On Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and other social media right now, there are a flood of stories being told by women from across generations, decades, livelihoods, and political persuasions, about sexual assault under the hashtag #MeToo.
There are also a fair number of men detailing their own experiences with sexual assault. Some of them are well-intentioned allies, trying to show empathy through shared experience. Some are completely missing the point, equating unwelcome gropes from strangers at a bar with the systemic, persistent, career and life-changing threats women are constantly under.
Look: sexual assault happens to men, too. Men in power, whether gay or straight, are capable of abusing that power for sexual gratification. But even in most of the entertainment business, you’re more likely to find straight men in position to further or finish careers. The fact that you’re more likely to find men, of any persuasion, in positions of power, is in no small part because women are disproportionately the target of manipulation, harassment, and assault. Nearly all women are vulnerable, in our current culture, in ways men rarely ever are.
On the lines of #Metoo, a gathering of 15 individuals, including a previous French ambassador absolved in a sexual maltreatment case in 2017, has propelled a #MenToo development, requesting that men turn out and talk straightforwardly about the inappropriate behavior looked by them because of ladies.
The battle was propelled here on Saturday by NGO Children's Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (Crisp) to challenge the #Metoo development, false cases aganist men among others.
Talking on the event, National President of Crisp, Kumar V. Jahgirdar said the gathering would battle for impartial laws and request discipline for those documenting false cases under #MeToo crusade.
Taking note of that #MeToo was a decent development, he anyway said it ought not be abused to settle someone by leveling false charges.
"This development has just brought about conveying notoriety to men who have endeavored to gain regard in the public eye," he said.
Afterward, conversing with journalists, Jahgirdar said not at all like #MeToo unfortunate casualties, who achieve sexual maltreatment stories that happened a few decades back, the #MenToo stories would be identified with ongoing occurrences.
On #MeToo development, Jahgirdar further said if the influenced ladies have honest to goodness instance of sexual misconduct, they should take legitimate response, rather than putting out stories via web-based networking media.
Previous French negotiator Pascal Mazurier, who was blamed for explicitly manhandling his little girl and later absolved by a city court in 2017 likewise participated in the dissent.
He said #MenToo crusade was not in the least a counter to #MeToo battle, however to address the issues of men who don't talk up against ladies' outrages.
"There is genuine agony among men.. They are additionally enduring, however they are not moving into the open against ladies and their wrongdoings," he said.
The false claims leveled on men in #MeToo battle devastates kids' future, as well as families, Pascal noted.
"We make laws to secure ladies. That is fine, however let us not overlook half of humankind are men," he included.
Pascal is confronting a court fight after his better half had moved the Karnataka High Court testing a city-based court's decision absolving him.
Pascal's better half has care of their three kids.
The #Me Too development has assembled pace in the course of recent days with various ladies standing up on lewd behavior at their working environment and support for them has been pouring in from different quarters.
Previous Union Minister M.J. Akbar, film identities like Alok Nath, Subhash Ghai, Nana Patekar and Vairamuthu have been blamed for lewd behavior by various ladies under the #MeToo development.
So share your stories, by all means. But not under the #MeToo hashtag. And not before telling all the courageous women sharing their stories under it:
I believe you.
I support you.
And I want to help.