An Exeter student has begun an initiative, ‘Not Just Hollywood’, to combat sexual harassment and assault. The campaign seeks to raise awareness of these issues in the community, ranging from cat-calling and inappropriate comments to criminal incidents; it will also provide a space in which people can discuss their experiences.
Not Just Hollywood’s professed mission statement is “to raise awareness of pervasive misogyny, and remove the stigma around discussing sexual assault and harassment”; the project seeks in the long term to effect a positive change in the way members of the community find it acceptable to treat others.
The campaign is being run by Georgia Smith, a third-year Classics and Philosophy student. Speaking to Exeposé, Smith said she felt the need to start Not Just Hollywood “because I’ve always found it incredible how much stuff women still have to put up with on a daily basis, such as catcalling and inappropriate comments to name a couple. I’ve thought for a long time that the fact that our society lets these things go unnoticed and even finds them funny is what leads to issues like sexual harassment, assault and rape being so widespread and often so trivialised or disbelieved; it’s normalised and seen as unimportant.”
The campaign’s title resonates clearly with the recent allegations against Hollywood personalities, and to Smith the heightened discussion around issues of sexual misconduct resulting from these news stories was a major factor in propagating the creation of Not Just Hollywood. The experiences shared thus far on Not Just Hollywood’s Facebook page, where submitted stories are posted, indicate how such actions are entrenched in not just the lives of high profile individuals but of ordinary people too.
Not Just Hollywood is accessible via Facebook (facebook.com/notjusthollywood) and Twitter (@notjustholly), and is also contactable by email (notjusthollywood@outlook.com).