The nation’s commander-in-chief continues to ignore pressing issues facing the people of the United States as the months of his presidency tick by. For instance, instead of working to address the problem of gun violence in the U.S., something that is getting worse by the year, he has touted his support for the Second Amendment above what feels like essentially all else and signed a measure into law that makes it easier to buy guns.
The president is, of course, also credibly accused of sexual harassment, accusations which he has denied — often seeming to disconnect himself from reality in his denials. For instance, he claimed to not know “and/or” have never met the numerous women accusing him of sexual assault, but that’s demonstrably false.
With this issue in mind, it’s not surprising that the president has not proven to be a friend of those numerous women who have, throughout recent weeks and months, exposed numerous high profile men for sexual misconduct.
Trump literally found it nothing to cast his support behind a credibly accused child predator; he’s surely not going to concern himself with the issues facing women in the entertainment and other industries.
Leading women in Hollywood could care less, however, and are forging ahead with a new initiative to combat sexual misconduct in their and other industries. The initiative is called “Time’s Up” and remains, apparently, without an official leader. Rather, it’s a collective of women who have come together to amplify their own individual voices and those of women without a public presence.
The group ran a full page ad in The New York Times and the Spanish paper La Opinion this Monday morning, kicking off the year with an open letter to less prominent women from the stars filling in the ranks of the “Time’s Up” initiative.
The open letter, run as an ad in the aforementioned papers, constituted a public unveiling of the initiative.
The letter, signed by hundreds of prominent women, read, in part:
‘We want all survivors of sexual harassment, everywhere, to be heard, to be believed, and to know that accountability is possible. We also want all victims and survivors to be able to access justice and support for the wrongdoing they have endured.’
To that end, the women behind the initiative have unveiled a large legal defense fund meant to help individuals across lower visibility industries access support in dealing both with sexual misconduct itself and potential retaliation for reporting it. The Times reports that the fund is backed by at least $13 million in donations.
That’s not where the initiative is ending its efforts; it also, in the description of The Times, is seeking to enact legislation that penalizes an allowance of sexual harassment and to simultaneously discourage the usage of non-disclosure agreements. The group also wants companies to increase female representation in the upper levels of their leadership, and they’re urging women to wear black to the upcoming Golden Globes to bring attention to their efforts and the problems that have prompted them.
Behind the initiative are women including Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, Shonda Rhimes, Emma Stone, Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, and Ashley Judd.
Among those to have been outed recently as sexual harassers and assaulters are the now disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, political figures ranging from John Conyers to Al Franken, and media figures like Charlie Rose and Mark Halperin.
The president, of course, remains in office and has yet to face any major consequences for his actions, even though numerous women have accused him of misconduct, a few of whom recently called for a Congressional investigation into their stories and those of other women.
Featured Image via Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
