directions

Since 1975, International Women’s Year, the UN has celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8.

In 1995, 189 governments adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in response to 12 critical areas. Each woman and each girl will be able to exercise her freedoms and her choices. She will know and understand all of her rights (to live free from violence, education, participate in decision-making and receive equal pay for equal work).

In 2014, the priority theme of the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) relates to the results obtained and the difficulties encountered in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and men. girls.

Metoo movement

The #Me too movement was born in 2017 following the Harvey Weinstein affair, a film producer accused of sexual violence and harassment against dozens of actresses. It leads to an unprecedented planetary voice around the world, on the relationship between men and women. Likewise, we are witnessing a rise in the policy against domestic violence and incest.

Expansion of the movement in the world

Metoo has become an international movement in the fight against violence against women.

EUROPE
France

The French variant, #BalanceTonPorc, is one of the few that encourages users to share the names of sexual abusers. Other hashtags were created in 2021 following the scandal affecting « Sciences Po », such as #SciencesPorcs. #Metooinceste was born with the release of the book « Grande Familia » by Camille Kouchner on January 7, 2021; #Metoogay for men victims of other men, following boy sex abuse scandals involving Olivier Duhamel, Claude Levêque and Gérard Louvin. In Corsica, after the advent of #Me Too Corse, hundreds of women demonstrated in Ajaccio.

UNICEF and the #Nous Tous collective launched on April 8, 2020, a digital information and awareness campaign against violence against children and adolescents #Hear their cries. ”This campaign is aimed directly at the main stakeholders . Call 119 if an adult hurts, frightens, slaps, insults, touches a child’s body and it makes them feel uncomfortable, if they are in danger « , or if they think they are. another child is harmed. This number is free and the switchboard is available 24 hours a day.

Italy

Women post stories of harassment and assault under the hashtag #QuellaVoltaChe (# LaFoisOù).

Greece

« Whatever I told him, he didn’t stop… »: Greece in turn saw the birth of a #Metoo movement (« Avecsofia). The revelations of the sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou, former Olympic medalist (2004, 2008) victim of sexual assault, broke a taboo and encouraged victims to speak out.

Sweden

As of November 2017, tens of thousands of women, representing more than 70 professions, have publicly reported sexist remarks and sexual assault of which they have been the victims.

MIDDLE EAST

Iran

The #ManHam movement led to a first arrest in mid-August 2020. It heralded a feminist wave in Iran. The movement followed attacks reported on social media, sometimes citing famous names of men. Shadi Amin, Iranian author and activist, is a founding member of the Iranian Women’s Network Association (Shabakeh) and has lived in exile in Germany since the 1980s.

This is the first time that women have felt empowered to speak publicly about the violence they endure. Society empathizes with victims of sexual assault and they are taken seriously. Women can protest, only when they are alongside other activists calling for changes to the environment, the economy, etc.

Kuwait

« I will not be silent. » This is the name of the #MeToo movement in its Kuwaiti version. Launched thanks to an ex-model, it is shaking up this Gulf country.

For the first time, women in Kuwait are defying conservative traditions and the culture of ‘shame’ to speak out against harassment in a campaign launched on social media after a famous blogger posted a video about this subject ». Fashion blogger Ascia Al-Faraj now has 2.6 million Instagram followers.

Egypt

There was a first victory in the case that caused the #Metoo wave in Egypt. Ahmed Bassem Zaki, a student accused of blackmail and rape was sentenced to 3 years in prison. It is a symbolic victory but justice does not follow.

Israel

The Hebrew hashtag “גםאנחנו #” (#WeTooo) began to spread on October 18, 2017, on the front page of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper.

Turkey

In Turkey, the #MeToo movement is shaking up the literary world. Since the suicide of the author Ibrahim Colak, accused of harassment, denunciations have multiplied against personalities of the Turkish scene, starting with novelist Hasan Ali Toptas. The literary world in Turkey is rocked by allegations of sexual assault and harassment, targeting well-known writers.

ASIA

South Korea

The #MeToo movement emerged victorious from a court case. A former coach of the Olympic skating team has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for multiple sexual assaults on an athlete.

Japan

Japanese society is guided by patriarchy, the #MeToo movement is kept apart. A terrible taboo hangs over rape or incest. Victims are encouraged to keep quiet. However, in December 2019, the leading figure of the Japanese movement #Metoo won his case. The attacker of Shiori Itol had to pay 3.3 million yen in damages to the young woman, about a third of what she claimed.

China

Despite all the efforts of the Chinese government to silence the #MeToo movement (#RiceBunny), we are witnessing a strong progression in the country.
In January 2018, for the first time, a young woman testified publicly with her real name about the sexual abuse she suffered.
Users of the Chinese social network Weibo hijacked the #MeToo hasthag in an attempt to escape government censorship. In January 2018, all posts containing “#MeTooInChina” were deleted. In recent months, testimonials published on the platform have been pouring in: more than 2 million people have visited the discussions page on Weibo.
On October 17, 2019, the instigator of the #Me too China movement was arrested and then imprisoned for having « disturbed public order ».
December 2020: In Beijing, a trial could mark the history of the movement. A former intern at state central television accused a star reporter for the channel of sexually harassing her. The latter denied the facts and claimed that the young woman was seeking to damage her reputation.

NORTH AMERICA

Canada

The first « post #MeToo » trials (Me too in Quebec) were held at the end of the year, but 2 recent court decisions have hardly been favorable to the victims. First, there was the acquittal in mid-December of the iconic Gilbert Rozon, founder of the « Just for Laughs » festival, one of the first to be swept away by the wave of denunciations in October 2017.

United States

March 11, 2020: After several weeks of trial, the 67-year-old former American producer Harvey Weinstein is convicted of rape and sexual assault. He receives a 23-year prison sentence.

January 26, 2021: A Delaware judge validated the compensation plan for the alleged victims, 37 of them accepted, for a global envelope of $ 17 million.

The movement has had an impact on gender relations at work. Other trials are ongoing including those of actor Bill Cosby and singer R. Kelly

SOUTH AMERICA

Chile

After several waves of testimonies against sexual violence in recent years, feminists and LGBT + people want to change the system from the root.

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VERONIQUE YANG

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