6 Women Share How #MeToo Changed Their Lives a Year After Harvey Weinstein: 'I've Gone From Victim to Survivor'

Since then, well-known figures in entertainment, politics, and business have been publicly called out for a wide range of sexual misconduct. Survivors who once thought it was their fault when a boss groped them or a date assaulted them realized the power of speaking out—and that they were not alone.

Here, 6 sexual abuse survivors open up to Health about the personal experience that made them decide to add their voices to the #MeToo reckoning, and how this movement that continues to gain strength and power has transformed their lives.

ali-bradley-me-too , the nation’s largest victim service agency. I used to believe that healing was never thinking or talking about the assault again. I imagined that I could just figure out how to erase what happened from my memory. Instead, I developed skills to cope with my anxiety, and to identify and address the ways in which the trauma I’d experienced was still affecting me.

I feel grateful that so many survivors have come forward to tell their stories. I benefited from their bravery, and this makes me hopeful that other survivors who have been silenced like I was can feel seen and heard as well.”

sarah-walsh-me-too in exchange for some equipment; he said it in front of customer and employee. A few days later he came by and forced open the door of my shop, came in, and refused to leave. I severed my business relationship with him and blocked him on social media, but he sent me an email that he was a nice guy and I was unreasonable.

So I filed a police report and took him to court. Despite the judge arguing, 'It’s not sexual harassment. You just didn’t like what he said,' and 'Our president says worse things than that,' he was found guilty. A few months later, I found out he’d secretly appealed to the judge. All criminal charges had been dropped.

When #MeToo started right after that, I was riveted. I felt so hopeful. I hadn’t gone public yet with what I’d gone through, but once I did, I realized: there are a lot of us. My friendships with women changed. My closest soul sisters are now all women who’ve gone through similar experiences. (I also have guy friends who are learning to be allies.)

Yet today, despite having a vibrant support network, I feel so alone—and not just because I’m dealing with another stalker who has harassed four other women in my community as well. The Kavanaugh hearings have been a flashpoint for me. Dr. Ford’s story was supposed to make a difference. Instead, we’re discovering that the system is broken and demoralizing. Justice is still not happening. The cultural pushback we women continue to get is to be quiet and protect abusers from our feelings. But the value of #MeToo is that I’ve found my voice, and I’ll continue speaking up.”

m-korbel-me-too . Afterward, I lost days. I know that time passed, but in the month that followed, I might remember a total of 3 or 4 days—and not even full ones. I experienced conflicting emotions, sandwiched between anger and fear. Guilt and shame were a big portion as well.

I did not report my assault. I did tell a few friends because I trusted them, and I felt like I needed them to hold pieces of my trauma for me until I could deal with it in a healthy and productive manner.

When I first heard about #MeToo, I was apprehensive. Some celebrities used strong language that made it feel like there would be little room in the movement for survivors who didn’t want to come forward. But that narrative quickly changed and it became crystal clear that this movement was going to be much bigger than one serial assaulter.

Though my experience is unique to me, I’m become part of a community that is millions strong, very real and very human. So many individuals from all walks of life and all ages feel safe and strong enough to stand up and say, ‘I, too, have an experience.’ I’ve used that to remind myself how important it is to stand up and fight back in the hopes that we can alter the path forward.