In a year that has seen the #MeToo movement become a social media phenomenon and a global movement against sexual harassment and assault, we are pleased to announce Faktum’s interview with Me Too Founder Tarana Burke has won the 2018 INSP Special News Service Award!
Ahead of the 2018 INSP Awards Ceremony in Glasgow next week, Swedish street paper Faktum scoops this special award, which goes to the most republished story from the INSP News Service.
The article, by Sandra Pandevski, ran in 16 street papers across 11 countries, and secures Faktum their first ever INSP Award win.
Faktum Editor-in-Chief Sarah Britz is pleased the article has had such a positive impact.
She said: “It means a lot to us that so many street papers read and printed the story about Tarana Burke and Me Too. Her message is so important. The movement had a huge impact in Sweden and has changed the conversation climate. Today, we are talking about sexual abuse and harassment in a different way than before.”
She continued: “Our purpose was to describe Tarana’s struggle against sexual violence that took place long before the #MeToo movement started last year. Her story is important to tell. But more important is that the struggle must continue, because all girls and boys are entitled to a safe life growing up. It is a change that must involve the whole community, both men and women.”
As well as winning the INSP Special News Service Award, the piece is also a Finalist in the Best News Feature category, so could prove doubly successful for Faktum on the night.
Tarana Burke expressed her delight at the award announcement.
She said: “Congratulations to Faktum! I hope that the message of the article is what resonates with people the most, and that people around the world understand that this is a survival movement and it’s still growing. We really need the global support and understanding of this work, and I am so excited that this piece has been so far-reaching. It lets me know how interested people are in the issue.”
Faktum caught up with Tarana Burke to ask for her reaction to the award win, and find out the latest about the Me Too movement:
What’s your reaction to the amount of republications and translations the article has had around the world?
Wow, that’s crazy. I am shocked to hear it but I think that it is definitely a testimonial on how far reach in the movement has grown and people’s interest in wanting to know the origin of the movement.
What are the main effects of the hashtag #MeToo?
So much has happened. We worked really hard to wrangle the narrative so it didn’t get lost in the mainstream media hype. In mainstream media, it has been about something different from its origin and it has been important for us to keep the focus on survivors of sexual violence and on making sure they have the things that they need. And that part has been difficult.
How do you look at the future of Me Too?
The beautiful part is that the future has so much opportunity. The first months of this phenomenon we didn’t go out publicly asking anybody for money to support us, but now we are trying to raise funds to build a really expansive online platform so that people around the world can find the support that they need.
What will this involve?
It will be really hands on with toolkits on how to do your own assessment in your community. This work is about filling in a gap and I think people don’t know exactly how to do that. There are a lot of gaps in resources and communities that are more marginalised and they may lack healing services, victim support and policies. We want to help people to find out where the gaps are in their community and fill them in.
How has you life changed since the hashtag?
Oh, it changed dramatically. I clearly have a bigger platform and more access that I never had before, but it also comes with a lot of responsibility and harassment. People are not happy about having their lives becoming a little bit more uncomfortable when having to confront these things. But for the most part it has been good and eye-opening. I am tired because I travel a lot, but I’d rather be tired having the opportunity to talk to people about the reality of this issue than not. So I don’t complain. I don’t know how far this will go or how long it’s going to last. I’ll just keep pushing as far as it allows me to.
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The 2018 INSP Awards will be presented on Wednesday 22 August in Glasgow, UK, as part of the Global Street Paper Summit. All other winners will be revealed on the night.
Congratulations to Faktum!
You can view all the Finalists for the Awards here, and join the discussion on social media using #INSPAwards.
