The phrase “me too” may not have meant a lot to anyone until just recently. This simple sentence has managed to earn a powerful meaning through the strenuous efforts of many women over the past few months. Because of it, society is finally shifting its attitude in regards to harassment and sexual abuse and finally allowing women to have a voice they deserve.

Many women have utilized the #MeToo movement to share their stories and experiences with both sexual harassment and empowerment. This unifying movement has exploded with positive responses from all aspects of the media and the professional world.

This surge of attention is really important for our society because this issue has constantly been pushed aside and women have been told they’re lying about their stories or they’ve witnessed others like them not given the help they need.

At the same time, society has told women to just tell authorities as soon as sexual assault or harassment happens and to not keep it to themselves. This is blatant victim blaming to tell woman the only reason they haven’t gotten the justice they deserved was because they kept their experiences to themselves out of fear.

Despite the outburst in recent months, this movement was created in 2006 by activist Tonora Burke who wanted to create solidarity between women who have struggled with similar sexual harassment stories. This movement reemerged into its new form as a hash-tag when allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein arose.

After the Weinstein story became mainstream news, many women in Hollywood began to confess about their experiences with sexual harassment from men inside their industry. Seeing that not even celebrities were immune to sexism, violence, and discrimination inspired everyday women to claim #MeToo. It’s gained lots of attention in the workforce, forcing corporations to finally address this issue.

One of the symbols of the viral movement is wearing black in solidarity and it’s truly empowering to see so many women of all backgrounds and stances come together through a simple phrase and a color. With black representing this feminine solidarity, celebrities were seen proudly wearing their black attire at the Golden Globes. For once, it was important to ask these women what they were wearing as they boldly supported #MeToo.

Many Democratic female politicians also wore black to Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech even though he never even discussed women’s rights as his speech, making their statement that much more meaningful.

Not only does this movement unify women, it exposes and forces many of the men guilty of harassment to face their well-deserved consequences. Seeing people we’ve all watched and idolized be exposed for their disgusting actions is eye opening and shows the seriousness of the situation because it is often someone completely unexpected.

Even though this movement is just the beginning, it’s still paved the path to solving America’s sexism. The first step is always addressing what the problem is. In this case, having so many women relating to each other and using the #MeToo movement to connect has shown many Americans  that even if this problem of sexual harassment doesn’t apply to them, the issue is still extremely prevalent.

Sexual harassment and sexism is a frighteningly common issue meaning there are young women at this school who have experienced it first hand. However, there are many students and staff who are in full support of the #MeToo movement and are more than willing to offer support to anyone so no student here should live in fear.

It won’t be easy to simply cut out sexual assault and harassment quickly because it is deeply rooted in our history. However, it is now a little easier to improve the problem through smaller processes. For example, we, as a nation, need to make college campuses safer and we need to teach children, at a young age, the concept of consent. Although results won’t be immediate, there is a new wave of voiced individuals all sprouted from a powerful hash-tag.

#MeToo has given so many strong, capable women of all ages, backgrounds, and professions across the country the confidence and support needed to inspire positive change for the country’s future and has enabled their voice for the better.