Hey there! If you’ve been paying attention to Twitter or the news lately, you’re familiar with the #metoo hashtag. Tarana Burke, who is a social activist used the phrase “me too” to call attention to sexual abuse. Last year, multiple women started accusing Hollywood executives of abuse. An actress encouraged women who had also been abused to use the hashtag #metoo on social media. It went viral.
Women from all around the world have been sharing their personal stories and flooding our timelines with the #metoo hashtag. Famous and infamous, rich and poor, there is a glorious mixture of nationalities, cultures, and ages sounding a corporate cry to declare that abuse is not ok. Not just sexual abuse, but abuse in any form.
It has been shocking to hear about some of the things these women have gone through, especially learning that so many of them kept silent for so long; some not saying anything for years. It reminds us that there are people all around us who are carrying painful secrets.
#metoo has taught abused women that they are not alone. There are so many who have the same story, secrets, and shame. As so many are finding the courage to share – they are finding safety, and supporting each other. They are able to find freedom from the weight of it all.
There are many lessons to be learned from the #metoo movement. One lesson in particular, is that we are learning that it’s ok to speak up. It’s ok to get help. It’s ok to stand up for what is right. Not just in cases of abuse, but in any situation where you’re being mistreated; like bullying for instance.
You are valuable and should be treated with respect, so it is never ok when someone misuses you, no matter what they say or how bad they try to make you feel.
Stand up. Speak up. Not just for yourselves, but for those around you. You deserve love, respect, and freedom.
