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Why Lindsay Lohan’s comments about #MeToo make it so much harder for victims of rape and sexual assault to speak up

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Actress Lindsay Lohan attending a fashion party in Mayfair.
Actress Lindsay Lohan attending a fashion party in Mayfair.

The #MeToo movement has become one of the most important conversations to come out of 2018 so far. 

While it continues to expose men in Hollywood who abuse their power and sexually harass and assault women, it’s also created a platform where women who’ve previously been too afraid to open up about their harrowing trauma could share their stories.  

The giant momentum gained has not only been limited to women in Hollywood but has encouraged others across the world to own their own narratives and talk about how hard it’s been them to even feel safe enough to walk in the streets.

Unfortunately there’s been an awful amount of commentary around this that not only derides and disparages the movement and the women speaking up, but in many cases comes to the defense of the men who have all been accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Added to that list is Lindsay Lohan.   

In a recent interview with Times, the actress has labelled the women who have been bravely coming forward with their stories, as being weak, Vox.com reports. 

Not only that, but she doubled-down on her statement by adding that she believes that many of the stories are nothing but false allegations. 

The unbearably tragic thing about this is that while we’re unfortunately used to this kind of sentiment, particularly from men, it always feels like even more of a betrayal when it comes from another woman.

Particularly from high profile women like Lindsay.  

There are perhaps two reasons why she may have made such a horrendous statement, none of which are good. Could she have been looking for some much-needed controversial publicity to bolster her new reality TV series by deliberately making statements that she knew would draw criticism?

Or is she simply choosing to ignore the very real problem that exists within Hollywood and beyond? 

The inherent victim-blaming in her statements not only shows a lack of empathy, but also contributes to the damaging sentiments that often make survivors of sexual assault and abuse feel like they shouldn’t come forward.

And what Lindsay doesn’t even take into consideration is that so often, most of these women, in spite of coming forward with their own stories, will not necessarily ever receive justice.

READ MORE: Serena Williams: Young men need domestic abuse education

People, but particularly women who are victims of abuse, find different ways in which to heal and sometimes finding that courage and strength to speak up about their stories goes a long way in helping them and other survivors come to terms with what they’ve been through.

The problem is that it’s also not the first time Lindsay has disregarded the feelings of the many victims of abuse. A while back she also came to Harvey Weinstein's defence and even told his then wife to stand by him during this “tough time.”

If your priority lies in believing that you should feel sorry for a man being accused of abuse over the myriad of stories of women who are victims, especially because it never happened to you (so therefore it can’t be true, right?), and because he helped you with your career, then don’t position yourself as a women who is all for women’s rights.

Especially if your views on what a strong woman looks like are so very limited. 

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