'Me too': Did this appear on your social media timeline? It’s important to know what it means

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's recent expose has brought to light the ugly truth about sexual harassment, and how men, in powerful positions, misuse their rank while seeking sexual favours. Numerous leading actresses - from Ashley Judd to Angelina Jolie - have accused the producer of sexual assault attempts and even rape.

In the wake of this, sexual harassment has become the (much-needed) topic of conversation of the hour.

On Sunday, the phrase ' me too' began trending on social media. Started as a means to be able to talk about harassment, the words are being used to show how widespread sexual assault actually is.


Numerous leading actresses - from Ashley Judd to Angelina Jolie - have accused Weinstein of sexual assault attempts and even rape. (AFP)

American actress Alyssa Milano had shared a screenshot of the suggestion that read, "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."

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

Thousands of users (both women and men) have since posted the words on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles.

Me too

— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) October 15, 2017

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

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

This is not the first social media movement to come out of the scandal.

On October 13th, people from across the globe signed off from Twitter for 24 hours in support of the #WomenBoycottTwitter movement.

The movement started in protest against Twitter's suspension of McGowan's account. Twitter had said that it suspended McGowan's account because she tweeted a private phone number, a practice it said violated its service terms. The actress is among the many women to speak out against the sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein.

#IStandWithRose .@rosemcgowan and all the other victims. #WomenBoycottTwitter tomorrow. https://t.co/XTXtFMv2CM

— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) October 13, 2017