Men & #MeToo – One Year Later

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By Kristy Trautmann

We are experiencing a watershed moment in the movement to address violence against women.

Fifty years ago, we did not talk about domestic violence, sexual assault or sexual harassment.  And now gender-based violence is in the headlines nearly every day: Bill Cosby, campus sexual assault, Larry Nassar and the testimony of Olympic gymnasts, Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo movement, sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church… We now recognize these forms of abuse as serious and pervasive societal issues.

Three years ago, Southwest PA Says No More was founded to support the regional movement to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault. Across our region, men have joined women in speaking out against gender-based violence and taking steps to prevent it.

We wanted to better understand what men in our region think about these issues, so we commissioned an opinion poll. View the report, Men and #MeToo: what do men in southwest PA think about sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence a year into the #MeToo movement? here.

Key findings:

  • These issues are personal to most men. 74% report that someone close to them has experienced harassment or abuse; 86% of men believe abuse can be prevented.
  • There is strong support for society (schools, law enforcement, business leaders, faith-based groups, elected officials and nonprofits) to take action to prevent abuse. The overwhelming majority of men think employers should do more.
  • But there are gaps and inconsistencies in putting these beliefs into action.
  • If the 90% of men who believe they have an important role to play in prevention, each take a small step to put their commitment into action, a great deal of sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence could be prevented.

We’ve come a long way with these issues, but we have a long way to go. We hope this report and its recommendations fuel further conversation.

Find the full report, here.

Read Kristy’s previous #MeToo Blog post here.

Kristy Trautmann is executive director of FISA Foundation.

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