Men and women across the globe are using #MeToo on social media to share their stories of sexual abuse, amid the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
#MeToo was started by actress Alyssa Milano to encourage victims of sexual abuse to speak out.
The actress took to Twitter and said, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet”
The hashtag soon exploded on social media with nearly 400,000 posts on Instagram and over 200,000 on Twitter.
If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15, 2017
So far, a number of actress and singers have joined Alyssa by using #MeToo, including Lady Gaga, America Ferrera, and Anna Pequin.
— xoxo, Gaga (@ladygaga) October 15, 2017
Me too
— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) October 15, 2017
Writer Charlie Clymer also took to his Twitter to remind people that men are also victims of sexual abuse.
Regarding boys and men as rape survivors:
I thought of turning this into a thread, but I think it’s better read as a whole.#MeToo pic.twitter.com/wYcLbtukJZ
— Charles Clymer????️???? (@cmclymer) October 15, 2017
The #MeToo hashtag is trending worldwide, including in the UK, US, India alternative hashtags are also being used.
In France, Twitter users are using #balancetonporc or “rat on your dirty old man” to encourage women to name their attackers, while #Womenwhoroar is also being used to allow victims of bullying or sexual abuse to speak out.