2018 has been the year of action. People are fed up with injustices and the patriarchal terms and conditions in which we live in. Men who are public figures, men who are "average joe's" have all been called out for sexual impropriety this year and are being held accountable for their atrocious actions. Harvey Weinstein, a man with his name attached to numerous Hollywood hits has been at the centre of a supposed "witch hunt" for sexual predators in Hollywood; and rightly so.

image from sfgate.com

It all came to head about seven months ago. Since then Weinstein has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women with actresses coming out of the woodwork with their own stories about Weinstein and other powerful men in Hollywood. Since the accusations and outcrying support for these women, Weinstein has been keeping a low profile, not being seen in public.

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However most recently we have learned that overnight Harvey Weinstein turned himself in and has been charged in the first criminal case against him, although he is currently out on bail with an ankle monitor and will be going to court July 30th. He has been charged with two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sexual act, he's been charged by a woman who has chosen within her rights to not come forward publicly. The woman claims he trapped her in a New York hotel room in 2004 and raped her. He is currently not allowed to leave the state of New York, furthermore authorities in both California and London are investigated other accusations placed against him.  Ashley Judd also declared that she plans on suing Weinstein for blacklisting her after she rejected his advances in the 90s.

image from NPR.

This isn't the only accusation against Weinstein in fact, there have been over 80 women come out with their own stories about this Hollywood monster that date back as far as the 1980s and as recent as 2015. He has been accused by women such as Uma Thurman, Cara Delevingne, Angelina Jolie and Gwenyth Paltrow of sexual misconduct, with about 86 more women with their own disturbing Harvey Horror Story as well. While 13 women, including Rose McGowan who has been speaking out against Weinstein for years, have accused him of rape. This case mirrors the equally horrifying accusations against Bill Cosby whose accusations date from 1965 - 2008, with over 30 victims being represented against him in which he was ultimately  found guilty April of this year.

A few of the women who have spoken out against Weinstein. Image from hindustantimes.com

New York Magazine cover, features 35 of Bill Cosby’s alleged victims.

The bravery of the outspoken women who told their stories and sought out justice for themselves has resulted in fellow women coming out in support on behalf of them. Since the first accusation broke earlier this year, women have increasingly become outspoken about stories of sexual impropriety in Hollywood, women have a voice and are no longer afraid to use their platform to speak out against injustices. Speaking out has led to major social justice campaigns such as the Time's Up campaign that graced Hollywood red carpets and the Cannes gender equality protest. Hollywood has pulled back the curtain and is publicly airing the dirty laundry of the men of Hollywood who abuse their power and this has also led to huge open discussions through various media outlets, education on consent and teaching women to not be afraid to speak up. Events such as this, as horrifying as they are will be viewed as historically significant in times to come. We will certainly be following the Weinstein Trial closely and be updating you as it goes!

image from frontera.info

By Daman Grewal