Mental Health Aspects of the ‘#MeToo Movement’: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The whole world including India is experiencing the ‘#MeToo movement’ to address the issues of patriarchy, gender violence and related issues. To a large extent, the current course is one of confrontation and not cooperation to address the issues of long-standing disparities in gender roles and relationships. There is a mental health aspect to the expected changes to gender relationships-both pluses and minuses. The paper discusses how the gender-equation has been an issue in every age, which every culture and society has addressed in their own unique ways. While the changes have been gradual and incremental, it will be difficult to define what is ‘ideal’. Reporting of a few cases of ‘MeToo’ is neither the best way to address the needed changes though individual instances can trigger changes. As seen in the case of Nirbhaya episode in 2012, nothing much seems to have changed in the last one decade. We probably are not asking the right questions nor acting at the right level or on right targets. The chapter will address various aspects of the mental health dimension including the recognition of the gender inequalities as vital to bring about changes, integration of mental health knowledge in recognition of the importance of equality, social connectedness, the lifelong impact of adversities like child trauma, living in conflict situations, value of family life and impact of urbanization. It covers how the changes in whatever form, desirable or undesirable, will have mental health implications. It will also present the importance of understanding the mental health impact of changes at the level of individuals, families, community, state, international levels as part of the change process and the need for systematic engagement of the society at many levels, to prevent or protect women against similar situations.