Six women appear on the cover of TIME magazine's 'Person of the Year' edition. It symbolizes the 'Silence Breakers' of the #MeToo movement. A hashtag, women used to share their experience of being sexually assaulted or harassed.
TIME's correspondent Haley Edwards said it's for those who are "the group of women who all stepped forward this year to name their sexual harassers."
#MeToo, eclipsed social media timelines. The movement began spontaneously in October after actress-activist Alyssa Milano followed on a suggestion from a friend of a friend on Facebook and tweeted: "If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet." The hashtag was tweeted nearly a million times in 48 hours.
To East Texas survivors like Mya Bethany, this year's cover is impactful.
"The imagery is powerful because it's a message to those survivors to speak up," Bethany said.
Bethany leads the '1:3 Foundation' in Tyler. It is an organization that provides healing resources to women who have survived the abuse or assault. She said TIME is praising women for 'changing what has been the status quo'.
A 2013 report from the World Health Organization said one in three women experience physical or sexual violence. The TIME magazine article shared stories of women and their experiences of it. An excerpt from the read said in part:
"The women and men who have broken their silence span all races, all income classes, all occupations and virtually all corners of the globe. . . They're part of a movement that has no formal name. But now they have a voice."
"We have to remember those who remain silent," Bethany said.
According to TIME, the runner ups were President Trump (POTY '16) and the President of China, Xi Jin Ping.
