MeToo: Big Anti-Sexual Violence Protests, Moments On Anniversary

The MeToo movement has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, starting a global surge of activism against sexual violence.

RELATED: MeToo Founder Wants To ‘Change The Narrative About The Movement’

As activists celebrate MeToo’s anniversary this weekend, some of its biggest moments and victories are winning more attention.

Tarana Burke, the movement’s founder and an activist from the New York City area, started MeToo a little more than a decade ago. Burke, inspired by a young girl’s story of abuse at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, took action by helping communities where rape crisis centers and sexual assault workers were non-existent.

“It’s not about a viral campaign for me. It’s about a movement,” Burke said to CNN. “On one side, it’s a bold declarative statement that ‘I’m not ashamed’ and ‘I’m not alone.’ On the other side, it’s a statement from survivor to survivor that says ‘I see you, I hear you, I understand you and I’m here for you or I get it.’”

The movement took off as an online campaign last year when actress Alyssa Milano and other women used the hashtag #MeToo to share stories of abuse. Survivors began giving their accounts after the New York Times‘ investigation into Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, whose decades of sexual assault allegations became public on Oct. 5 of last year, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The New Yorker published a story about the women who called out Weinstein for assault last October as well.

Since then, MeToo supporters have protested other high-profile men, from Bill O’Reilly to Bill Cosby, who was recently convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to jail. Here are some of the pivotal protests and moments that mark the movement’s success on its anniversary.

1. #StopKavanaugh

Activists protested Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearing and stood up for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who accused him of sexual assault.

2. Standing up to Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in a Pennsylvania jail for sexual assault last month.

3. MeToo on McDonald’s

McDonald’s employees, leaning on the power of the MeToo movement, demonstrated against sexual harassment in the workplace in several protests this year.

4. Women’s March Rome 2018 Against Harvey Weinstein

Actress Asia Argento, who spoke out against Harvey Weinstein for allegedly sexually assaulting her, demonstrated against sexual harassment.

5. MeToo rally at Trump International Hotel

Activists called out Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault by several women, at the Trump International Hotel in New York City.