“Until we eradicate the diseased roots of our infrastructure and make foundational, systemic changes, nothing will change.”
So says Olivia Munn in her new op-ed for Entertainment Weekly, in which she calls for an end to “vicious circle victim-blaming” and for us to “use this moment to create a lasting shift.”
Hear, hear!
Related: Olivia Has Been Dealing With Brett Ratner’s False Claims Since 2011!
The 37-year-old actress, who is one of Brett Ratner‘s six accusers, wrote:
“In our world today ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ and it’s not just Hollywood, it’s the same for girls and women all over the world who have survived sexual abuse and/or harassment ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ abusers don’t usually get in trouble unless the victim is broken first, because the violating act alone is not damaging enough to spark society’s outrage. It’s a marathon towards self-destruction in order to gain credibility and a vicious circle of victim-blaming. When people ask how these men in powerful positions were able to hurt so many people for so many years, I look to the people at the top and ask those questions.”
She continued:
“Imagine Hollywood as a mountain with all of the powerful people positioned at the top. The rest of us have to push a boulder up this hill while running through numerous gauntlets and any abuse we encounter is just par for the course and accepted. I know it’s acceptable abuse because no matter how badly certain people f├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ up, they fall right back to their position of power while most people have to go to the back of the line and earn their way back up. This is not a “women’s” issue, this is an abuse-of-power issue├óΓé¼┬ªand until we eradicate the diseased roots of our infrastructure and make foundational, systemic changes, nothing will change.”
The Newsroom star ended her essay with a powerful call to action, saying:
“We should create a zero-tolerance policy with actionable consequences for sexual assault and any other forms of abuse. Heads of studios, bosses, and CEOs should enforce equal pay because continuing to pay us less perpetuates a bias that women are inferior. This trains boys at a young age not to recognize when girls are refusing their advances and grooms young girls to believe they can’t or shouldn’t fight back. So when a 14-year-old girl is on a date and tells her boyfriend she doesn’t want to have sex but he pushes her to do it anyway, there is an inherent feeling that he’s allowed to do what he wants because he’s worth more. It’s not a conscious thought, rather it is the collective unconscious of the world that has been encoded in all humans for centuries. If you’re already at the top or on your way there, please don’t hold us back anymore. Instead, stand with the rest of us├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥because the glass ceiling that hangs over me is the same glass ceiling that will hang over your daughters, sisters, nieces├óΓé¼┬ª Together, our voices are mighty, powerful, and earth-shaking. We’re strong. We’re not afraid to call each other out├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥and we’re not afraid to call you out anymore either.”
Keep speaking up! Your voice is so important!
Be sure to read Olivia’s full essay HERE.
[Image via WENN.]
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