Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault and violence.
In 2017, the #MeToo movement went viral. From the women you see every day to your favorite celebrities, those from all backgrounds started posting “#MeToo,” with some sharing their stories of sexual assault and harassment. Celebrities wore black to award shows in solidarity. Women of all careers were empowered to use their voices and find justice. Worldwide, women marched from one end of their cities to the other.
However, in 2025, the hashtag is not nearly as frequently used on social media, and it’s uncertain whether this is due to fast-paced social media trends or progress, or both. And if attention is no longer on this movement, what other issues, if any, are taking its place?
To answer these questions, we must examine the beginnings of the #MeToo movement, what sparked its momentum eight years ago, and what has happened since.
The Background of the Movement
The #MeToo Movement originated in 2006, about 19 years ago. Founded by survivor and activist Tarana Burke, the globally spanning movement was meant to bring a voice and awareness to women who are victims of sexual assault and gendered harassment. The movement slowly grew over the next decade. During this period, the official #MeToo website describes their transition. They “developed [their] vision to bring resources, support, and pathways to healing where none existed before. And [they] got to work building a community of advocates determined to interrupt sexual violence wherever it happens.”
However, despite the efforts of the #MeToo movement, abusers keep assaulting women regularly. High-profile cases of sexual assault keep arising through the years, including when a 2005 tape of President Donald Trump saying, “When you’re a star […] you can do anything,” and even “Grab them by the pussy,” was obtained by the Washington Post in October 2016, one month before being elected into office during his first term.
A year later, in October 2017, The New York Times and The New Yorker released extensive reports on sexual assaults committed by film producer Harvey Weinstein. The New York Times, in particular, found 30 years of allegations against Weinstein, which included women who worked for his company Miramax, those he pursued romantically, and even young actresses looking to make their debut.
From there, actress and activist Alyssa Milano urged survivors of sexual assault to reply “me too” to her tweet after a friend told her about the phrase. Within hours, TIME Magazine reported that 30,000 people had used the tag #MeToo. Tweets flooded in, first by Hollywood stars and then by the rest of the world.
With the battle far from over, victims continued voicing their experiences as more reports kept coming out against assaulters, rapists, and other harassers. Even more so, in December 2017, TIME Magazine showed their support for the movement’s purpose, naming “The Silence Breakers” as the Person of the Year, referring to the influencers, celebrities, and activists who displayed their #MeToo advocacy. The group included actress Ashley Judd, one of the first survivors to speak on the record during the New York Times’ investigation of Weinstein. Others were Burke, Milano, and women from various industries, backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses, including an anonymous figure who couldn’t publicly share her story but wanted to represent those in the same position.
In January 2018, the award show season started with the Golden Globes and the partnership of the #MeToo Movement and Time’s Up. Time’s Up was an action-based organization started by hundreds of women in Hollywood to “create concrete change, leading to safety and equity in the workplace,” said TIME Magazine. As a result, stars wore black to the red carpet, and many speeches focused on the violence women have faced for decades.
But for many of us, this is where the story left off. So what happened next?
The controversy and Aftermath of #MeTOo
In October 2018, a year after the Weinstein cases were exposed, The New York Times published an article that said at least 200 men had lost their jobs or major roles, with about half of them being replaced by women. This certainly seemed like progress, especially given that women were now being allowed to balance out the power dynamics that had dominated them for so long.
Weinstein himself was sentenced to 23 years in prison during a New York trial in March of 2020, followed by another 16 years in California, according to The New York Times. However, in April 2024, the Times reported that his New York sentence was overturned when the New York Court of Appeals found that some of the witnesses who claimed to be assaulted by Weinstein did not charge him, ruling that the case depended on past behavior instead of current charges. NBC News said his expected retrial date is set in April 2025.
And for the movements themselves? The AP reported that Time’s Up — what many looked at as a branch of the #MeToo Movement — shut down in January 2023 due to leadership’s connections with former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo after he faced sexual assault allegations. However, the organization had an independent fund, the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which is now administered by the National Women’s Law Center and still provides legal aid to those who have faced sexual assault, retaliation, or discrimination in the workplace.
The #MeToo Movement, although no longer running with the same attention in 2017, is still fighting for change, particularly for minorities who are especially vulnerable to sexual violence. Burke has repeated throughout the years that group efforts aren’t a moment but rather a movement and remains dedicated to helping end sexual violence as change often takes time.
According to a Pew Research Center study done in 2022, nearly half of the public who’s heard of the #MeToo Movement supports it, with 70% of participants believing that cases of sexual abusers are more likely to be held responsible, and 62% saying those reporting them are more likely to be believed, compared to the climate in 2017. Still, many cases go unreported for various reasons, stemming from fear of losing jobs and other forms of retaliation. In fact, Pew Research reported that more participants believed not reporting cases of assault or harassment was more common than false cases.
Furthermore, Politico reported in 2022 that the movement helped spur some legislative action, particularly on the state level, and provided the basis for other women’s rights and gender equality issues. According to a 2023 Forbes article, many have pushed to decrease NDAs on work conditions, and the NWLC reported that “24 states and the District of Columbia have passed more than 80 workplace anti-harassment bills.”
So, is Hollywood or any other workplace any safer? Again, Hollywood’s and the #MeToo Movement’s demand for attention to sexual violence certainly helped make immediate changes, such as the reporting and removal of those in power, and led many other workplaces and fields to do the same. But while safety is more of a priority now, hundreds of cases still go unreported or face little to no consequences. Moreover, deeper systematic change, such as increasing female value and power through gender equality and leadership positions, has a long way to go in many places. Women who often have these basic rights and jobs face harsh criticism and still experience large differences in power dynamics.
The Movement in Current Day
So, what’s the issue at hand today? Along with gender equality measures, today’s political climate places a large focus on women’s bodily autonomy and access to reproductive care, including access to birth control and safe abortions.
With President Trump’s return to office, concerns are increasing that progress on sexual violence will begin to revert. Just last week, former kickboxer and self-described misogynist, Andrew Tate, and his brother returned to the U.S. after being detained in Romania on counts of human trafficking and rape charges. The brothers are still undergoing investigation, and what’s more is that these internet personalities are both avid Trump supporters and have amassed a considerable platform advertising their extremist beliefs. The supportive attention given to the misogynist reservations of the likes of Trump, Tate, and other notorious figures is raising worries that sexual violence is not getting the advocacy that it needs.
All this is to say that while progress has certainly been made, there is still a long way to go to make change possible regarding the treatment of women. Although sexual violence isn’t receiving the same attention from the media as it did eight years ago, the fight for reform is simultaneously occurring while other women’s rights issues are having their moment in the spotlight.