Trending social media campaign shows widespread sexual harassment

You may have see the “me too” status show up on social media today. It could be your family or friends who are sharing it, and if you don’t already know, you might be shocked by what it means, given the sheer number of time it’s being shared. 

When you see a woman sharing the “me too” status, it means that woman has, at some point in her life, been sexually harassed or assaulted. 

This trending social media campaign comes in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal which has rocked Hollywood over the past week, and shows that the problem isn’t limited to the entertainment industry, with over 8,000 women joining in to share their own experiences, including actresses and MPs. 

Read more: Judi Dench, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close slam sleazy Hollywood exec

In the past week, American film producer Harvey Weinstein has been transformed by accusations of repeated sexual misconduct against employees and actresses. He’s gone from a generally respected name in filmmaking to the beleaguered poster-child for sexual harassment in the film industry.

It was revealed in the The New York Times that Weinstein had quietly settled at least eight cases of sexual harassment over the course of nearly three decades. Ashley Judd was one of the first big-name actresses to lend her voice to the cause, giving a detailed recollection of her own dealings with Weinstein in 1997.

Read more: Nicole Kidman, George Clooney hit out at ‘disturbing’ sex assault case

US actress Alyssa Milano shared a message on Twitter which said:

“Me too. 

“Suggested by a friend. ‘If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too.’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”

One Twitter user‏ said: “Whether it’s sexual assault, pestering or harassment, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a woman who doesn’t say it.”

Have you seen this status in any of your social media feeds?