#Metoo A Long Due Wake Up Call

The #MeToo campaign seems to have taken the country by storm. But the real test of the authenticity of this movement shall be unfolded by time. While a section of people have been actively supporting the movement, others are rubbishing it to be instigated and political.

#Metoo Movement- The Origin & Spread

Tarana Burke, an activist, is responsible for starting the #Metoo movement in 2006. Tarana wanted to encourage women to share solidarity with each other. Tarana Burke started the campaign #Metoo, with a motive to empower women through empathy. She is also creating a documentary titled Metoo, in which she has shared her inspiration to begin this movement. Tarana was unable to respond to a 13-year-old girl who confined to her about her sexual assault. She shares that she wished she had simply told the girl, MeToo.

This #Metoo went viral in 2017 when Alyssa Milano used the hashtag to support a friend Rose McGowan’s allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein. At this time Burke came into spotlight in 2018 Golden Globes because #Metoo was in full swing in Hollywood and everybody was reporting it using the hashtag. Burke said, “Sexual harassment does bring shame. And I think it's really important that this transfer is happening, that these women are able not just to share their shame but to put the shame where it belongs on the perpetrator.”

When Milano shared the tweet ‘#Mee too’ on Oct 15, 2017, it was retweeted more than 200,000 times by the end of the day and 500,000 times by the next day. Well imagine the magnitude of the problem! The hashtag was used by more than 4.7 million people with 12 million posts. Later after this movement started, in November 2017, the #ChurchToo started by Emily Toy and Hannah Paasch. It highlighted the sexual misconduct that happens in church with women.

Not only in America, women in other countries have also broken their silence about the sexual harassment they are facing anywhere in any workplace.