Iceland’s Lessons for the #MeToo Era
from Women Around the World and Women and Foreign Policy Program

Iceland’s Lessons for the #MeToo Era

What can the #MeToo movement learn from Iceland? The history of successful women’s protests show that mass mobilization is key.
Protesters march on Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March in Washington, DC, United States. January 21, 2017.
Protesters march on Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March in Washington, DC, United States. January 21, 2017. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston

On Thursday, thousands gathered at the U.S. Capitol to protest the possible confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual assault, as a member of the Supreme Court. In a sign of how divisive the Kavanaugh nomination has become, demonstrators were greeted not only by police, who arrested around 300 people, but also by signs female staffers posted in their Senate office windows: “We believe survivors.”

The protest against Kavanaugh was the latest upswell in a wave of women’s activism that started with the Women’s March in 2017—the largest single-day mass action in U.S. history, with as many as 5 million marchers participating on every continent—followed quickly by the explosion of the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment and assault, which engaged millions more. Today, one year after the #MeToo movement went viral online, women in nearly 100 countries are using the hashtag to fight violence, harassment, and discrimination.

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What can the #MeToo movement learn from Iceland? The history of successful women’s protests show that mass mobilization is key. Read the full article at Foreign Policy >> 

More on:

Women and Women's Rights

Iceland

Women's Political Leadership

Sexual Violence

Demonstrations and Protests

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