A Decade in Review Libby Robbins Bevis
CONTENT WARNING: SEXUAL ABUSE/HARASSMENT, RACISM, DEATHS IN CUSTODY The new decade didn’t exactly start out how we collectively hoped it would. I remember reigning in the new year with a sense of excitement and anticipation. 2020 was going to be a good year. And whilst 2020 has certainly been an exceptional one, from the revolutionary Black Lives Matter movement, the devastation and disruption of COVID-19, the heartbreak of the summer bushfires, and a great number of other events and news that have taken a backseat, it hasn’t exactly progressed as a new decade hoped to. The events of this year have made it easy to forget about the decade just gone, and the progress that took place. And looking around it’s easy to assume that society is no better off than it was 10 years ago. Damsel thought we’d reflect on the decade just been, and explore some of the achievements, movements and major talking points of the 2010s. The past decade was a great time for social change and equality. Most notably the fight for marriage equality took place around the globe. Since 2010, 24 countries have legalised same-sex marriage, bringing the total of countries with marriage equality to 30. Similarly, progress arounds women’s reproductive rights have occurred, with over 50 countries legalising abortion. Ireland joined that list in 2018, after a referendum resulted in 66% of the public voting to repel the abortion ban. The rise in social media meant that social justice movements could spread information and awareness on a global scale, with online activism becoming a primary form of political and social activism. For example, the #metoo movement took Hollywood and politics by storm, holding those guilty of sexual abuse and harassment to account. The movement originated in 2006 when activist Tarana Burke coined the term, and in 2017 the Time named Burke and other “silence breakers” as Person of the Year. The #metoo movement resulted in the arrest and sentencing of film producer Harvey Weinstein, USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, and countless other abusers and perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment.
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The widespread use of the internet and social media was, and continues to be insurmountable in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Founded in 2013, the global movement is focused on the eradication of White Supremacy and violence against black people and other people of colour. Forming in the United States as a response to the murder of Trayvon Martin, the movement has taken on a global dimension. Here in Australia, the movement merged with the fight for Indigenous rights, such as that of land rights, and activism around Aboriginal deaths in custody. The 2010’s also saw protests around climate change and government inaction on the issue, found a strong base through online activism, with Greta Thunberg’s Climate Strike movement gaining global attention. In 2016 the Paris Agreement, a global deal to tackle climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, was signed by 170 countries, Australia included. Despite the agreement, Australia’s target to reduce emissions by 26-28% from 2005 levels by 2030 isn’t expected to be met according to the Federal Government. Other impactful moments and events of the 2010s include; the Occupy Wall Street Movement in 2011, the Indigenous land rights movements that occurred in Australia and across the United States, the trial of Cardinal George Pell and the Catholic Church’s cover up of child sex abuse. Fair to say, the 2010s was an immense decade of change and progress, although the work is far from over. Climate Change continues to be the most pressing global issue of our time, with no clear solution or fix in sight. Race relations and Black and Indigenous rights here in Australia and overseas still require a great deal of work, and equality hasn’t been achieved yet. Gender equality and the rights of women and girls aren’t universal truths, and LGBT+ rights still have a long way to go. But for all the terrible things happening around the world, and all the events and ways in which progress and equality have been undermined and eroded in the past few years, the last decade wasn’t all bad. And here’s hoping that regardless of the rough start to the 20’s, it’ll be a decade of progress and revolution, despite of and due to the struggles it may present.
