You Messed with the Wrong Women – Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers

A group of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers who call themselves ‘Silence Breakers’ have called his conviction for rape and sexual assault a “landmark moment” and a “triumph” for victims

A day after a New York jury found Weinstein, 67, guilty of rape and sexual assault – in a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement – a dozen women held an emotional news conference in Los Angeles.

“Now we know that if we dare to speak, there is a far greater chance we will be heard and our abusers will be punished,” said actress Rosanna Arquette.

“It is a historic shift that I never thought I would see in my lifetime,” added Arquette, one of a group of Weinstein’s accusers called the Silence Breakers.

The former Hollywood producer was found guilty on Monday of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a New York City hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006.

He was acquitted on the most serious charges – two counts of predatory sexual assault, but still faces a possible jail term of five to 29 years.

And he is facing separate charges in Los Angeles involving two more alleged sexual assault victims.

Weinstein is currently in a jail unit at Bellevue Hospital in New York where he is being monitored for heart palpitations and high blood pressure after the verdicts.

One of his lawyers, Arthur Aidala, said Weinstein was “upbeat” and “energised” about appealing against his convictions. Dozens of women have claimed he bullied, pressured, coerced or overpowered them while demanding sexual favours. Their allegations sparked the #Metoo movement