In wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal -- where over 55 women have accused him of sexual assault or rape -- women across the world have begun to speak out about their experiences in assault or harassment.
Weinstein was a prominent film producer and former film studio executive until late September when he was fired for sexual misconduct allegations.
Over the course of the last few months, many well-known, respected actresses came forward, claiming that Weinstein assaulted them. Actress Alyssa Milano used her Twitter platform to support the hashtag #MeToo mid-October to give survivors a chance to open up the conversation and increase awareness about widespread sexual violence.
Within the first 24 hours, over 12 million posts were made on Facebook alone. It was shared across other social media such as Twitter, Snapchat and others.
However, this was not the first campaign for victims to speak out. The MeToo Movement was actually created in 2007 by Tarana Burke of Just Be Inc., a non-profit organization that helps victims of sexual harassment and assault, according to The New York Times.
Burke was first not credited with her campaign by Milano until days later. According to The Times, Milano reached out to Burke and is working to collaborate with her on the campaign.
The hashtag was retweeted more than a million times within 48 hours on Twitter. Some people posted the comment “#MeToo” while other went into vivid detail of their experiences.
There has also been a small pool of men who have responded to the MeToo campaign by posting “I Have” with the remorse of their own past choices. The MeToo campaign has allowed women to share their real-life experiences with sexual assault.
The harsh reality of the situation is that every 98 seconds, a woman is raped in the United States, and every 1 in 6 women are raped in their lifetime, according to Associated Press News.
