The Time's Up Foundation hopes Harvey Weinstein's prison sentence brings survivors of his sexual misconduct "some measure of peace."
On Wednesday, a New York criminal court sentenced the 67-year-old former film producer to 23 years behind bars, a few weeks after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann. During his trial, several other women also testified against Weinstein, at the request of prosecutors aiming to bolster their case against him.
"First and foremost, we are grateful for the courage and strength of Mimi Haleyi, Jessica Mann, Annabella Sciorra, Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, and Lauren Young, who bravely testified in court, and we remain in solidarity with the more than 100 survivors who suffered abuse, harassment, and rape at the hands of Harvey Weinstein," Times Up said in a statement on Wednesday.
The foundation, as well as the #MeToo movement, were started a soon after dozens of women publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct in late 2017. Times Up's goal is to "create a society free of gender-based discrimination in the workplace and beyond" by "helping change culture, companies, and laws."
"The trauma of sexual assault and harassment is lifelong—we can only hope that today's sentence brings all of the survivors of Harvey Weinstein some measure of peace," TIMES UP said. "We also hope that these women take pride in knowing the impact they have had on our culture at large. Whether by inspiring more survivors to come forward and seek help, changing how the justice system responds to sexual violence, or leading corporate boards to hold more CEOs accountable for toxic workplace culture, the social change catalyzed by these survivors has been nothing short of transformational."
The statement added, "TIME'S UP is committed to keep fighting until everybody is safe at work and in the pursuit of their careers, no exceptions."
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. said in a statement, "We thank the court for imposing a sentence that puts sexual predators and abusive partners in all segments of society on notice. We thank the survivors for their remarkable statements today and indescribable courage over the last two years."
"Harvey Weinstein deployed nothing less than an army of spies to keep them silent," the statement said. "But they refused to be silent, and they were heard. Their words took down a predator and put him behind bars, and gave hope to survivors of sexual violence all across the world."