#MePasó: Panama's Women Share Experiences of Sexual Harassment

Similar to the #MeToo movement that rocked the United States in 2017, the #MePasó (in english, "It happened to me") hashtag has become a trending hashtag on social media in Panama, with many women denouncing their own experiences of sexual harassment and abuse.

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The initiative arose after a young man was arrested for inappropriately touching ​​​​women in public places, filming the incidents and sharing them online.

As hundreds of individuals condemned the initiative, actress and activist Gaby Gnazzo posted the following question on Twitter: "Have you been harassed in the street, home, work, university, school or anywhere in your life? Share your experience with the #MePasó hashtag."

From then on, many stories have come to light of women abused when they were children, teens or adults, who remained silent, inlcuding Gnazzo herself, who tweeted: "If you behave yourself, you can get the position and wage you want, because I am the boss here. I did not go to the second interview and when I told the idiot who recommended me, he practically told me that I was imagining it all. That I was overreacting! #MePasó."

In February 2018, lawmakers passed a bill meant to deter and sanction better discrimination based on gender, but Gnazzo affirmed that it was not properly implemented and that a law more specifically addressing street harrassment was needed.

Local media also reported she was discussing a bill in that sense with independent lawmaker Juan Diego Vasquez.