BY DELILA GRUBAUGH

Lately on the news and social media the hashtag #MeToo has been brought up to discussion quite often. So much in fact that people began to wonder what it is and took to the internet to find out. It became a trending topic across multiple search engines and media networks, gaining a lot of attention quickly.

The hashtag was made popular by a tweet that American actress Alyssa Milano tweeted in October 2017. The tweet got half a million responses within the first 24 hours and started what can be described as a “viral campaign.”

To some, this is a rather taboo subject. So taboo that people shoot the idea down and call it “ridiculous” when they don’t want to hear about it. I think that it is the exact opposite. Sexual violence is a serious topic and deserves more attention. Sexual violence is more common than it is thought to be. In fact, about 1 in 6 women and 1 in 16 men have experienced rape or attempted rape in there lifetime.When it comes to crime reports, rape is the most under-reported. It’s probably due to the harsh reactions of people, the same reaction the anti- #MeToo people have. “It’s just for attention” is a common phrase being said about the topic. Not only is the statement damaging, it’s also ignorant. We don’t know everyone’s story or origin so we shouldn’t assume that we do, and the hashtag wasn’t made as an attempt to be put in the spotlight or evoke words of pity, but rather to raise awareness.

#MeToo continues to trend still to this day and is doing a good job of showing solidarity and support to the victims showing they’re not alone.