Topic Of The Day:-The #Metoo Movement
It is important to remember, however, that the 2016 challenge to criminal defamation was driven by politicians who — at the best of times — do not make for the most sympathetic of petitioners before a court. Much has changed in the last two years. And perhaps the most significant change has been brought by the #MeToo movement.
It has seen women articulate their experiences of sexual harassment, often at the hands of powerful and well-established men. What is striking about the movement is how it has compelled all of us to confront systematic male behaviour that may sometimes be difficult to define as a legal offence, but which is nonetheless sexually predatory andabusive. Issues involving hierarchies in the workplace, differences in age and influence, the power exercised by men who are highly regarded in their professions and the abuse of that influence — issues that were long suppressed and simply not talked about — have, at last, found public utterance. It is a time of upheaval, when old pieties have been exposed as morally and ethically bankrupt, and old codes of behaviour shown to be exploitative and unacceptable. The #MeToo movement has brought submerged experiences to the surface, and given individuals a fresh vocabulary with which to express what, for all these years, seemed simply inexpressible.
With the filing of the criminal defamation cases, therefore, the stakes have been made clear. Will powerful men be allowed to use the law to silence this new mode of public expression? Will criminal defamation be weaponised to restore the old status quo, and preserve and perpetuate the hierarchies that the #MeToo movement has challenged?
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) articulate
Meaning : having or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently(adj) , pronounce (something) clearly and distinctly.(v)
Synonyms : enunciate , pronounce
Antonyms : mute
Example : “she was not very articulate” (adj),“he articulated each word with precision”(v)
2) confront
Meaning : come face to face with (someone) with hostile or argumentative intent.(v)
Synonyms : defy , brave
Antonyms : avoid
Example : “300 policemen confronted an equal number of union supporters”(v)
3) upheaval
Meaning : a violent or sudden change or disruption to something.
Synonyms : commotion
Antonyms : peace
Example : “major upheavals in the financial markets”
4) perpetuate
Meaning : make (something) continue indefinitely.(v)
Synonyms : preserve
Antonyms : stop
Example : “the confusion was perpetuated through inadvertence”(v)
