Brittany Cosgrove brought #WeToo message to NZ; the PM took it to the world

Sunday, 30 September 2018

PM Jacinda Ardern has drawn attention to the We Too movement - but Brittany Cosgrove was way ahead of the curve.

Six powerful words: Me Too must become We Too.

While Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was dropping them into her national statement to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City this week, a world away in Wellington, New Zealand, designer sisters Brittany and Johanna Cosgrove were beaming.

'To hear that, I thought, 'oh my god that's so amazing',' Brittany Cosgrove says. 'I loved that.'

'We Too' succinctly summed up all Ardern pledged in a speech trumpeted by the world's media as the antithesis of the US Trump administration: That all are equal. That everyone is entitled to dignity and respect. That we must strive for social progress, and hold each other to account.

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And therein lies the ethos behind the Cosgrove designer team, known as the Nope Sisters, a fashion brand with a conscience. Their T-shirts' social messages raise money for sexual assault support networks. While their 'Nope' shirt is perhaps their most notable, a year ago they launched a 'Me too/We too' design, in partnership with Sexual Abuse HELP Wellington, a simple nod to the global #metoo call to arms.

Sisters Brittany, left and Johanna Cosgrove wearing their Me/We Too T-shirts.

Proceeds from the shirts go to Sexual Abuse HELP Wellington, and Sexual Abuse Prevention Network; other Nope Sisters designs have supported the Wa Collective and breast cancer research.

* PM says kindness in leadership shows strength

* Ardern calls for 'Me Too' to become 'We Too'**

While the pair didn't coin #WeToo, they certainly popularised it in New Zealand.

'We sort of had this discussion about it and, while it was all well and good for the #MeToo movement – which is amazing – it's time for us to collectively work together. Even if you're not a victim of sexual assault you can still support that cause – we can be #WeToo,' Cosgrove says.

Cosgrove has previously spoken about her own Me Too moment – she was sexually assaulted by a group of boys, at age 13.

This year she was announced as a finalist in the young leader category of the Women of Influence awards, where she met with Dame Jenny Shipley and Dame Margaret Sparrow, and is a finalist in the AMP National Scholarships.

Speaking in New York this weekend Ardern told : 'I was trying to think of a way to try and capture that we need to give global solidarity to a movement that already exists.'

Cosgrove hoped that a 'wee shine' from the Prime Minister would see a resurgence in key message of #WeToo.

'I would love it if that happened.'

* Public voting for the AMP People's Choice Scholarship begins Monday, October 1, as finalists from nine regions vie for $5000 to help realise their dream. Details at amp.co.nz.