Harvey Weinstein’s arrest ‘isn’t what the #MeToo movement is about,’ Tarana Burke says

May 26, 2018

#MeToo founder Tarana Burke said disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s arrest is vindication for his accusers and survivors of sexual violence, but watching his perp walk isn’t what her movement is about.

In an Instagram caption, which accompanies a clip of Burke’s MSNBC appearance discussing Weinstein’s Friday arrest, the #MeToo activist insists that supporters instead focus on helping “survivors on their journey to healing.”

“If the result of women standing up and telling their truth is that they get to see their perpetrator have to answer for their crimes—so be it. But I am laser focused on the accuser not the accused because whether they get to ever witness a perp walk or not they still have to find ways to become whole again. ?”

I almost never repost myself from TV appearances but THIS point needs to be spread far and wide. Weinstein’s arrest isn’t what the #metoomvmt is about. Supporting survivors on their journey to healing is what we are about. If the result of woman standing up and telling their truth is that they get to see their perpetrator have to answer for their crimes – so be it. But I am laser focused on the accuser not the accused because whether they get to ever witness a perp walk or not they still have to find ways to become whole again. ?

A post shared by Tarana J. Burke (@taranajaneen) on May 26, 2018 at 4:56am PDT

Since October 2017, more than 80 women have come forward to share their horrifying stories of Weinstein’s sexual assault. On Friday, Weinstein turned himself in and was arraigned on charges that he had “raped one woman and forced another to perform oral sex,” the New York Times reports.

Burke told Variety by phone Thursday that Weinstein’s intention to turn himself in to authorities was a victory for the survivors.

“This moves from the court of public opinion into an actual courtroom,” she said. “That is super cathartic for a bunch of the survivors, or even survivors who are not necessarily victimized by him.”