Hollywood is a wonderful place to visit for its beaches, celebrities, and tourist attractions. But recently Hollywood has been engulfed by a storm of allegations of rape and sexual harassment. Thirty-four men have been accused, including news anchors, actors, and producers. These men have been accused of using their power and standing in the world to bully their victims into situations no one ever wants to be in or even talk about until now. The allegations of assault and harassment have filled the media since October fifth when Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual assault, harassment, and rape. We are now seeing people we have watched all of our lives being revealed as the monsters they really are. Many of those accused have been assaulting or harassing victims for decades. The events now being brought to light did not happen a month ago or even a year ago; the culture of abuse has been going on for a long time and no one has said anything about it until courageous women came forward in order to end it.

Harassment is not a new issue; people have been talking about it for years. But for some reason, no one has really confronted it head on until now. This country has a serious problem with sexual harassment. But until now, we have been sweeping it under the rug instead of talking about it. Now that victims and their advocates have everyone’s attention, we need to talk about the real issue and take some real action. One out of every six women in the United States has been a victim of attempted or completed rape. That number is way too high for a country that is one of the strongest and most powerful in the world. This issue needs to be handled right now. We cannot put it off any longer. These women deserve justice for what these men, that we watched and grew up with, did to them. These men need to be punished for they did. It doesn’t matter if it has been a month, a year, a decade, or five decades since the crimes were committed; these men need to be held accountable. If we don’t hold people accountable for what they have done, who’s to say that someone else won’t go out there and find someone to rape? If we don’t hold them accountable for their actions then who will?

We must name the real problems in this country if we want to change anything. We have to talk about it because if we don’t, then people are going to think that it is wrong to speak up if something is wrong and we don’t want that in this country. We have to hold people accountable because if we don’t, it’s going to keep happening. This problem of harassment and rape can be vanquished if we try. We have to never be afraid to speak up for ourselves if someone is bothering us or doing something to us that we do not like.

Speak up in an uncomfortable situation because there are always people who will listen, believe you, and support you. Most importantly, we have to face this problem head-on and never back away in fear or cowardice.