#MeToo: Women share their experiences of sexual assault, start social media movement

Millions of women across the world have been sharing their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in an online campaign using the hashtag #MeToo on Twitter and Facebook.

The social media meme was sparked by Charmed actress Alyssa Milano on Sunday, who asked her followers to reply “me too” if they had ever been sexually harassed or assaulted.

It was a reaction to sexual abuse allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone. Milano’s original tweet received over 37,000 comments, and the hashtag was one of the top trends on Twitter in Britain and the United States. On Facebook, around 7 million people were discussing #MeToo on Monday afternoon.

More from India

In India also, the hashtag was trending on Twitter and Facebook for a very long time.

From the entertainment industry across the world names like singer Lady Gaga, Oscar-winning actress Anna Paquin and Westworld actress Evan Rachel Wood took part in the online campaign. Wood described being raped by an unnamed individual.

Some men who said they were also victims of sexual assault took to the social media to share their stories, including one of the stars of Broadway musical Hamilton, Javier Munoz.

In France, where prevalent sexism has regularly triggered calls to end a code of silence, journalist Sandra Muller sparked a similar outpouring of sharing under the hashtags #balancetonporc and the phrase’s English equivalent, #squealonyourpig.

Radio journalist Anais Dent was one of those sharing her story, writing: “First journalism internship in Paris, I was 18. The editor in chief kisses me against my will. He’d just had a baby. #balancetonporc.”

Here are some of the posts shared from across the world:

With inputs from Reuters