Women's Movements & the Law

Missing white woman syndrome is a term which is used by social scientists[1][2][3] and media commentators in reference to the media coverage, especially on television,[4] of missing-person cases involving young, attractive, white, upper middle class women or girls compared to the relative lack of attention towards missing women who were not white, of lower social classes, or of missing men or boys.[5][6] Although the term was coined in the context of missing-person cases, it is sometimes used of coverage of other violent crimes. The phenomenon has been highlighted in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and other predominantly white countries.[7][8]

#MeToo[a] is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.[1][2][3] The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in 2006, on Myspace, by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke.[4] Harvard University published a case study on Burke, called "Leading with Empathy: Tarana Burke and the Making of the Me Too Movement" (2020).[5] The hashtag #MeToo was used starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem.

Tarana Burke is an American Activist from The Bronx, New York, who started the MeToo movement. In 2006, Burke began using MeToo to help other women with similar experiences to stand up for themselves. Over a decade later, in 2017, #MeToo became a viral hashtag when Alyssa Milano and other women began using it to tweet about the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases. The phrase and hashtag quickly developed into a broad-based, and eventually international movement.

Key moments in the cases against the producer, who has been found guilty of rape and sexual assault.

Students say John Comaroff ‘kissed and groped students without their consent’ and threatened their careers if they reported him

Former film producer, who is currently incarcerated in New York, faces possible extradition for alleged attacks on five women

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was charged Friday with raping two more women in Los Angeles, prosecutors said.

The former movie mogul and convicted rapist, now serving time in a New York prison, has been charged with 11 counts of sexual assault in California involving five women.

Individuals who have been victims of oppression or abuse have found hastags to be an effective way to increase the scope and effect of their activism. Northeastern researchers Sarah Jackson, Moya Bailey and Brooke Foucault Welles have created an interdisciplinary project that studies and explains how hashtags acquire their followings.

Every 16 hours, a woman is fatally shot by a current or former intimate partner. Many of the offenders were legally prohibited from having guns

In the docuseries We Need to Talk About Cosby, the comic and TV host examines how a once-loved comedy star fell from grace, and the system that supported him

Sexual assault victims in Medieval England faced some of the same types of challenges as they would today, says a researcher who studied 28 rape trials from 800 years ago.

Black women, girls, and non-binary people are seldom seen as victims.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County is assisting victims through its four Law Library Resource Center locations.

Throughout the bitter winter, during rain and snow, Jon Vaughn has alternated between sleeping in a tent or a campervan outside former University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel's house.

Fear of retaliation may lead workers to mistrust HR, a dynamic that has been noted in recent high-profile stories on organizational harassment.

How a hashtag got its power

DETROIT (AP) — When #MeToo movement founder Tarana Burke thinks about the group's future as the world celebrates its anniversary, her vision is clear...

Cuomo resigned in August following a report from the state's attorney general that he sexually harassed multiple women, including current and former state employees.

A jury found the disgraced R&B star guilty of charges that included sexual exploitation of a child, racketeering and sex trafficking. He faces a possible sentence of 10 years to life in prison.

The jury weighed evidence from about 30 witnesses over 3 weeks who alleged the British socialite played a pivotal part in recruiting teenage girls for sex with Epstein.

Politics reporter Felicia Sonmez sued the paper and several of its current and former editors, saying she was not allowed to report on sexual misconduct after speaking about an assault against her.

NEW YORK (AP) — To Charlotte Bennett, the new book that arrived at her Manhattan apartment this week — Anita Hill’s “Believing” — was more than just a look at gender violence. It was a dispatch from a fellow member of a very specific sisterhood — women who have come forward to describe misconduct they suffered at the hands of powerful men.

The global #MeToo movement has sparked significant social, cultural, and legal change, but many challenges remain, Human Rights Watch said on the eve of the second anniversary of the #MeToo hashtag going viral on social media.

When an activist accused one of the most respected physicians in the movement of sexually assaulting her, everyone quickly took sides.

Stay informed and read the latest news today from The Associated Press, the definitive source for independent journalism from every corner of the globe.

If you and I have knowingly supported, promoted, defended, collaborated with any art that is tainted, let’s own up | #MeToo | #MeTooIndia

Before Christine Blasey Ford and Monica Lewinsky, there was Anita Hill, shamed for exposing the actions of a powerful man. She explains how she withstood the tumult