#MeToo Twitter trend exposes scale of sexual abuse

In the wake of the allegations made against Harvey Weinstein, a social media campaign is encouraging women to speak up about sexual harassment. The #MeToo trend was sparked by actress Alyssa Milano’s tweet asking anyone who has ever been sexually harassed or assaulted to respond to her message with the words ‘me too’. 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 More than 30,000 people have since replied, with many women sharing their own harrowing experiences of sexual assault. Among those to respond were Anna Paquin, Lady Gaga and Evan Rachel Wood. Evan Rachel Wood revealed in a 2016 interview that she had been raped during ‘many years ago’ and she used Twitter to detail how the experience had caused her to ‘shut down’. Being raped once made it easier to be raped again. I instinctually shut down. My body remembered, so it protected me. I disappeared. #metoo— #EvanRachelWould (@evanrachelwood) October 16, 2017 A number of men have also shared their experiences and messages of support. hey dudes if you’re surprised how many people posting to #metoo are women you know think what that means about the men you know— moth dad (@innesmck) October 16, 2017 The #MeToo hashtag is continuing to trend worldwide, and has also spawned several offshoots. In France, the hashtag #balancetonporc is inviting women to name and shame their attackers, while #Womenwhoroar is encouraging victims of abuse to speak out. Milano started the social media campaign came after she spoke out against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexually harassing women for decades. More than 20 women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan, have made accusations against him, including rape and sexual assault.