NEW YORK– Tarana Burke says people always ask, “What’s next?” for the #MeToo movement, the broad reckoning against sexual misconduct and abuse that she helped launch seven years ago.
This week, Burke, who coined the phrase “me too” decades ago in his work with sexual assault survivors and saw it go viral in 2017 with the Harvey Weinstein case, has two ready answers.
On Tuesday, the organization she leads called ‘me too’. International has announced an initiative to achieve truly international reach – a so-called global network that works with groups in 33 countries around the world to combat sexual violence.
On the same day, the latest high-profile case involving an influential man accused of abusing his power and privilege to inflict sexual harm unfolded in a New York courtroom: mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who went to prison went to await his trial. his federal sex trafficking case.
In an interview, Burke said the emerging details, in which Combs is accused of a sordid series of sex crimes, were “horrifying.” But she took comfort, she said, in knowing that it was the cultural shift brought on by #MeToo that brought the case to light in the first place.
Burke noted that the original lawsuit filed against Combs last November by his ex-girlfriend Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, was made possible by a New York “lookback” law called the Adult Survivors Act, which would ban people who sexually alleging abuse allows you to file a civil case. lawsuits after the statute of limitations has expired.
“The lookback law … was a direct result of survivors organizing as part of the #MeToo movement,” Burke said. “All these things are connected. Survivors have been pushing hard that we need this law. This is directly related to the power of the movement.”
Another broader impact of the movement, she says, is that victims now feel emboldened to come forward because they feel more confident that they will be believed.
“This new case is no different than many cases we’ve seen,” Burke said, referring to the Weinstein and Bill Cosby cases, “where you have an incredibly powerful and privileged individual who decides to take advantage of it.” The wonderful thing… is that because of the shift we’ve seen after #MeToo went viral, these things are now public. And now, when someone comes forward and says, ‘This person has harmed me,’ people take it more seriously.”
“Power and privilege are no longer a complete cover for people who choose to abuse and harm,” Burke said. “And when asked what the next step is (for #MeToo) – this IS what the next step is, exposing so much corruption, abuse of power and damage. What follows now is all these laws and (other) things that have happened, and we just have to keep building and building.”
Burke was in New York on Tuesday to announce her organization’s new Global Network to Combat Sexual and Gender-Based Violence at the Ford Foundation’s Free Future conference. The foundation has committed the initial $1 million of the $5 million to “me too.” International is trying to raise money, Burke said.
“After #MeToo went viral, I had a lot of people reaching out from all over the world,” she said. “They started with their own work or built on what they were already doing.”
And they wanted to know how they could join forces. “On the one hand, I have no ownership — no one can have ownership of a social justice movement,” Burke said. “But on the other hand, there is a certain ideology and perspective within which we work.”
Nearly five years of meetings and discussions have produced a plan for ‘metoo’. International’ and the Global Fund for Women will work with 134 groups in 33 countries – mainly in Latin America, North America, the Caribbean and Africa – for collective action against sexual violence. The organization defines sexual violence as “a sexual act committed or attempted by a person without voluntary consent.”
Burke said her initial goal is “to take the cachet of #MeToo and make sure we can expand that in a way that is intended to bring light to the work that is happening, but also resources and collective action. What does it look like if not only women in Latin America organize around (certain) issues, but women in Southeast Asia and women in Africa also organize for Guatemala, or vice versa?
“We don’t just come together to talk,” she said. “We come together to build community, but also to take action together.”
