Amanda Lamb: Finding your voice

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’re familiar with the hashtag that’s circulating on social media, #MeToo.

Basically, in the wake of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, women and men who have been sexually harassed and sexually assaulted are sharing their stories and encouraging others to do the same. Some of the stories are decades old, others are more recent. The result is that many powerful men are being brought to their knees by these investigations, not to mention losing lucrative jobs.

Of course, the movement has prompted a lot of people to ask, "why now?" It has also prompted a lot of people to doubt the credibility of the accusers, as some of the allegations are quite old.

But anyone who knows the dynamics of sexual harassment and sexual assault understands that victims are often very afraid to come forward for a variety of reasons -shame and fear to name two. This cultural shift has given them the confidence, the freedom and the voice to do so.

Having said this, all of the allegations need to be thoroughly vetted as it is important that we don’t allow people to be vilified unfairly if someone with an axe to grind is telling an untruth. But frankly, I think these cases are few and far between.

In my lifetime, I have personally known many women, and a few men, who have been sexually assaulted and sexually harassed. Some of these cases are decades old, some of them are very recent. They all have the same result. Victims somehow believe they are partially to blame for the behavior of another person, therefore, they bury the incident. But, make no mistake, it continues to impact their lives in negative ways, and negatively affects their future relationships with others.

The whole issue made me think about how young women are viewing this cultural shift. So, I asked my younger teenage daughter what she thought. I asked her if she believed it would make a difference, if it would prevent these situations from happening.

“I’m not sure if it will prevent it, but it will definitely create more awareness about the problem,” she said. “It will also give women more confidence to talk about it.”

I think she’s right. A true cultural shift that involves changing the way we treat one another is going to take more than a few months, more than even a few years, maybe even a decade or more.

But every change in society begins with a few important revolutionary steps and evolves from there. I truly believe that my daughters, their friends and the women of their generation won’t be as afraid to speak up and say, “Stop,” when someone’s behavior or words cross the line.

They will have a bigger voice, a collective voice, a voice that puts others on notice that it’s not OK. I just hope I live long enough to see it happen ...