As is the nature of the internet, her rousing statement spurred many others to come forward with their own accounts and a trending topic was born. In 2017 Alyssa Milano, the aforementioned actor, came across the term without realising where it had come from. She had been working with survivors of sexual violence, including young people, for over 10 years. Tarana Burke actually coined the phrase 'Me Too' back in 2006. Yes, each of these mark notable and commendable moments fed into the wave of change – but it is not where #MeToo began. Many attribute the groundbreaking work of the New York Times and New Yorker for their investigation into Harvey Weinstein (now a convicted rapist) as stirring up a reversal of the narrative. Crediting a white actor for her Twitter post that made the now-famous hashtag go viral, the series erased a long-standing movement that had been pioneered by a Black woman. The documentary, however, did not go into any real detail about how the #MeToo movement actually came about. It had helped build a sturdier platform for those affected to come forward with their own stories of abuse, assault and harassment, handing the microphone over to them and giving their words a weight not often felt before. As detailed in Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, the #MeToo movement played a critical role in further propelling wider social change around the treatment of abuse victims. The shift of 2019 did not happen in a vacuum. This deal was later ruled to have been a violation of the victims' rights, but it had already proved what so many already knew to be true: if you're a white, wealthy man in a position of power then the usual rules don't apply.ĭavidoff Studios Photography Getty Images What's more, it reportedly was effectively responsible for shutting down an ongoing FBI probe to find more victims and uncover other powerful people who took part (according to documents examined and reported on by Miami Herald). He was still allowed to leave for work, six days a week, and worse still the deal protected any co-conspirators from federal charges. In 2008, an unprecedented plea deal had ensured that Epstein's 'punishment' was little more than using a private wing of a county jail as a B&B for a mere 13 months. It finally seemed as though he was going to face real consequences and that, most importantly, his survivors would be heard and see justice done.Īlthough this did not mark the first time that the billionaire faced charges, there was something different in the air this time around. In July of 2019, after years of silencing those who had tried to speak out against him and evading accountability for his actions, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested for sex trafficking.

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