NWLC Responds to Reversal of Harvey Weinstein Conviction
The following is a statement from Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center and a co-founder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund:
“The misstep by New York’s appellate court is devastating news for the Silence Breakers, the courageous women who came forward at great personal risk to tell their stories of sexual abuse in 2019. We want the Silence Breakers – and survivors everywhere – to know they are not alone.
“A jury heard their harrowing accounts about abuse and believed them — and so did millions of other people in this country who were not in that courtroom.
“Today’s decision does not erase the truth of what happened. It doesn’t alter the reality that Harvey Weinstein is a serial sexual abuser who exploited his power for decades. It doesn’t alter the reality that he was also convicted in 2022 in Los Angeles and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
“For all those quick to jump to conclusions and unhelpful assessments about the power and reach of the survivor justice movement, today is a reminder that survivors often still live in the margins, with fine print and loopholes getting in the way of what looks like justice and healing for them.
“It is a reminder that sexual harassment and abuse remain pervasive and that people who come forward often experience retaliation but come forward anyway.
“It is a reminder that survivors who speak up must be shielded from retaliation. They must have legal time periods extended for challenging violence and the broad reach of non-disclosure agreements must be confined.
“But the most important reminder today is that one well-known case cannot define this movement and our collective fight. The strength of survivors is a force to be reckoned with. We are already winning, no matter the setbacks. We will always be greater than those who seek to exert power over us.”
