By Triandous Hobson

Opinions Writer

  Over the last week a multitude of Hollywood’s best actresses have come out with allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Harvey Weinstein. 

  This led to many claiming that Hollywood culture is to blame; however, this is not just isolated to Hollywood. 

  This is an unresolved issue of power that is prominent in our society. 

  Tucker Carlton, news reporter for Fox News tweeted, “Hollywood is corrupt. The powerful prey upon the weak, and nobody is held accountable.” His statement is strong, but it fails to recognize that this problem is not isolated to Hollywood elite. It is a problem that affects people worldwide, at an alarming rate.

  According to Anita Hill, a United States attorney, “Forty-five percent of employees, mostly women, in the private workforce say they experience sexual harassment.” 

  Earlier this year, a study done by Reuters was conducted and it found that, “The US military received a record number of sexual assault reports in 2016,” which the pentagon spun as “a sign of service member’s trust in the system.” 

  These numbers reflect that sexual harassment and assault are all too common in our society.

  Of course, we could use the Hollywood elite to make the point. 

  Weinstein isn’t the only man to be accused of doing wrong in the entertainment business.

   Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Bill O’ Riley, Robert Kelly, Casey Affleck, and even President Donald Trump have been accused of sexual harassment, yet nothing has happened to them.

   In fact, some of these men have been incredibly successful, despite being accused of such deplorable acts. 

  It seems that whenever sexual assault comes up there always seems to be an array of questions. 

  Why didn’t these women come forward with these allegations earlier?  How did they let this happen in the first place? What were they wearing? 

  Allow me to answer those questions with a question: Why does it even matter?

  Are we not capable of being empathetic? 

  On Twitter, there is a hashtag called #MeToo in which there are countless accounts of men and women detailing their experiences with being sexually harassed and assaulted. 

  How much longer are we going to deny that this is a prominent issue?

  In Hollywood, it appears to be an open secret, with noone taking the risk to make actual change. 

  Comedian Megan Amram said it best, “Sometimes it’s like who’s responsible: the victims or the person who’s responsible?” 

  Society often gets it wrong, but the answer to this is that the victim is never at fault.

  The time is now to start speaking up for victims, condemning the assaulters, and to explicitly end tolerance for this in our society.