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Sexual violence is a pervasive public health issue that affects nearly one-third of women worldwide, yet it remains grossly underreported due to stigma, victim-blaming, and institutional distrust. The #MeToo movement, originally founded in 2006 by Tarana Burke and amplified globally following the 2017 Weinstein allegations, created an unprecedented public platform for survivors to disclose their experiences. Despite the movement’s cultural reach, limited research has examined its micro-level impacts on survivors from the perspectives of those working directly in the sexual violence sector. This study explored the lived experiences and experiential meanings of the #MeToo movement and its impact on survivors from the perspectives of key informants in Ontario and Quebec, Canada.
Methods
An interpretive phenomenological methodology was employed to elicit rich, contextually grounded accounts. Using purposive and snowball sampling, 26 key informants with specialized knowledge and expertise in sexual violence were recruited across Ontario (n=12) and Quebec (n=14), including service providers, advocates, activists, and policy makers working in violence against women (VAW) and sexual assault centers. Participants averaged 12 years of professional experience (SD=9.7), and 85% identified as women. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted via telephone or videoconferencing between December 2020 and December 2022. Interviews conducted in French (n=12) were professionally translated into English prior to analysis. Data were analyzed in NVivo using Braun and Clarke’s (2006, 2019) six-step inductive thematic analysis framework. Independent coding of a subset of transcripts, peer debriefing, reflexivity, and member checking ensured methodological rigor.
Results
Four overarching themes were identified. First, the #MeToo movement produced significant personal and collective psychosocial effects for survivors, including enhanced public awareness of sexual violence, validation of survivors’ experiences, reduced shame and isolation, greater empowerment to disclose, and a sense of solidarity and community. Second, the movement functioned as a catalyst for help-seeking, with key informants reporting a marked surge in service demand and shorter delays between abuse and help-seeking, including increases in younger survivors disclosing more recent assaults and older survivors disclosing historic assaults. Third, the #MeToo movement offered survivors an informal alternative to the criminal justice system, enabling public accountability and a sense of therapeutic healing and justice outside formal legal channels. Fourth, the movement was accompanied by notable limitations and consequences, including inequitable representation of marginalized survivors, risks of re-traumatization and online harassment, and significant strain on an already under-resourced service sector.
Conclusions and Implications
The #MeToo movement produced meaningful psychosocial benefits and help-seeking opportunities for survivors from the perspectives of sexual violence service providers and advocates. Increased validation, disclosure, and service utilization point to #MeToo’s role in reducing stigma, disrupting silence, and accelerating access to critical supports. Simultaneously, persistent inequities in whose voices are amplified, paired with risks of trauma reactivation and sector capacity constraints, underscore structural limitations. Implications suggest the need for capacity-sustaining funds to expand sexual violence prevention, survivor services, trauma-informed digital spaces, and targeted inclusion of marginalized communities. Future research should examine longitudinal impacts and strategies to translate visibility into accountability and equitable systemic transformation.