Since the beginning of the movement #MeToo until the recent cases affecting key institutions in French-speaking Switzerland, we are witnessing an identical sequence which seems to be repeated ad nauseam. From cinema to politics, from the media to the scientific world, via companies, the pattern is the same: a few courageous testimonies, a media echo amplified by social networks, a release of speech revealing many victims, serious facts and the reign of omerta. There follows a certain cacophony of discourse between “everyone knew” and “we could not imagine that at home”, a scholarly dissertation on what should have been done and the impression that, now that we have taken conscience, it will get better. And then? What’s going on?
The cliff still resists
Of course, this freedom of speech is essential. Allow victims to speak out about the violence of acts and that of silence. Allow witnesses to become supporters. Affirm the institution’s desire not to close its eyes out of comfort, cowardice or loyalty to the powerful. Conduct fair investigations and end impunity. But that is not enough. One after the other, these cases erupt and then fall silent like waves at the foot of a cliff. The cliff however resists. We are told about a necessary culture change, we are told that it is complex, which is true, but it should not be an excuse not to address the problem.
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