In contrast to last year’s Hay Festival… the annual literature and arts festival conducted each year in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, comedian Jo Brand gave rousing support to the #MeToo movement. As reported by The Guardian, she stated: “I feel it is something we need to keep pushing at. It was going in the right direction until certain people said, ‘Oh they’ve had their say, can they not be quiet now?’” She blamed most of the negative backlash on men, many of whom worked for the Daily Mail.

Last year, Germaine Greer, an Australian academic, writer and intellectual often associated with the feminist movement, actually stated “Most rapes don’t involve any injury, whatsoever.” She cavalierly likened “nonconsensual sex” to “just bad sex.”

Brand is no stranger to sexual harassment.

Brand was threatened with gang rape at the age of 20. And while performing a comedy routine, a heckler pulled out his penis and demanded that she “Suck my d##k!” She ran off the stage in horror and was admonished by management for ending her set 2 minutes early.

Although Brand’s Hay Festival comments were an uptick from last year, they still lack clarity on the importance of defining #CONSENT in our laws – the single most critical key to conquering sexual assault! Perhaps next year will find us closer to achieving the real recognition that wakes up society and brings this defilement and the predators who commit it to their knees!

YOU CAN HELP!

• Watch this TEDx Talk
• Get “Your Consent – The Key to Conquering Sexual Assault” and call your legislators to demand change!
• Donate to keep this movement going!