2 Years On, Leaders Transform #MeToo Into #MeTooVoter

These leaders are transforming #MeToo into #MeTooVoter to hold politicians accountable.

#MeToo is turning into #MeTooVoter for the upcoming elections.

As part of #MeToo’s second anniversary, activists and leaders launched the new hashtag and demanded politicians address sexual violence more comprehensibly on the campaign trail.

“We are not asking politicians to check off a box and say, ‘Oh, we did #MeToo. We got that covered,’” the movement’s founder Tarana Burke said in an exclusive video interview with NowThis. “The constituents that you are responsible for in this country, millions of them, raised their hand to say #MeToo, and you have not responded to them yet.”

Along with Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Justice for Migrant Women president Mónica Ramírez, and the National Women’s Law Center’s Fatima Goss Graves, Burke launched #MeTooVoter to hold politicians accountable for addressing sexual violence. The social media and advocacy campaign aims to push politicians to address sexual violence with preventative and post-trauma measures like sex education. It also encourages resources for survivors on college campuses and revised protections in workplaces for workers in all industries.

“Imagine is there were resources that were put into the Violence Against Women Act, or create a new legislation that gave resources to colleges and organizations that deal with sexual violence beyond just your immediate crisis services,” Burke said. “Imagine if there was legislation that talked about HP policies at a corporate that on the front end, before you hire people, required you to do an amount of work to make sure that you’re not bringing people into your company that could be potentially sexual harassers, right?

Burke is also reportedly considering a town hall around the issue to hear more about the candidates’ stances. She and the other activists hope that they account for the fact that women make up the majority of voters, even though they are sometimes treated as a minority or special interest group.