Women Are Sharing Stories on the Horror of Harassment Using #MeToo

Don’t stay quiet. Raise awareness on sexual harassment and say ‘me too’.

If you have been remotely active on social media, you might have seen women using the words ‘me too’ on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And there’s just one word that made so many women from different parts of the world come together and write about the same thing –– sexual harassment.

The trend started when Alyssa Milano, an American actress tweeted a picture asking people to reply ‘me too’ if they’ve been subjected to sexual harassment or assault at any point in their life. The primary reason behind that was to let people know the magnitude of the problem.

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

Women have faced sexual harassment, molestation, eve-teasing since forever, but probably people never realised the magnitude of it, and the fact that almost all women have been a victim of it at some point in their lives.

Twitter is flooded with women coming out in the open and sharing their stories, with more than 300 women tweeting on it every minute. Many Indian and American celebrities have also joined the thread.

Here are some of the tweets:

#MeToo pic.twitter.com/4PXOdxYYZQ

— Rega Jha (@RegaJha) October 16, 2017

#MeToo What you learn is that it's not about surviving that night, the weeks and months after, the trauma can hit you again years later.

— Andrea Chalupa (@AndreaChalupa) October 16, 2017

Me, too #MeToo

— Anika Noni Rose (@AnikaNoniRose) October 15, 2017

"We have to save our boys. Save our boys so that girls don't need saving" - from the movie "Pink". #MeToo

— Karthika S Nair (@karthu1993) October 16, 2017

you can't forget how many "normal" seeming predatory men lurked around ur child self in the shape of a neighbour, a teacher, an uncle #MeToo

— Imaan Sheikh (@sheikhimaan) October 16, 2017

Because #MeToo. And practically every other woman I've ever spoken to at some length.

— Anantika Mehra (@AnantikaMehra) October 16, 2017

There are jerks everywhere, but women are resilient. We will not be silent. #METOO pic.twitter.com/Kr1fCRtRJg

— Allie Wen 🌈 (@alliewen21) October 16, 2017

Men,

Don't say you have a mother, a sister, a daughter...

Say you have a father, a brother, a son who can do better.

We all can.#MeToo

— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) October 16, 2017

#MeToo (I've shared earlier about known men, 3 different ones, molesting me age 4 yrs old onward till I was 12 yrs old.)

— Naina 📷 (@Naina) October 16, 2017

#MeToo - Crowded tram at Disney, sat a row behind my family. Man kept his hand on my thigh the whole ride, stroking the fine hair there. His friend looked on. Think I was 11 but scared to confirm dates of that trip with my mom, because I never told anyone. Us too. All of us.

— Allison Tolman (@Allison_Tolman) October 16, 2017

No, the girl wasn’t slutty
No, the skirt wasn’t provocative
No, the girl wasn’t flirting
The Girl wasn’t the problem, society is#MeToo

— Swift Space (@theswiftspace) October 16, 2017

Not just a #metoo pic.twitter.com/AD7b3YCRrR

— Rashi (@mizarcle) October 16, 2017

Some guys also opened up about their experiences.

I was raped when I was 15 and I never told anyone about it because I'm a guy and she's a girl and no one would've taken me seriously.#MeToo

— Zeee (@zmoney911) October 16, 2017

Me too. I don’t know if means anything coming from a gay man but it’s happened. Multiple times.

— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) October 15, 2017

While Twitter was flooded with ‘Me too’ hashtags, Facebook and Instagram had some horror stories shared by women.

Me too.

A post shared by Mallika Dua (@mallikadua) on Oct 16, 2017 at 1:19am PDT

When I told my boss that his co-worker touched me inappropriately during a work trip, he said, "You're not going to make this a big thing right? Because if you do, you're going to ruin his marriage." I told a female co-worker what happened and she told me she'd experienced the same thing- and so had several of the women that had worked there before. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret speaking up and treating myself- and my body- with the respect that I deserve. I carry that anger with me and this week's discussions about assault in the workplace have brought up so many feelings I didn't realize were still just under the surface. I realize how fortunate I was to be able to leave that job, find a new one and get help in the form of therapy later down the road. So many people who are assaulted or harassed can't leave safely or without fear of retribution and the loss of their ability to keep a roof over their head or food on the table. So while this story (and the stories of those with similar experiences) haunts me, as I read through the #metoo threads filling up, my heart is deeply present with those who haven't been able to escape or find a way to safety and support. You are not alone. And you will always have a safe space here at DS.

A post shared by Grace Bonney (@designsponge) on Oct 15, 2017 at 3:55pm PDT

Sometimes men make inappropriate comments, and they're a little funny. Sometimes they're plain awkward. Sometimes they're embarrassingly disrespectful. And sometimes they go way beyond commentary. The thing is that there should be no times at all. Here's to paving a better road for the next generation. #MeToo

A post shared by Courtney Kretchman (@cityofglossangeles) on Oct 15, 2017 at 11:48pm PDT

#metoo

A post shared by Erica Leduc (@ericat15) on Oct 15, 2017 at 11:47pm PDT

#metoo

A post shared by J Thomas Mayfield (@jthomasmayfield) on Oct 15, 2017 at 11:47pm PDT

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