David Schwimmer is launching a campaign to educate young women about the different forms of sexual harassment. He’s partnering with the Ad Council and releasing several short films intended to bring awareness about sexual harassment and how people can do their part to stop it.
Each film is roughly based on a true story and concludes with the hashtag #ThatsHarassment.
The purpose of Schwimmer’s work is to take the grey area out of harassment claims. He believes offering young people a visual aid for uncertain circumstances is the key to solving the problem.
“For men watching, I think the purpose is to educate, illuminate,” he said.
In a recent op-ed, he detailed precisely why sexual harassment issues hit home for him. “I grew up with stories of sexual harassment from my mother,” he wrote. “She was a young, attractive lawyer, working in the emerging field of family law in California, and there weren’t a lot of them at the time…I’m the father of a six-and-a-half year-old daughter; if I’m going to do something about this for the future generations, now is the time.”
While it could be construed as hypocritical that David Schwimmer – a prominent male in the entertainment industry – is trying to tell girls what counts as sexual harassment – he’s done a considerable amount of humanitarian work to back up his efforts. He’s been a vocal advocate for the Rape Foundation for 20 years and currently sits on its board of directors.
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