Editorial - This is only the beginning – we need change

Even before I sat down to write the last editorial, the issue of sexual abuse among Hollywood elite was beginning to rear its ugly head once more. Anyone that knew anything about the movie industry or watched interviews with film stars knew it was an issue that was constantly being pushed underwater, with the perpetrators doing all they could to choke it out and kill the story. But, as with almost everything however, it came out. It was always going to happen, the stories, the whisperings, they couldn’t all be made up, they couldn’t all be defamatory rumours set out to take a star down a peg or two. As the articles started to emerge and actresses, as well as actors, began to speak out about their own struggles with sexual abuse, you began to realise that this did not only affect a small cohort of individuals, but Oscar winners, Bafta winners, global superstars, some of the most famous actors and actresses in the world, and a man, who was inappropriately touched at the age of 14.   What Kevin Spacey did, and what he his statement after the accusations came to light, were nothing short of disgusting. He’s being accused of making sexual advances towards a 14-year-old boy, with whom he was acting alongside in a play. In his statement rejecting such accusations, he offered his apologies for his “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior” and seemed to, for some reason that his critics can’t seem to fathom, deem this the perfect moment to proclaim his homosexuality. These two factors, being gay and an alleged sexual predator, however, do not correlate whatsoever, and this scandal has seen him go from one of the most appreciated and hailed actors around to the most hated instantaneously. Upon writing this editorial, fresh allegations have come to light that state that Mr. Spacey groped US Filmmaker Tony Montana in a bar in 2003, an allegation that will make him even more unpopular.  But even with these allegations, and the #MeToo movement, I personally do not feel that we have even scraped the top of the issues coming out of Hollywood. There will be more unwanted sexual advances from industry heavyweights, this will stop almost nothing. These men (and sometimes women) strive for power in every facet of their lives, and these allegations on others will not make them stop wanting to take power over others. It’s hard to see what will.As a society, we need to be more vocal about what we see, hear and believe about the people we know and the people we love. No matter what the circumstances, no matter your relationship with the perpetrator or not matter the type of assault, they need to be reported, and this, I believe is the only way to stop these types of attacks taking place. Let’s take action, let’s be there for the victims: now is the time.