As the guilty verdict on some charges came through in the Harvey Weinstein rape trial, campaigners hailed it as a historic victory for the #MeToo movement.
Editorial and comment pieces reflected on how the verdict is the start of a change for the better.
The Independent
Clémence Michallon in her column says “against all sexist odds, Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of rape and sexual assault. This is history.”
She said: “The Weinstein trial was the second-biggest court case of the #MeToo movement, after Bill Cosby’s 2018 sexual assault conviction. The fact that it ended with a conviction, when the US justice system has such an indelible record of systemic misogyny, is a statistical anomaly the importance of which cannot be overstated.
“That this trial happened at all is a sign that people feel increasingly able to speak out and challenge powerful abusers. We as a society are beginning to change, too – I want to believe that we’re doing a better job at listening to people who say they’ve been abused and at knowing how to support them. Conversations about harassment and assault are more frequent now than they were five years ago.”
She went on to say: “Obviously, we still have a long way to go. But the fact that the justice system is beginning to march to the tune of the victims’ drum is the result of a type of profound change that is only achieved through collective action and time.
“Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty of sexual assault and third-degree rape. This is history.”
The Scotsman
In its editorial the paper says Weinstein’s conviction for rape and sexual assault is a landmark event for the #MeToo movement.
The paper said: “The good thing to come out of all this is that society has fundamentally changed. Anyone in a position of power now knows - or should know - that they cannot abuse it the risks of being caught are too high.
“Gone are the days when this kind of behaviour was an open secret to be joked about in the style of Donald Trump and his infamous “locker room” talk about getting away with sexually assaulting women because he was famous. Trump knows he may face legal action when he eventually leaves the White House.
“Once individual victims may have thought they were alone and that no one would believe them, but the extraordinary litany of offences exposed by the #MeToo movement means the scales of justice are no longer weighted against them and they will now get a fair hearing.”
The Daily Telegraph
Celia Walden wrote in her column that the verdict is proof that it’s still worth coming forward.
She said: “As one of the most powerful men in Hollywood has been taken down, many of those who said “me too” are being validated. On Twitter, stars yesterday [Monday] sent “love and support to all the women who came forward” - although others pointed out that those who kept his open secret for years will never face justice.
“Harvey Weinstein is now a convicted rapist,” wrote TV chef Padma Lakshmi, while filmmaker Judd Apatow reminded everyone that since Weinstein face four more charges in Los Angeles: “This is just the beginning.”
The Times
In her comment piece Janice Turner says Weinstein’s conviction halts age of sexual impunity. She said the verdict “feels less like a victory than a blessed relief.”
She said: “As Weinstein treated Hollywood’s young women like a running sexual buffet, it probably never crossed his mind that he’d end up in prison for rape. Why would anyone believe a flighty young actress, who’d perhaps stripped for a sex scene, over a genius producer? These women knew it too: they shut up, had therapy, and tried to forget. His victims do not only include those he sexually assaulted, but actresses like Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd, whose promising careers Weinstein spitefully derailed because they fled his grasp.
“Above all, Weinstein’s conviction is a triumph for female solidarity. Women whose sexual assaults happened too long ago for charges to be brought nonetheless spoke out to prove a patter of abusive behaviour.
“Older and younger victims united to bring him to justice.
“With Weinstein’s conviction, the age of sexual impunity is dead.”
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