Opinion: It’s too soon for #MeToo apathy
By Lyndsey Gilpin, High Country News
Before the #MeToo movement took off on social media, before it was common knowledge that members of the Trump administration — including the president himself — had been accused of sexual misconduct, before male media moguls, Hollywood actors and executives, an Olympic coach, comedians, editors, professors, business leaders and others were ousted or called out for similar accusations, I spent a year investigating sexual harassment in the National Park Service. I talked to dozens of women about their experiences. Almost every one told me she feared things would never change — that if she spoke up, she’d risk her career, her reputation, her ambitions, all for nothing.
Each time, I promised I would do everything in my power as a journalist to hold the people and institutions that perpetuate this culture accountable.
That was over a year ago. Since then, the national discourse about sexual harassment has shifted. People are more confident about sharing their stories, making the subject less taboo. The movement is spurring conversations about what harassment is and how power dynamics play out in the workplace. More revelations about my own focus — the widespread, systemic sexual harassment and gender discrimination in our nation’s public-land agencies — have surfaced.