#MeToo is Changing Attitudes and Behaviors

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It has now been almost two years since the allegations of sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein surfaced and the hashtag #MeToo was used by millions of women to share their own personal stories of sexual abuse and harassment. With allegations surfacing against prominent actors, politicians, and community leaders, the #MeToo movement has led to the acknowledgement that sexual abuse and harassment is rampant in our culture and needs to be stopped. However, many of these allegations have not been prosecuted or have been dismissed, leaving many to question whether the #MeToo movement has actually made a difference.

The results of two recent studies suggest that the answer is “yes." Recently, the dating website Match surveyed 5000 single men and women between the ages of 18 and 99 to assess how, if at all, #MeToo has impacted them. The survey found:

• 60 percent of those surveyed said the #MeToo movement is important to them.
• Nearly 50 percent agreed that #MeToo started a much-needed conversation.

More importantly, the survey suggests that the #MeToo movement has also resulted in behavior change:

• 51 percent of men reported that they have changed their behavior in general.
• 41 percent of men reported that they changed their behavior at work.
• 33 percent of men reported that they changed their behavior on a date.

The behavior changes reported in the survey include being more careful, reserved and aware of the types of jokes they make.

Another study examining workplace sexual harassment as reported by women before (2016) and after (2018) #MeToo was recently published. Those researchers found:

• Decreases in sexual coercion (25 percent in 2016 versus 16 percent in 2018)
• Decreases in unwanted sexual attention (66 percent in 2016 versus 25 percent in 2018)
• Increased gender harassment (76 percent in 2016 versus 92 percent in 2018)

While the authors were pleased to see declines in the more overt behaviors of sexual harassment, they note that there appears to be a “backlash effect” with increased hostility to women in the workplace since #MeToo. Further, they found that women were reporting higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of self-doubt in 2018 as compared to 2016, which they attributed to the knowledge that so many other females were having similar experiences in the workplace.

The findings of these studies show that #MeToo is changing attitudes and behaviors. While this change will not always be linear or in a positive direction, as a culture we are talking about these issues in a more constructive way and recognizing that change is necessary.