As of today, a law has been passed in California that forbids the use of non-disclosure agreements to conceal cases of sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination based on sex.
The law, which was signed outgoing governor Jerry Brown in September, has officially taken effect on Jan. 1st. The Los Angeles Times reports that serial abusers often use NDAs to protect themselves from discovery and persecution. These men have also demanded for large payouts when victims come forward with accusations.
This is a familiar theme with the Harvey Weinstein scandal, wherein multiple women came forward with accounts of sexual harassment and assault from the former big shot. Another example is a woman alleging that Cristiano Ronaldo made her sign an NDA after he raped her.
Earlier in 2018, New York also endorsed a similar law that only permits confidentiality clauses at the request of the victim. This also took effect on Jan. 1st. Likewise, USA Today found that over 2,000 #MeToo-related bills were passed in all 50 states, which is a big deal considering that US Congress didn’t enact any laws related to sexual harassment beforehand.
We commend these places for passing a #MeToo law that’ll protect victims of sexual misconduct and violence. We also hope that other countries would put as much importance to this matter and put abusers in their place.
[Refinery29]
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
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