Civic Participation

Words: 1345
Pages: 6

Since 2006, the ‘Me Too’ movement has been working to help survivors of sexual violence ‘find pathways to healing’ (Me Too 2018). However, it was not this past October when Alyssa Milano encouraged the public to use the hashtag #MeToo to reveal the extent of sexual harassment that the conversation about sexual violence took center stage in America. This local movement quickly reached a global audience and sparked conversations about sexual violence across the globe (Zacharek, Dockterman & Edwards 2017). Making its way to Australia the ‘Me Too’ movement inspired Tracey Spicer to initiate a national organization called NOW. NOW was launched a month ago with the hope of raising $250,000 which will help “tackle sexual harassment, abuse and assault …show more content…
In this paper we will locate three scholarly articles which address the roles civic participation played in contributing to the change within the ‘Me Too’ movement in Australia, NOW. In the first reference, ‘Does Civic Participation Stimulate Political Activity’ the authors address the role civic participation made in contributing to the change by arguing that the civic participation within noninstitutionalized activities stimulate political activity. The second scholarly reference, ‘Information and Expression in a Digital Age: Modeling Internet Effects on Civic Participation’, examines the role of the Internet and concludes online civic participation complements traditional media to foster political discussions and civic messaging. Lastly, ‘Effects of Feedback and Peer Pressure on Contributions’ report that online civic participation lead to effective teamwork and community building. Overall these scholarly references discuss the various dimensions of civic …show more content…
531). This newform of media complements traditional media as it allows people to have other outlets where they can receive their information. By serving as a media outlet, the internet can also equip people, so they have educated conversations on important issues of the world around them. As a result of this role of civic participation, there will be an increase in opportunities to deliberate about issues, express their views publicly, and recruit people into civic life. Furthermore, online civic participation being also allows traditional media reporters to access sources faster for their news reports. With information easily available, journalist and the public can reinforce their research by going straight to the source. For example, days after the Now Australia campaign was launched, The Guardian dedicated an entire article on the new founded movement. Within the article, the author Steph Harmon used Tracey Spicer’s tweet announcing the movement is presented and information found in the campaign’s website to support her report. Furthermore, this nontraditional channel has allowed its founders to work together in making a change in the community by