Pressrelease
Me too – Moving On: Voices, Advice, Tools (Lava Publishing)
What started as a Twitter status for actress Alyssa Milano, turned overnight into a global revolution. In fact, this is what activist and survivor Tarana Burke had envisioned when she founded the #metoo movement 10 years ago. In social media, woman after woman responded to Milano’s call and updated their status with #metoo, many sharing their most personal stories of harassment and abuse.
Sweden, considered one of the world’s most liberal countries with a pronounced feminist government, has seen a deluge of testimonies. Some days after the movement began, almost 600 Swedish actresses signed an open letter in a daily national paper under the hashtag #tystnadtagning (#silenceaction), demanding an end to harassment and abuse on stage, during rehearsals, behind and in front of the camera. They shared their stories and raged against male stars on stage and screen getting away with abusive behaviour, thanks to their superstar status. The call-out ended: ”We know who you are.” Other professions were not late to follow suit, writing articles under different hash tags relating to their profession.
Swedish-Greek journalist, writer and human rights advocate Alexandra Pascalidou, wanted to ensure that the issue becomes top priority on the political agenda. In collaboration with Lava Publishing, she has collected voices of the Swedish movement from women of all ages, professions, sexual preferences, classes and cultural backgrounds. Authors, journalists, artists, influencers, activists, politicians have written in the book me too – Moving On. Lawyers, doctors, therapists, police, equality experts, Save the Children, and RFSU – The Swedish National Association of Sexual Education/Information – contribute with advice on how to prevent sexual harassment, and how to act if you have been victimized.
The book addresses questions like:
How do we create zero-tolerance against sexual oppression? How do we make everyone feel included in taking the me too-campaign to the next level? How do we speak with boys, fathers, sons and men about respecting women’s integrity?
The book also contains a personal message from Tarana Burke, the survivor and the founder of Me Too. Part of the sales will be donated to RFSU.
”The book is a powerful manifesto for and about the victims of abuse. Not the offenders. We have deliberately chosen not to name them. Women share their stories to support and empower each other. We break thousands of years of silences and patriarchal taboos and we are ready to place the shame where it belongs – with the offender. #metoo in Sweden is a revolution, a catharsis in all these institutions. This is a historic momentum and our daughters and sons will thanks to these brave women live in a new era of equality” says Alexandra Pascalidou.
For inquiries regarding interviews, please contact:
Jenny Schyttberg
jenny@schyttberg.se
+46 (0)70-624 30 23