THE #METOO SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT AND ITS POTENTIALS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE IN EUROPE

#MeToo has been an unprecedented historic moment not necessarily for its achievements, but for the debates that it has triggered. In order to move beyond debates and to contribute meaningfully to gender equity and to eliminate gender-based discriminations, the post-#MeToo era now needs to focus on the strengthening of weak and insufficient legislative frameworks against harassment at the workplace. The alarm call sent out by so many women from across the globe resonates strongly with the history of women’s rights, the EU Gender Equality core values and with the progressive fight for social justice. Therefore, this pamphlet seeks to contribute to the realisation that it is high time for progressive actors to seize the current momentum to push for women’s right to live in a Europe free from old, sexist and patriarchal structures. By collecting contributions from gender experts and activists, it provides a mapping of the complexities of sexual harassment in Europe with a focus on the hashtag #Metoo social media campaign, in particular Twitter, as a tool to understand the differing degrees of change achieved and still needed across Member States to eliminate sexist and sexual violence, highlighting the potentials for change (and risks) and illustrating the force of bottom-up movements in shaping the desired change.