Catherine Rampell was right to say in her Oct. 16 op-ed, “#TimesUp for a bill on sexual misconduct,” that Congress needs to follow the lead of state governments in enacting laws that will ensure legal protection for people speaking out against sexual violence and misconduct. But laws alone will not produce lasting change.
A recent survey we conducted at Plan International USA explored factors affecting the views on gender equality and sexism held by 10- to 19-year-olds in the United States. Girls and boys are not growing up in a vacuum; they are absorbing the thoughts, ideas and perspectives of those around them at home and school when it comes to gender roles, pressures and expectations. For example, boys who didn’t have a parent or teacher talk to them about the #MeToo movement were less likely to perceive that sexism is a problem in our society. The survey also showed us that boys are less likely to be engaged in conversations about #MeToo than girls are.
The findings overall show that we need to better understand how young people perceive gender equality and address how these early beliefs around equality are formed. If we’re going to make strides in the time of #MeToo, not only do parents and teachers need to engage adolescents in these conversations, but also young people need to be given a more active role in the solution.
These young people represent our future. If we want to change things tomorrow, they need to be part of the solution today.
Tessie San Martin, Washington
The writer is president and chief executive of Plan International USA.