The initiative, which is called Time’s Up, was announced via a full-page advert printed in the New York Times.

The Hollywood project is described as a “unified call for change from women in entertainment for women everywhere”.

It comes in the wake of sexual abuse allegations by high-profile actresses against film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Legal funding

The campaign, which is backed by hundreds of actresses including Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett, Eva Longoria and Emma Stone, has already raised more than $13m (£9.6m) of its $15m target.

The money raised will be used to fund legal support for both female and male victims of sexual harassment at work.

The project is aimed primarily at those who are unable to meet the payments to defend themselves, such as agricultural or factory workers, caretakers and waitresses.

In a “solidarity letter” published on its website, Time’s Up says the “struggle for women to break in, to rise up the ranks and to simply be heard” must end, adding: “Time’s up on this impenetrable monopoly.”

The letter, which is aimed at “every woman… who has had to fend off sexual advances”, goes on to say that such harassment can often continue because “perpetrators and employers never face any consequences”.

It also calls for “gender inequality and the imbalance of power” to be addressed, stressing the need for more women to gain positions of authority and parity of pay.

In December, Time magazine named “the Silence Breakers” – women and men who spoke out against sexual abuse and harassment – as its “Person of the Year” for 2017.

Last year also saw the rise of the #MeToo hashtag, which inspired a global movement of women and men to share their stories of sexual abuse and harassment.

The term gained momentum after actress Alyssa Milano took to Twitter to ask victims of sexual assault to come forward in a show of solidarity.

Between October and December 2017, the hashtag was used on Twitter and Facebook more than six million times.

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Source: BBC

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The march follows a torrent of assault and harassment allegations against public figures, set off by revelations about the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The marchers started on Hollywood Boulevard and walked along the “Walk of Fame” to CNN’s headquarters.

They were predominantly women but many men attended.

Tara McNamarra, 21, of Los Angeles, told Reuters news agency that the march felt cleansing after years of not being taken seriously about abuse.
“I’ve been sexually assaulted multiple times throughout my life,” she said. “It’s affected me in every aspect of my life.”

The #MeToo hashtag was first used by social activist Tarana Burke and popularised by actress Alyssa Milano in the wake of the Weinstein allegations.

Ms Burke led Sunday’s march. “For every Harvey Weinstein, there’s a hundred more men in the neighborhood who are doing the exact same thing,” she wrote on Facebook ahead of the event.

“What we’re seeing, at least for now, is a unity of survivors, a community of survivors that have grown out of this #MeToo viral moment, that I’m just hoping and praying that we can sustain.”

The actor Kevin Spacey and comedian Louis CK are among the high-profile figures accused of sexual harassment over the past few weeks.
Louis CK published an apology on Friday, admitting after years of denials that the allegations were true.

“The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly,” he wrote.

The New York Times reported in October that Weinstein, 65, had settled out of court with eight women who had accused him of sexual harassment and unwanted physical contact.

Weinstein has also been accused of rape, but said through a spokesperson that he “unequivocally denied” any allegations of non-consensual sex.

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Source: BBC

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Of the women who said they had been harassed, 63% said they didn’t report it to anyone, and 79% of the male victims kept it to themselves.

The ComRes poll for BBC Radio 5 live spoke to more than 2,000 people.

The survey was commissioned after sexual assault claims against Harvey Weinstein resulted in widespread sharing of sexual harassment stories.

Women and men who have been sexually harassed have been revealing their experiences on social media using the hashtag “me too” to show the magnitude of the problem worldwide.

That followed allegations, including rape and sexual assault, against Mr Weinstein from more than two dozen women – among them actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan.

The Hollywood producer insists sexual relations he had were consensual.

The Radio 5 live survey, of 2,031 British adults, found that 37% of all those asked – 53% of women and 20% of men – said they had experienced sexual harassment, ranging from inappropriate comments to actual sexual assaults, at work or a place of study.

More than a quarter of people surveyed had suffered harassment in the form of inappropriate jokes or “banter” and nearly one in seven had suffered inappropriate touching.

Of those who had been harassed, 5 live’s survey suggests one in 10 women had been sexually assaulted.

More women than men were targeted by a boss or senior manager – 30% compared with 12% – and one in 10 women who had experienced harassment said it led to them leaving their job or place of study.

‘Dirty and uncomfortable’

One man, who did not want to be identified, said he had been harassed by his female boss.

He said: “She made constant comments about my appearance and how I dressed – comments asking about my hairy chest and what I liked in a woman.

“[It was] all laughed off by other mainly female office staff, but it left me feeling dirty and uncomfortable.

“I ended up with depression and confidence issues and had time off with anxiety as a result.”

Sarah Killcoyne, from Cambridge, told BBC News she was sexually assaulted when she was still in education by two different men – a school teacher when she was a teenager and later by a college professor.

She said: “I would very much like to see the people around the predators – we know there’s only a few of them – to stop enabling them.”

Since the allegations about Mr Weinstein surfaced, many high profile names have used social media to highlight the problem of sexual assault, some also detailing the harassment they have endured.

‘Paralysed by fear’

Jess Phillips and Mary Creagh were among the MPs to reveal their accounts as they wanted to encourage victims of abuse to speak out.

Labour’s Ms Phillips told the London Evening Standard how she had been left “paralysed by fear” when she woke up at a party to find her boss undoing her belt and trying to get into her trousers.

Fellow Labour MP Ms Creagh said she was just seven when she was sexually assaulted by about 12 boys during a school playground game of kiss-chase.

The results of the BBC survey follow research published last year by the TUCwhich also suggested more than half of women say they have been sexually harassed at work – and most had not reported it.

Activist Tarana Burke is the founder of the original Me Too campaign – launched 10 years ago in the United States to provide “empowerment through empathy” to survivors of sexual abuse, assault, exploitation, and harassment in underprivileged communities.

She told 5 Live she feels there is now momentum behind a genuine change in the way sexual harassment is handled.

“From what I’m seeing and hearing, and from the groundswell of support for this, it doesn’t feel like it’s stopping,” she said.

“My ultimate goal is to make sure this is not just a moment, that this is a movement, and we will continue to raise our voices, we will continue to disrupt, we will continue to tell our stories until we are heard and until we move the needle.”

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Source: BBC

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The Weinstein Company directors said that “in light of new information about misconduct”, they had terminated Mr Weinstein’s employment “effective immediately”.

The statement was issued on Sunday by Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar.

Mr Weinstein had been informed.

The Miramax and Weinstein Company co-founder has produced a number of Oscar-winning films, including Shakespeare in Love, The King’s Speech and The Artist.

Following a New York Times report about the harassment claims, the 65-year-old apologised and said he planned to take a leave of absence.

“The way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it,” Mr Weinstein said.

However, he later disputed the report, which said he had reached at least eight settlements with women, and vowed to take legal action.

Last week Weinstein’s lawyer, Lisa Bloom, said that he denied many of the allegations made against him as “patently false”.

“He has acknowledged mistakes he has made,” said Ms Bloom. “He is reading books and going to therapy. He is an old dinosaur learning new ways.”

But on Saturday, Ms Bloom said in a tweet that she was no longer advising Mr Weinstein.

“I have resigned as an advisor to Harvey Weinstein,” the tweet said. “My understanding is that Mr Weinstein and his board are moving to an agreement.”

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Source: BBC

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Sarpong says that Ghana looks good and strong enough to qualify from the group stage and possibly do that as group winners ahead of the much dreaded Portugal and Germany. He reckons that Ghana will go far in the tournament.

“We are being paired with Germany, Portugal and USA, there is no way we will not come out from that group, if care is not taken we might even top the group. People might be scared of Portugal, but the confidence is there among the boys, they are now beginning to play as a team, with our support and prayers, I think they will go far in this tournament.”

Sarpong further advised Ghanaians to come around the team, pray and support the players as they get set for the mundial in Brazil.

“We as Ghanaians will have to come around the team, give them the necessary support and put them in prayers mainly for them to go and perform.

“Appiah cannot do it alone, he needs every body’s assistance, let’s rally round and support him in the Black Stars set up bringing in new faces and trying to put up a formidable side,” he added.

Source: Myjoyonline

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