Milano: Equal Rights Amendment would help hold men who abuse women 'accountable' in eyes of the law

Actress and activist Alyssa Milano said an Equal Right Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would "guarantee" every woman is protected by the "full force of federal law." 

Addressing the #MeToo movement's connecting to the push for an ERA, Milano said that "people really act differently when they know that they're going to be held accountable for their actions."

"I think when you look at equality through the feminist lens, you know, we are looking at the true intersectionality of gender, race, class, disability, religion, and really what we're looking for is the elimination of any hierarchy and the time is now," Milano said during a call with Democratic activists and lawmakers who support the ERA, which has been added to the draft of the Democratic Party's 2020 platform.

"After #MeToo, we've seen that people really act differently when they know that they're going to be held accountable for their actions, right? I mean, we saw the richest and most powerful men are also starting to get that no matter how rich or powerful they may be there are going to be consequences. They're being shamed and fired and ostracized for predatory discriminatory behavior," she added.

So far, 38 states have adopted the ERA. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, there are "still hurdles in the ERA’s path" to ratification because the "deadlines that Congress set after it approved the amendment have lapsed, and five states have acted to rescind their prior approval."

Milano said that when "men abuse women" they should be "held accountable" by the media, their employers, the public and the criminal justice system.

"That's really what the Equal Rights Amendment would afford us and the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, you know, that was a crucial first step by ensuring that that every woman who has suffered harassment and abuse has access to a lawyer," she said. "But really enshrining our equal rights in the United States Constitution, the ERA would guarantee that every woman is protected by the full force of federal law as well."