A name that has been on the minds of the public lately is Harvey Weinstein. For those who may not know, Weinstein is a powerful film producer and studio film executive. Weinstein and his brother co-founded the company Miramax, which produced film classics such as Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting.

Although Weinstein’s job gives him lots of power in the business, he allegedly uses this for evil. Recently, dozens of his female employees and actresses who have worked with him, have stepped forward to talk about their experiences of sexual harassment involving Weinstein. The women that have stepped forward include Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, and many other stars.

The accounts vary in time frames, some occurring about three decades ago, but all were similar in content. The targeted women that were hired at Weinstein’s company were told that they had to be “personally approved” by the man himself. The women were then told to go to a “work meeting” at a hotel, which resulted instead in Weinstein attempting to make sexual advances on them; some were able to escape his grasp while others left the hotel sexual assault victims. Weinstein targeted women whom he felt were vulnerable and that would do anything to be able to work with a powerful producer.

The public may seem skeptical about the allegations due to the number of years that have passed, but it is not surprising that the women did not speak up right away. Like many other victims of sexual harassment, the women did not immediately share their experiences publicly due to no witnesses, fear of Weinstein’s retaliation, and embarrassment.

Moreover, Weinstein enforced a “code of silence” at his company in which employees sign a contract promising to not criticize him as it would harm his reputation.

In addition, payouts were given to those that did call Weinstein out, the women agreeing to confidentiality clauses that prevented them from going public with information on any deals or events. A combination of these factors is more than enough to explain why the women stayed silent for so many years.

Although these events were traumatic for these women, the fact that they were brave enough to call out their harasser have given victims everywhere the courage to do the same.