In October 2017, actress and activist Alyssa Milano took to her Twitter account to start a hashtag. “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet,” she wrote.
And thus began a mass movement as women from all around the world, drew support from others and worked up the courage to finally open up about their own experiences of sexual harassment. And the movement still remains strong as the revelations continue to pour in.
In India, and indeed in Goa too, the movement has gained a strong ground. While some have for long chosen to believe that Goa is a safe place for women, the revelations indeed tell a different story. Just recently, an episode on a Goan beach which saw the woman fight back and then take to social media to share her tale, sparked outrage as people all over extended their support and applauded her courage. And this is just one of the thousand examples. In fact, what is shocking is that sexual harassment has become so commonplace that almost every other woman today has a horrifying experience of her own.
And it’s not restricted to a particular age group, religion or indeed based on what a woman wears, the company she keeps or how she behaves.
What is sad but understandable is that a number of victims shy away from telling their stories. Some wrongfully believe or are forced to believe that what happened is their own fault. Others fear society’s harsh judgment.
Even so, as yet another International Women’s Day dawns, a day which is meant to celebrate women, it is indeed a positive sign to note that women are joining hands to collectively declare, ‘enough is enough’. A few Goan women share their tales
