NOW Tells Fox Board: It's Time to End Culture of Sexual Harassment

On April 20 at 11 a.m., NOW NYC and UltraViolet team up to protest Fox Board of Directors, to let them know that it is time to end the rampant culture of sexual harassment at the network. Protestors will gather outside Fox News headquarters at 1211 Sixth Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets.

A genuine and necessary change to the culture at Fox News would mean that sexual harassers are held accountable regardless of whether or not that harassment is made public, not only because it is made public.

Yesterday, NOW New York protested at Fox News HQ, insisting that the network #DropOReilly, and today Fox News is making the right decision by firing Bill O'Reilly for his long record of egregious and unacceptable behavior toward women colleagues.

However, our fight to protect women from hostile working conditions does not stop with O'Reilly. Let's not forget that Fox News fired former CEO Roger Ailes last July after numerous women accused him of sexual assault -- and yet the toxic culture of misogyny and harassment persisted at FOX, enabling O'Reilly to keep his job until today.

O'Reilly is not out because Fox News changed its ways on sexual harassment -- O'Reilly is out because of YOU: the survivors who spoke out, the women and men who came forward to protest, the advocates who organized and the advertisers who fled. He's out because the settlements were made public. We must keep the pressure on.

As NOW New York President, Sonia Ossorio, said in a statement today:

"Ousting O'Reilly is a good first step but should not end here. We are calling on the leadership at Fox News to commit to a long term solution that will end the systemic culture that has protected harassers and enabled rampant abuse and harassment for more than a decade.

Fox News is making the right decision today by firing Bill O'Reilly for his long record of egregious and unacceptable behavior toward women colleagues. Holding the most powerful individuals accountable is a long overdue but significant step in rooting out a culture of sexual harassment that has been able to flourish throughout the company for far too long.

While the President himself has condoned O'Reilly's behavior, we are not going to wait for him to translate his own beliefs into policies that will put women and girls in harm's way. NOW New York will continue to organize with survivors and advocates to stop sexual harassment in the workplace, to prevent rape and sexual assault, and to ensure that the vital programs of the Violence Against Women Act remain fully funded."

For more information, visit http://nownyc.org/