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Quarterly Essay #84
The Reckoning: How #MeToo is Changing Australia
Tracing the impact of Australia's #MeToo moment This year, Australia's #MeToo moment erupted in the national parliament. In this electrifying essay, Jess Hill, the acclaimed author of See What You Made Me Do , traces the meaning of those events and what could happen next. What are the politics of rage? What couldn't Scott Morrison see? And what hope is there of real progress and accountability? Hill examines how the law, the media and politics can bring about - or stall - change. She shows how when #MeToo meets patriarchy, the results are unpredictable - from lasting reform to backlash. And she asks whether a conservative prime minister can do what is required to meet the moment.
215 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2021
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January 23, 2022
Jess Hill’s See What You Made Me Do is one of the best books I’ve ever read about domestic abuse. I was keen to see how she’d tackle #MeToo and have been impatiently waiting for my library’s copies to arrive so I could dive in.
This essay traces #MeToo from its origins (before it became a hashtag), with a particular focus on how it has played out across Australia’s cultural landscape since 2017. There are examples from the media, education, politics and the legal system, all of which I’d followed in real time but which felt more overwhelming when they were explored one after the other. I don’t know that Australia’s celebrated mateship has ever felt so toxic to me.
There have been battles undertaken in courts, the media and public opinion. We’ve learned just how brutal Australia’s defamation laws are. There are powerful people abusing their power and systems supporting them in their endeavours.
Don’t get me wrong; there have been positives, like #LetHerSpeak. Conversations have taken place that were once considered taboo and there are more people visibly working towards implementing changes to legislation, processes and policies. There are survivors turned advocates who are transforming the way we think about consent and grooming, and their voices have led to others finding their own. Good things are happening.
So, why do I still feel so angry having read this essay?
Maybe it’s about reporting a sexual assault to the police in 2017 and getting my hopes up about the positive impact #MeToo would have on the way my report was treated. Then being told that there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges and subsequently learning that the investigation consisted solely of the detective phoning my psychologist to ask if I had a mental illness that would cause me to fabricate the sexual assault.
Maybe it’s about something a detective said to me a few months ago when they were trying their darnedest to dissuade me from formally reporting a series of sexual assaults (different detective, different perpetrator). No one ever gets a good outcome, they told me. Even if there is a conviction, and that’s a big if, it’s never going to be enough and what you’d have to go through to get it wouldn’t be worth it.
They talked about the things I would have seen in media (like some of the cases I read about here) and noted that they are the minority, and that I shouldn’t align my expectations with those outcomes. Even when someone reports a rape the same day and there’s physical evidence and CCTV footage, it’s almost impossible to get a conviction. They said they were telling me all of this to help me.
This is the same man who helpfully told me that my having a mental illness would be used against me because it would speak to both my credibility and character. ‘You mean the PTSD I have as a result of the sexual assaults I’d be reporting?’ The very same. Huh.
As I read this essay I wondered if the detective was right, that there’s no point in reporting. But you know what? It’s attitudes like this that contribute to silence, the antithesis of #MeToo.
[And besides, this is the same police force whose representatives roll their eyes and pull faces at women who are reporting AVO breaches, who say that behaviour that clearly constitute breaches (written in black and white on the AVO) are in fact not breaches at all. Who write down what you say and then neglect to put it in their system so there’s no record you ever made a report. Who you have to insist write it down in the first place and give you an event number because, even though they think you’re overreacting, they don’t understand what this person’s capable of or how they may escalate.]
I’m mad because I read something like this essay and I get hopeful, but then think about all of the peoples’ experiences it doesn’t encapsulate because only some voices are heard. I want change for all of us, not just the lucky few who, let’s face it, probably shouldn’t be called lucky at all. Because they experienced what they did in the first place. Because even if they did get an outcome that looks like a win, it came at a great cost. Because being an advocate continues to cost.
In lesser hands, this essay could have been an absolute mess, but it’s not. At all. It is well written and clearly involved extensive research but, to be honest, I’d expect nothing less from Jess’ work.
It was a compulsive read. I gained even more respect and admiration for the survivors who tell their story publicly. The powers that be, political and otherwise, lost what little faith I still had in them, not that there was much to lose. I want everyone to read this essay and I want to read it again to pick up on anything I missed when I rushed through it the first time.
So, where do I currently stand on #MeToo? Despite my own experiences, I’m stubbornly hopeful. The systems still fail survivors but more and more of us are demanding change, and we’re done being silenced.
Content warnings include .
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
This essay traces #MeToo from its origins (before it became a hashtag), with a particular focus on how it has played out across Australia’s cultural landscape since 2017. There are examples from the media, education, politics and the legal system, all of which I’d followed in real time but which felt more overwhelming when they were explored one after the other. I don’t know that Australia’s celebrated mateship has ever felt so toxic to me.
There have been battles undertaken in courts, the media and public opinion. We’ve learned just how brutal Australia’s defamation laws are. There are powerful people abusing their power and systems supporting them in their endeavours.
Don’t get me wrong; there have been positives, like #LetHerSpeak. Conversations have taken place that were once considered taboo and there are more people visibly working towards implementing changes to legislation, processes and policies. There are survivors turned advocates who are transforming the way we think about consent and grooming, and their voices have led to others finding their own. Good things are happening.
So, why do I still feel so angry having read this essay?
Maybe it’s about reporting a sexual assault to the police in 2017 and getting my hopes up about the positive impact #MeToo would have on the way my report was treated. Then being told that there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges and subsequently learning that the investigation consisted solely of the detective phoning my psychologist to ask if I had a mental illness that would cause me to fabricate the sexual assault.
Maybe it’s about something a detective said to me a few months ago when they were trying their darnedest to dissuade me from formally reporting a series of sexual assaults (different detective, different perpetrator). No one ever gets a good outcome, they told me. Even if there is a conviction, and that’s a big if, it’s never going to be enough and what you’d have to go through to get it wouldn’t be worth it.
They talked about the things I would have seen in media (like some of the cases I read about here) and noted that they are the minority, and that I shouldn’t align my expectations with those outcomes. Even when someone reports a rape the same day and there’s physical evidence and CCTV footage, it’s almost impossible to get a conviction. They said they were telling me all of this to help me.
This is the same man who helpfully told me that my having a mental illness would be used against me because it would speak to both my credibility and character. ‘You mean the PTSD I have as a result of the sexual assaults I’d be reporting?’ The very same. Huh.
As I read this essay I wondered if the detective was right, that there’s no point in reporting. But you know what? It’s attitudes like this that contribute to silence, the antithesis of #MeToo.
[And besides, this is the same police force whose representatives roll their eyes and pull faces at women who are reporting AVO breaches, who say that behaviour that clearly constitute breaches (written in black and white on the AVO) are in fact not breaches at all. Who write down what you say and then neglect to put it in their system so there’s no record you ever made a report. Who you have to insist write it down in the first place and give you an event number because, even though they think you’re overreacting, they don’t understand what this person’s capable of or how they may escalate.]
I’m mad because I read something like this essay and I get hopeful, but then think about all of the peoples’ experiences it doesn’t encapsulate because only some voices are heard. I want change for all of us, not just the lucky few who, let’s face it, probably shouldn’t be called lucky at all. Because they experienced what they did in the first place. Because even if they did get an outcome that looks like a win, it came at a great cost. Because being an advocate continues to cost.
In lesser hands, this essay could have been an absolute mess, but it’s not. At all. It is well written and clearly involved extensive research but, to be honest, I’d expect nothing less from Jess’ work.
It was a compulsive read. I gained even more respect and admiration for the survivors who tell their story publicly. The powers that be, political and otherwise, lost what little faith I still had in them, not that there was much to lose. I want everyone to read this essay and I want to read it again to pick up on anything I missed when I rushed through it the first time.
So, where do I currently stand on #MeToo? Despite my own experiences, I’m stubbornly hopeful. The systems still fail survivors but more and more of us are demanding change, and we’re done being silenced.
Content warnings include .
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
December 5, 2021
One of the better quarterly essays I've read. Very well written and, for a change, the author actually knows what they are trying to say.
Jess Hill opens by saying she sets out to reckon with #MeToo and its impact on Australian society. What follows is a rich journalistic account of the origins of #MeToo, both the viral twitter meme and the grassroots "me too" organising in the USA based around solidarity and healing. Hill uses this distinction to examine two different potential objectives of #MeToo broadly: one, focused on claiming scalps and bringing down individual patriarchs, the other more focused on the patriarchy and collective support.
She brings her account to the Australian context, laying down in memorable detail the development of the movement in Australia, from coverage of Don Burke to the abortive headlines about Geoffrey Rush and subsequent defamation case, through to 2021, Higgins, Tame, et al. In doing so she offers helpful conclusions on where things in Australia didn't go so well (The defamatory Newscorp attack on Rush being a key example, as well as Tracey Spicer's own half-baked attempts at starting a movement). The account is rich with detail and interviews with key women who have been part of this, creating a tapestry of perspectives and a valuable who's who of the many incredible women who've been part of creating the current moment.
Where the essay perhaps falls short is the reckoning on where we are and looking to the future. The essay seems to end almost prematurely without really fulfilling Hill's promise to reckon with the impact of #MeToo on Australian society. Throughout, Hill herself and those she quotes speak to the importance of lasting changes to policy and governance, not just a flash-in-the-pan cultural moment. Yet I feel this is a flaw in her reasoning and something that could have been explored more with perhaps one chapter. Cultural change is in fact very important and harder to reverse than mere policy (as, amongst other things, Abbott's repeal of the Clean Energy Future package demonstrates). I don't know how much impact I think #MeToo has had in Australia, although I think Hill underestimates the cultural ripples. That said, Hill's own perspective on this question remains somewhat unclear, and I would have liked to know more.
Jess Hill opens by saying she sets out to reckon with #MeToo and its impact on Australian society. What follows is a rich journalistic account of the origins of #MeToo, both the viral twitter meme and the grassroots "me too" organising in the USA based around solidarity and healing. Hill uses this distinction to examine two different potential objectives of #MeToo broadly: one, focused on claiming scalps and bringing down individual patriarchs, the other more focused on the patriarchy and collective support.
She brings her account to the Australian context, laying down in memorable detail the development of the movement in Australia, from coverage of Don Burke to the abortive headlines about Geoffrey Rush and subsequent defamation case, through to 2021, Higgins, Tame, et al. In doing so she offers helpful conclusions on where things in Australia didn't go so well (The defamatory Newscorp attack on Rush being a key example, as well as Tracey Spicer's own half-baked attempts at starting a movement). The account is rich with detail and interviews with key women who have been part of this, creating a tapestry of perspectives and a valuable who's who of the many incredible women who've been part of creating the current moment.
Where the essay perhaps falls short is the reckoning on where we are and looking to the future. The essay seems to end almost prematurely without really fulfilling Hill's promise to reckon with the impact of #MeToo on Australian society. Throughout, Hill herself and those she quotes speak to the importance of lasting changes to policy and governance, not just a flash-in-the-pan cultural moment. Yet I feel this is a flaw in her reasoning and something that could have been explored more with perhaps one chapter. Cultural change is in fact very important and harder to reverse than mere policy (as, amongst other things, Abbott's repeal of the Clean Energy Future package demonstrates). I don't know how much impact I think #MeToo has had in Australia, although I think Hill underestimates the cultural ripples. That said, Hill's own perspective on this question remains somewhat unclear, and I would have liked to know more.
March 10, 2022
Well written and great to see the #metoo movement historicised and carefully traced to the Australian context.
I didn't always agree with Hill, that #metoo has changed Australia in such profound ways.
I didn't always agree with Hill, that #metoo has changed Australia in such profound ways.
December 29, 2021
I like to keep my mouth shut (or in this case fingers clenched) during discussions about feminist and Aboriginal discussions. I need to go into listening mode. For me, this was an impressive read. It is difficult for a white person to comprehend racism; it is difficult for a heterosexual person to comprehend sexual discrimination and it is difficult for a male to comprehend sexism. The common factor is power and fear.
Jess Hill has done a tremendous job in explaining the history of sexual harassment, from groping through to assault and murder. The Reckoning was an enlightening and disturbing read. It amassed a great deal of information, names and dates. It put the #metoo movement’s development in Australia in an ordered and clear manner.
I had not realised what impact the “Geoffrey Rush case” had on women I only had a smidgen of understanding of Tracey Spicer. Cases of men behaving badly spread from groping through to murder.
I follow a female Greens party senator. Without exception when she posts about violence some male comes along bleating in “whataboutisms” of men being subjected to violence.
The Robert Doyle incidents I knew little about. After reading Kennett’s comments I could justly conclude, ‘Doyle is a top bloke!!” Guys like Doyle think everyone loves them and women enjoy their physical banter. I remember at a beauty contest when Kennett was premier, he made a comment about taking "the other 27 can come round the back and I'll give something to you all." When I see his crevice ridden face I nearly puke. A disgusting individual.
When I watched the Australian of the Year award ceremony, I did not know who Grace Tame was. I do now and what a powerful individual. I do remember Bettina Arndt interviewing a paedophile. It is bad when males protect and even advocate for sexual predators. It is worse when females do the same. I can tell Arndt, Bester, Tehan and any with similar views that as a middle aged male high school teacher abusing or taking advantage of 15-year-old girls is appalling, utterly appalling. They are children for God sake!
Throughout this whole essay the story that struck me the most was Perlita Golding.
Julie Gillard’s quote at the beginning of this chapter rang loudly, but of course that should not lead to dismissing middle class women for their stories of harassment and abuse. Ms Golding desperately wanted work in a laundromat. The boss demanded sex for shifts.
I know hate is a wasted emotion, but I don’t mind wasting it on the likes of Kennett, Morrison, Abbot, Joyce, Tehan, Arndt, Cash and Porter.
I subscribe to a newsletter that published some of Dyson Heydon’s writings. What a hypocritical, appalling character. Old powerful men like him might have a great amount of intellectual intelligence but are poorly endowed with social intelligence. Because they are in positions of power, they appear to not have to use social intelligence where one must know oneself and learn from success and failure on how to socialise with others. Such things as tact, empathy and concern. I guess it disappears through lack of use.
The Kate Thornton story is heart breaking and when I read her account of her rape by Porter I had to take a break. He virtually fucked her in every orifice on her body.
The essay clearly sets out the failure of Morrison and his advisors to deal with women and their treatment. When he claimed he listened to Jen. I hate how he refers to his wife as if we all know her and she is such a wise soul. And Scomo, having these women as the centre of your world is something millions of us have. You don’t have a monopoly of love for female family members. If thinking of your daughters drives your policy development that explains so much.
I found Katherine Murphy’s insight fascinating, “The prime minister speaks almost exclusively to one cohort of voters: men at risk of voting Labor.” Remember all the references to the tradies and their utes? This was a brilliant insight to Morrison’s thinking. Sadly, there is a large cohort of men who have little understanding of why women are angry and also little empathy or sympathy for those women who speak of the trauma of sexual assault and harassment.
Every CEO, every Human Resource manager, every manager, every worker needs to read this essay.
Jess Hill has done a tremendous job in explaining the history of sexual harassment, from groping through to assault and murder. The Reckoning was an enlightening and disturbing read. It amassed a great deal of information, names and dates. It put the #metoo movement’s development in Australia in an ordered and clear manner.
I had not realised what impact the “Geoffrey Rush case” had on women I only had a smidgen of understanding of Tracey Spicer. Cases of men behaving badly spread from groping through to murder.
I follow a female Greens party senator. Without exception when she posts about violence some male comes along bleating in “whataboutisms” of men being subjected to violence.
The Robert Doyle incidents I knew little about. After reading Kennett’s comments I could justly conclude, ‘Doyle is a top bloke!!” Guys like Doyle think everyone loves them and women enjoy their physical banter. I remember at a beauty contest when Kennett was premier, he made a comment about taking "the other 27 can come round the back and I'll give something to you all." When I see his crevice ridden face I nearly puke. A disgusting individual.
When I watched the Australian of the Year award ceremony, I did not know who Grace Tame was. I do now and what a powerful individual. I do remember Bettina Arndt interviewing a paedophile. It is bad when males protect and even advocate for sexual predators. It is worse when females do the same. I can tell Arndt, Bester, Tehan and any with similar views that as a middle aged male high school teacher abusing or taking advantage of 15-year-old girls is appalling, utterly appalling. They are children for God sake!
Throughout this whole essay the story that struck me the most was Perlita Golding.
Julie Gillard’s quote at the beginning of this chapter rang loudly, but of course that should not lead to dismissing middle class women for their stories of harassment and abuse. Ms Golding desperately wanted work in a laundromat. The boss demanded sex for shifts.
I know hate is a wasted emotion, but I don’t mind wasting it on the likes of Kennett, Morrison, Abbot, Joyce, Tehan, Arndt, Cash and Porter.
I subscribe to a newsletter that published some of Dyson Heydon’s writings. What a hypocritical, appalling character. Old powerful men like him might have a great amount of intellectual intelligence but are poorly endowed with social intelligence. Because they are in positions of power, they appear to not have to use social intelligence where one must know oneself and learn from success and failure on how to socialise with others. Such things as tact, empathy and concern. I guess it disappears through lack of use.
The Kate Thornton story is heart breaking and when I read her account of her rape by Porter I had to take a break. He virtually fucked her in every orifice on her body.
The essay clearly sets out the failure of Morrison and his advisors to deal with women and their treatment. When he claimed he listened to Jen. I hate how he refers to his wife as if we all know her and she is such a wise soul. And Scomo, having these women as the centre of your world is something millions of us have. You don’t have a monopoly of love for female family members. If thinking of your daughters drives your policy development that explains so much.
I found Katherine Murphy’s insight fascinating, “The prime minister speaks almost exclusively to one cohort of voters: men at risk of voting Labor.” Remember all the references to the tradies and their utes? This was a brilliant insight to Morrison’s thinking. Sadly, there is a large cohort of men who have little understanding of why women are angry and also little empathy or sympathy for those women who speak of the trauma of sexual assault and harassment.
Every CEO, every Human Resource manager, every manager, every worker needs to read this essay.
December 15, 2021
Listened to Jess Hill read this (via Audible). Poignant piece, consistent visceral reminders throughout of how far short we are of healthy intergender interactions. Essential reading for anyone interested in a better future.
January 15, 2022
This was my favourite quarterly essay of 2021. Gave new insights on the ways universities enabled abusers to enter and remain in the system, and how this is also relevant context for understanding Grace Tame’s story.
June 15, 2022
My feelings about the whole #MeToo thing is complicated, and I certainly think it lends itself to easily to exploitation and the empowerment of false accusers. However, especially in the last year, from my reading of other surprisingly good feminist books of which The Reckoning is the most recent, I have come around much more to the greater issues being raised by the movement, irrespective of any particular incident where it isn't used for good.
On those grounds, I did find this book mostly a strong and convincing argument for the enduring necessity of calling out those is positions of power and authority that, despite much conservative rhetoric to the contrary, are still systemically limiting, undermining and often even hurting women of all walks of life with way too much impunity. As is to be expected, this book is not as easy-going one, and doubtless Hill aims for an emotional appeal. There are some horrible instances of suspected rape and even murder, and a lot of disturbing or very gross stories of well-known men pushing the boundaries with their female colleagues.
I still don't like the "guilty-until-proven-innocent" presumptions of the writer, or the way she entirely glosses over the potential for unprecedented witch-hunt lunacy such a social movement can and sometimes does cultivate within societies. But still, this is a hard book to write off, even if one doesn't like the left-wing feminist flag it brandishes on every page.
On those grounds, I did find this book mostly a strong and convincing argument for the enduring necessity of calling out those is positions of power and authority that, despite much conservative rhetoric to the contrary, are still systemically limiting, undermining and often even hurting women of all walks of life with way too much impunity. As is to be expected, this book is not as easy-going one, and doubtless Hill aims for an emotional appeal. There are some horrible instances of suspected rape and even murder, and a lot of disturbing or very gross stories of well-known men pushing the boundaries with their female colleagues.
I still don't like the "guilty-until-proven-innocent" presumptions of the writer, or the way she entirely glosses over the potential for unprecedented witch-hunt lunacy such a social movement can and sometimes does cultivate within societies. But still, this is a hard book to write off, even if one doesn't like the left-wing feminist flag it brandishes on every page.
January 8, 2022
This essay is so important. It is a well researched, clear and concise summary of the #metoo movement within an Australian context and how the third wave of feminism is changing the shape of Australian parliament and workplaces. Thanks to all of the strong, brave women in this essay and Hill herself, women who refuse to be silenced, the reckoning against Australia’s toxic rape culture is here. #yesallwomen
June 30, 2024
Cannot emphasise enough how much this otherwise excellent piece needed to be edited by someone with a gender studies background. It took me a long time to get past the early assertion that third wave feminism began in 2016 to engage with the more journalistic analysis which was excellent (to me who has not studied journalism). I would have thought this type of reference checking would be within the skills of a normal editor but evidentially not.
December 24, 2021
A clear and concise history of the triumphs and challenges of the MeToo movement in Australia. I find this an optimistic view of where we are going and I wish I had her faith that things are getting better. I think that 2022 will tell the tale one way or another. I have no faith that the present federal government has any will to make real changes, or the ability to do it even if it wanted to. I hope I am wrong or a change of government will render the point moot.
June 8, 2022
A great essay that explored the origins and impact of the #MeToo movement in Australia!
July 21, 2022
Excellent overview of the movement and great insight on the Australian perspective/impact.
December 31, 2023
Jess Hill's The Reckoning... is a book of fiery rage and a standup to the patriarchy with the revolution of the #MeToo movement in all it's glory on the pages of this edition of the Quarterly Essay. The Reckoning, is of it's name sake, a motion of becoming, awakening, standing up and accountability for what men have done and continued to do to females and our womanhood. The sexual assault, harassment, rape culture and objectification and simple disrespect of women. There is discussions of the effectiveness of the male parliamentary leadership, several minor and famous scenarios of male sexual assault and harassment that has been kept silent, pushed under the rug, told to a select few or has finally hit the front page of the papers and lead story of the news of tv screens. It's time for men to wake up, stand in front of the mirror, in front of the audience, the vulnerable females and see what they have done and face the music. She claims that within this book, women come to realise that they have been living in a world of insecurity, belittling, judgement, discrimination and vulnerability since the days of their mothers and grandmothers long before we really knew it and enough is enough. It is a book of banding together as a female collective and ruling out the mateship of men who stand together and protect each other. Why are we the problem when there is so much for men to learn? Jess Hill claims that the war isn't over but women are in the lead and there is plenty yet to be done for women to reclaim their dignity and their power and justice against the men who will always and forever be the boys that don't learn. Thanks Simon for lending me this amazing book to read.
Favourite quotes:
"Australians for more than 3 years have been living in the era of #Metoo and have been consuming almost daily diet of sexual harassment, assault and rape."
"But not stories like this stories of an alleged rape in the minister's office."
"This is the stuff of nightmares."
"Women have been putting up with this for their entire lives as their mothers and grandmothers did."
"Australian women walk in daily fear are overlooked, talked over by men, are marginalised, belittled, diminished, and objectified."
"It's the environment we've allowed to be created."
"Scott Morrison needed a mirror."
"This is an accountability movement."
"One that asks men the ugly question, when will you change."
"People of power when will you stop protecting these men."
"Metoo has made men sit up and take notice."
"We are pointing the finger."
"It's always been seen as women's issues what is she doing or wearing?"
"This is the power of metoo. The power of saying no more. The power of refusing to play along."
"If you've been sexually assaulted or abused write me too."
"It was like opening the flood gates."
"An activist group promoting solidarity, healing, education and community."
"The cultural revolution of #Metoo was a template for taking down powerful men."
"Yes like them, I also."
"It was a firestorm produced by a slow building weather system."
"The injustice of justice systems and the protection of powerful men."
"The fact that women are toys or prey rather than people."
"And that we should be able to play with them or hunt them without consequence."
"Everyday in the news we wake up, get coffee and hear what new celebrity or high profile person had committed a sexual act."
"It was the Rush case specifically that scared the shit out of everyone. It was just such a game changer."
"The global health crisis of sexual violence."
"The awakening movement in Australia was exhilarating, traumatising, messy and uneven."
"The reckonings were long overdue."
"The true nature of inequality and privilege."
"There was something urgent about this - It was as though society had suddenly woken up switched on the lights and seen the previously invisible mainframe of patriarchy."
"For the first time we could properly see clearly the house we didn't know we'd been living in, with its trapdoors, dark hallways and secret stairwells."
"We could paint to its design, identify its structural weaknesses - and maybe set about dismantling it."
"Metoo worked like a skeleton key exposing brutal realities and archaic social norms."
"Men are taught that sex is a conquest, competition and a measure of self worth."
"There was rarely any punishment for pushing a woman into sex."
"All violence against women begins with disrespecting women."
"When students report a sexual assault to their universities they can find themselves conscripted into a David-and-Goliath battle. We're talking about nineteen twenty year old kids who have virtually no resources behind them."
"But we all know sexual assault just doesn't stop with the student body."
"Universities are very much run by networks of old boys."
"The concept of workplace injury does not extend to sexual harassment or assault."
"It's not just unfortunate its illegal."
"The patient women who somehow love them."
"What happens to those vulnerable loving little boys that sees them grow up to be perpetrators of sexual violence, abuse and harassment."
"The emergence into maleness is a trauma within itself."
"Adolescent boys running after sex and porn with these particular women thinking its great and males not seeing the problem."
"Mateship with men isn't about loyalty its about protection."
"Fighting the patriarch and fighting the patriarchy are two distinct things."
"We may not be winning all the battles but we are winning the war."
"Women will be holding signs saying I can't believe I'm still protesting this shit."
"The job will never be done and social change is a long game of snakes and ladders."
"You go forwards and backwards but most importantly you keep playing."
Favourite quotes:
"Australians for more than 3 years have been living in the era of #Metoo and have been consuming almost daily diet of sexual harassment, assault and rape."
"But not stories like this stories of an alleged rape in the minister's office."
"This is the stuff of nightmares."
"Women have been putting up with this for their entire lives as their mothers and grandmothers did."
"Australian women walk in daily fear are overlooked, talked over by men, are marginalised, belittled, diminished, and objectified."
"It's the environment we've allowed to be created."
"Scott Morrison needed a mirror."
"This is an accountability movement."
"One that asks men the ugly question, when will you change."
"People of power when will you stop protecting these men."
"Metoo has made men sit up and take notice."
"We are pointing the finger."
"It's always been seen as women's issues what is she doing or wearing?"
"This is the power of metoo. The power of saying no more. The power of refusing to play along."
"If you've been sexually assaulted or abused write me too."
"It was like opening the flood gates."
"An activist group promoting solidarity, healing, education and community."
"The cultural revolution of #Metoo was a template for taking down powerful men."
"Yes like them, I also."
"It was a firestorm produced by a slow building weather system."
"The injustice of justice systems and the protection of powerful men."
"The fact that women are toys or prey rather than people."
"And that we should be able to play with them or hunt them without consequence."
"Everyday in the news we wake up, get coffee and hear what new celebrity or high profile person had committed a sexual act."
"It was the Rush case specifically that scared the shit out of everyone. It was just such a game changer."
"The global health crisis of sexual violence."
"The awakening movement in Australia was exhilarating, traumatising, messy and uneven."
"The reckonings were long overdue."
"The true nature of inequality and privilege."
"There was something urgent about this - It was as though society had suddenly woken up switched on the lights and seen the previously invisible mainframe of patriarchy."
"For the first time we could properly see clearly the house we didn't know we'd been living in, with its trapdoors, dark hallways and secret stairwells."
"We could paint to its design, identify its structural weaknesses - and maybe set about dismantling it."
"Metoo worked like a skeleton key exposing brutal realities and archaic social norms."
"Men are taught that sex is a conquest, competition and a measure of self worth."
"There was rarely any punishment for pushing a woman into sex."
"All violence against women begins with disrespecting women."
"When students report a sexual assault to their universities they can find themselves conscripted into a David-and-Goliath battle. We're talking about nineteen twenty year old kids who have virtually no resources behind them."
"But we all know sexual assault just doesn't stop with the student body."
"Universities are very much run by networks of old boys."
"The concept of workplace injury does not extend to sexual harassment or assault."
"It's not just unfortunate its illegal."
"The patient women who somehow love them."
"What happens to those vulnerable loving little boys that sees them grow up to be perpetrators of sexual violence, abuse and harassment."
"The emergence into maleness is a trauma within itself."
"Adolescent boys running after sex and porn with these particular women thinking its great and males not seeing the problem."
"Mateship with men isn't about loyalty its about protection."
"Fighting the patriarch and fighting the patriarchy are two distinct things."
"We may not be winning all the battles but we are winning the war."
"Women will be holding signs saying I can't believe I'm still protesting this shit."
"The job will never be done and social change is a long game of snakes and ladders."
"You go forwards and backwards but most importantly you keep playing."
February 4, 2022
Hard to read but so necessary.
January 15, 2022
Jess Hill is a fabulous writer. Her topics are hard hitting, researched impeccably, and do not pull any punches. She is the perfect author to write one of the Quarterly Essay series and this particular essay was sad, shocking and really informative. I have followed the trajectory of the #metoo movement as it happened here in Australia. But this country is shameful in the way it has not just ignored sexual violence, harassment and assault, but how it is woven into our (in my opinion) toxic culture of mateship, secrecy and larrikinism.
This essay charted the development of #metoo with the height of it being the explosive revelations of rape and violence by members of the government (who, let's just add, closed ranks, blamed the victims or showered the women of Australia with PR written platitudes in the hope that we all might just shut up and go back to the kitchen). But Hill has hope that the seismic changes which the movement has brought will start to make a difference, albeit slow and small. Every woman has experienced it, many of us many times over. Every woman has been made to feel that it is somehow our fault or that we should just lighten up and take it as a bit of a joke. Let's hope that this can stop and that our daughters do not have to go through this whole movement all over again...
This essay charted the development of #metoo with the height of it being the explosive revelations of rape and violence by members of the government (who, let's just add, closed ranks, blamed the victims or showered the women of Australia with PR written platitudes in the hope that we all might just shut up and go back to the kitchen). But Hill has hope that the seismic changes which the movement has brought will start to make a difference, albeit slow and small. Every woman has experienced it, many of us many times over. Every woman has been made to feel that it is somehow our fault or that we should just lighten up and take it as a bit of a joke. Let's hope that this can stop and that our daughters do not have to go through this whole movement all over again...
January 18, 2022
With the spotlight on diversity, inclusion and respect at work, this is an important book and one that everyone should read.
In the latest quarterly essay, published by Melbourne-based Schwartz Media, investigative journalist and ABC broadcaster Jess Hill charts the history of the cultural revolution that is the #MeToo movement, both abroad and within Australia.
It puts the spotlight on women who at great personal cost found themselves at the centre of this movement - among them Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, who used her own devastating experience to become a strong advocate for the victims of sexual assault.
Hill charts the course of #MeToo through major institutions - from media, to academia, to law, finance and politics and shows how there is no going back on demands for accountability, transparency and lack of tolerance for sexual harassment and violence.
"The cultural revolution of #MeToo is not just about sexual violence," Hill writes. "It is taking aim at patriarchy's most sacred compact - the keeping of men's secrets."
Highly recommended.
In the latest quarterly essay, published by Melbourne-based Schwartz Media, investigative journalist and ABC broadcaster Jess Hill charts the history of the cultural revolution that is the #MeToo movement, both abroad and within Australia.
It puts the spotlight on women who at great personal cost found themselves at the centre of this movement - among them Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, who used her own devastating experience to become a strong advocate for the victims of sexual assault.
Hill charts the course of #MeToo through major institutions - from media, to academia, to law, finance and politics and shows how there is no going back on demands for accountability, transparency and lack of tolerance for sexual harassment and violence.
"The cultural revolution of #MeToo is not just about sexual violence," Hill writes. "It is taking aim at patriarchy's most sacred compact - the keeping of men's secrets."
Highly recommended.
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January 25, 2022Jess Hill is so excellent. She has previously written extensively on the topic of domestic violence in Australia, most notably in the unforgettable "See What You Made Me Do" (2019).
In this 2021 Quarterly Essay she turns her academic and journalistic eye to the #MeToo movement, with particular focus on how it is impacting the Australian context, covering and analysing the Australian stories that broke in the months and years afterwards with her characteristic precision. She covers the big name exposures, the journalism (good and bad) that joined the movement, the major political reactions and events, and what impact (if any) the movement has had on the prevalence of and reaction to sexual harassment and assault.
I hope Jess Hill continues to write about this issue - she is a vitally important voice for the issue of our era.
In this 2021 Quarterly Essay she turns her academic and journalistic eye to the #MeToo movement, with particular focus on how it is impacting the Australian context, covering and analysing the Australian stories that broke in the months and years afterwards with her characteristic precision. She covers the big name exposures, the journalism (good and bad) that joined the movement, the major political reactions and events, and what impact (if any) the movement has had on the prevalence of and reaction to sexual harassment and assault.
I hope Jess Hill continues to write about this issue - she is a vitally important voice for the issue of our era.
February 5, 2022
A very interesting essay which really opened my eyes up to just how rampant this environment of sexism is in Australia.
While I had knowledge of the events of the past year I never really looked into them too much, however this essay really opened my eyes on the extent of these issues, giving a thorough look at both the origin of the #metoo movement and how it is changing and adapting in the current political circumstances today.
This essay definitely made me appreciate just how rampant and horrifying this issue is and I now have a lot more respect for these women and what they do.
I enjoyed the format of this as my first quarterly essay and will likely read more of them.
Highly recommended
While I had knowledge of the events of the past year I never really looked into them too much, however this essay really opened my eyes on the extent of these issues, giving a thorough look at both the origin of the #metoo movement and how it is changing and adapting in the current political circumstances today.
This essay definitely made me appreciate just how rampant and horrifying this issue is and I now have a lot more respect for these women and what they do.
I enjoyed the format of this as my first quarterly essay and will likely read more of them.
Highly recommended
February 11, 2022
I am not sure how to express my gratitude to Jess Hill for writing (and reading) this. It is difficult to think about the experiences of women I know and why they thought they couldn’t report what happened to them. I hope that is changing with Kate, Brittany and Grace. I hope that others will be empowered. I was going to write a lot more but instead, I implore you to read this. To reread it and then make changes in your life, what you turn a blind eye to, what you pass on as ‘credible’ about others etc.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2022
The best Quarterly Essay I've read (listened to) yet.
Jess Hill has nailed a new and very complex area that has launched into our consciousness in the past four years. She talks the good, the bad and the ugly. The origin story, the complexities and where we are now.
There are some explosive moments. It's what you've read but more nuanced.
Jess Hill draws all the threads together in an unputdownable audiobook narrated brilliantly.
Note: there are a tonne load of triggers in this, so tread carefully if you may be affected.
Jess Hill has nailed a new and very complex area that has launched into our consciousness in the past four years. She talks the good, the bad and the ugly. The origin story, the complexities and where we are now.
There are some explosive moments. It's what you've read but more nuanced.
Jess Hill draws all the threads together in an unputdownable audiobook narrated brilliantly.
Note: there are a tonne load of triggers in this, so tread carefully if you may be affected.
March 15, 2022
If you only read one Quarterly Essay, make it this one.
The Reckoning is a call to accountability in the fight against sexism and sexual violence. Jess Hill traces the conditions that gave birth to #MeToo and tells the stories of women who often found themselves the centre of this movement. In addition, Hill exposes the networks of backlash against them in government, media, schools, and our national psyche.
While this essay is alarming and deeply sad at times, it is also optimistic. Change is happening, and while “we may not be winning all the battles…we are winning the war.”
The Reckoning is a call to accountability in the fight against sexism and sexual violence. Jess Hill traces the conditions that gave birth to #MeToo and tells the stories of women who often found themselves the centre of this movement. In addition, Hill exposes the networks of backlash against them in government, media, schools, and our national psyche.
While this essay is alarming and deeply sad at times, it is also optimistic. Change is happening, and while “we may not be winning all the battles…we are winning the war.”
December 27, 2022
What really struck me about this essay was not just the distressing and cruel ubiquity of male-perpetrated sexual violence, but the extraordinary courage and lucidity of the women - including Jess Hill - who are doing their best to expose and condemn it. A particular highlight was the revelation that Scott Morrison’s hapless, bumbling schtick was, all along, aimed at appealing to ‘those young men at risk of voting labour’ - or as she more bluntly puts it, ‘blokes who are genuinely dumbfounded about why women are so angry … and the patient women who love them’.
March 12, 2022
Thorough, concise, confronting. Well written and researched. Jess presents the facts well and explores more than just the #metoo movement taking her questions further asking the big questions about mens masculinity, mateship and a toxic culture that encourages a society to ‘look the other way’, ‘that’s just how he is’ and brushing the very real, lived experience of sexual harassment and violation under the carpet. Great essay on a critical conversation of our times.
October 6, 2022
Hill is a sublime writer on this topic. I have read her novel. I didn't realise some of the things she outlines, and the background just makes me more frustrated/angry at local developments in how sexual assault is dealt with in Australia in particular. However it is good that these 'protectorates' are finally being outed. They are known about, but overlooked and not held to account. However now is their time to be held to account, and goodness, they're nervous. So they should be.
March 3, 2022
A deep look at just how much the way we look at sex and gender - and the various issues generally labelled 'women's issues' - in the last few years in this country. The short version is "a lot, but not enough". Hill's book goes into considerable detail in explaining what has happened already and why - and what remains to be done.
May 8, 2022
This is a must read for everyone, particularly before the 2022 Australian Federal Election. Jess Hill clearly and factually sets out the Australian landscape and attitudes to sexual predators, a systemic issue affecting all of us. We should be angry, irate, and demand change - this issue of the Quarterly Essay sets out why and it is hard not to feel despair at how ingrained sexual misconduct is.
November 6, 2022
3.5 Excellent history and context for mainstream #metoo movement in Australia. Glad to read it to sort through all the dynamics of these cases that have occurred over the last couple of yrs in Australia. Interested to read of #metoo origins and some analysis of the Respect@work report by Kate Jenkins
February 1, 2022
I enjoyed the deep insight into the impact of the me too movement across Australian industry. There is a particularly harrowing segment on the death of Kate, alleged victim of Christian Porter that was genuinely painful to read. I definetly learnt more.
April 28, 2022
Nice! I could get in to these Quarterly Essays. 4.5⭐️. A great summary of #MeToo, which I’ve lived through but never reflected on in such a linear way. Half points deducted for a lack of Aboriginal representation, though this is more likely a failing of the movement than the essay.
December 19, 2021
Essential reading.
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