JoAnne Sweeny is a Professor of Law at the University of Louisville, currently visiting at the University of Turku on a Fulbright Teaching Award. Professor Sweeny visited NIEM as part of the Fulbright Speaker Program. JoAnne Sweeny’s lecture was titled: “Comparative #metoo Movements in the US and Finland”.
Professor Sweeny discussed the differences and similarities in social perception of sexual harassment and assault against women in the US and in Finland. She highlighted that the #metoo movement let women make visible the scope of sexual harassment and violence in contemporary society by simply retweeting, reposting, or saying “me too”, and even at times naming perpetrators. JoAnne Sweeny elaborated that even though the movement started in the social media platforms, the outcomes of it have been visible in real life.
Sweeny summed up that the #metoo movement and other types of movements against sexual harassment are not exclusively focused on women, but encompass also acts of sexual violence or harassment against people in general regardless of their gender.
International Women’s Day guest lecture on #MeToo movement at the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law
Mon, Mar 11, 2019
On 8 March 2019, the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law (NIEM) at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, which leads the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Law, hosted a guest lecture by Professor JoAnne Sweeny.