Ashley Judd Just Shared Her Go-To Way to Respond to Sexual Harassment
Ashley Judd—like many women—is no stranger to instances of sexual harassment. The actress was one of those on record in the bombshell New York Times investigation that revealed decades of alleged sexual harassment and assault by former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. This week, she opened up on Good Morning America about the encounter she had with him early in her career, saying that “there has to be a real profound understanding on the part of the sexual predator that what he was doing was wrong and criminal.” She also accepted the “Speaking Truth to Power” award at the Women’s Media Awards on Thursday.
Now, in a Teen Vogue interview published Saturday, Judd shared how she responds to sexual harassment—particularly the sort encountered on the street. Yelling, “Stop! That is inappropriate and unwelcome,” Judd “holds her hands up like catcher’s mitts, telling her potential harasser to stop what they’re doing and, at the same time, making her hands like a shield between her and the hurtful comments.”
Judd adds that expecting to be harassed isn’t something we should have to do, but “disrupting the structures” that allow it to occur is really important. So practicing what to do when it happens—getting comfortable with making the gestures and speaking loudly, in her case—is important for her to be able to respond in a way that she’s comfortable with and feels empowering.
For those who don’t feel like they can respond, Judd says, just being able to extricate themselves from the situation—in whatever way is safe—is important.
“Feeling safe is everything,” she told Teen Vogue. “That’s essentially what is taken from us when we experience sexual harassment and microaggressions.”
She added that two things that can’t be taken away are your power and instinct. “You are ineffably powerful,” she told Teen Vogue. “If it feels wrong, it is wrong.” And it’s more than OK to make that known.
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