IndexCatapulting the Me-Too Movement to Global RecognitionThe Global Spread of the #MeToo CampaignConclusionsWorks CitedHave you ever wondered if you are the only one who has suffered abuse or harassed by someone? Well, with 7.8 billion people in the world, there have been numerous reports and accusations from victims for years. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly half of female (46.7%) and male (44.9%) rape victims in the United States were raped by an acquaintance. Of these, 45.4% of female rape victims and 29% of male rape victims were raped by an intimate partner. Furthermore, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience serious physical violence from their partner, sexual violence from contact with their partner and/or stalking from their partner with consequences such as injury, fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of services for victims, contractions of sexually transmitted diseases, etc. All ages and genders unfortunately suffer abuse from a stranger, an acquaintance or their intimate partner. After a tragedy like this, people and children are often afraid to come forward and talk about the situation. They feel a sense of shame, sometimes they are in denial and they feel like it was no big deal and to forget everything. Another reason why they don't come forward is because they may develop low self-esteem within themselves. They feel violated and no longer respect their bodies. Over the years, times have changed and now people are telling their stories to help each other, to gain power and to bring justice and awareness to this situation. The #ME TOO movement is about stories of harassment, scandalous artists like R. Kelly and Bill Cosby, and equality in today's society. For people inside or outside this movement, regardless of gender, race or age, telling their stories is a way to gain comfort and receive justice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Catapulting the Me-Too Movement to Global Recognition The Me-Too movement is an organization that primarily focuses on abuse and harassment of women and men. This foundation was founded by Tarana Burke ten years ago for women of color. The movement was created to help and support victims of sexual violence. “It wasn't built to be a viral campaign or a hashtag that's here today and forgotten tomorrow, it was a slogan to be used by survivor to survivor to let people know they were not alone and that a movement for radical healing was underway ." happening and possible,” Burke said. The Me-Too movement, which went global after an actress named Alyssa Milano, used Twitter to ask her followers to talk about their experiences of sexual assault and harassment using the phrase "Me Too." The power of this movement has brought down men like Matt Lauer and Harvey Weinstein, accused of misconduct. Social media has become more useful and efficient as the years have passed. One post from Alyssa Milano was enough for people to open up and tell their stories to share with the world. This gave them the confidence and impetus to report their alleged attackers and harassers. In the case of Harvey Weinstein, more than 50 women reported his abuse against them. A lady named Mimi Haleyi, was a former production assistant who came out about the alleged attack when she was in her early twenties. With constant back and forth between the two for a long period of time, Milano went to her apartment in SoHo to maintain aprofessional relationship with him. Milano was escorted to his apartment and went on to say, "he was on top of me while I was making sexual advances." She continued: "I told him 'no, no no', but he insisted." There are many artists out there doing many scandalous things that also make headlines on the news and social media. A prime example would be the artistR. Kelly has been accused of harassing young girls since 2002. Now that a documentary about his sexual allegations has been released, he has repeatedly denied the allegations. Additionally, an online campaign called #MuteRKelly began in May of the following year. Male artists who do terrible things are not heavily persecuted for their actions. People don't separate the art from the artist. They dismiss their actions and don't see the big picture. Be it artists, painters, writers, singers, actors etc., people would give them the benefit of doubt because they reject the accusations against that person. The global spread of the #MeTooR campaign. Kelly and Bill Cosby are the most talked about sexual attackers of the last decade. Many women have reported that these two men have done horrible things to them. Among the many who came forward, two stood out in their testimonies. Their names are Jerhonda Pace and Lisa Van Allen respectively. “Rob was my first everything. I met him outside of my child pornography trial, about two weeks before my fifteenth birthday. I was a huge fan of his music and was at the trial every day. One day he stopped and said, “Thank you for your support,” and said when it was all over he would give me something. At the end he gave me his autograph and then sent me a friend request on MySpace. I met him at a party he was throwing. I was 16 then. He said to tell everyone I'm 19 and act like I'm 21. The first time I went to his house he told me we were going swimming, but we never did. He told me to take off my clothes and walk back and forth like I was modeling for him. I thought it was no big deal. But the demands became more demanding. I had to perform sexual acts with others. He taught me what to say to my mother. He slapped me, choked me until I passed out. If it wasn't for him spitting in my face, I'd probably still be there. This was my lowest point. Subsequently my family turned to a lawyer who advised us against going to the police, talking about his last trial and how it ended. We filed a civil lawsuit and settled for $1.5 million. It wasn't easy putting my life back together. I'm still paranoid. If I could say anything to him now, it would be to ask for help." “We met while filming the video for his song “Home Alone”. One of the first things he asked me was, “How old are you?” We had sex on the same day and he wasted no time. If I didn't listen to him or if I talked to one of the guys on the tour bus, he would slap me. He once spanked me like a baby until I cried. He said, "I love you, you have to listen to Daddy." We had a threesome when I was 17 and he said she was a 16 year old neighbor. After speaking with her years later, I learned that she was only 14 years old at the time. I loved him and initially didn't want to turn my back on him. If I told him he liked underage girls, he would always tell me, "If you love someone, don't try to change them." As I grew up, I realized that wasn't going to change. I was the one who testified against him in 2008 [in the child pornography case]. When people say, “Why are you talking now?” I say, “I came out 10 years ago, but that was it'.