Tarana Burke launches #MeTooVoter to hold political leaders accountable

On the second anniversary of the #MeToo movement, its founder, Tarana Burke, is taking the opportunity to refocus public attention on political action. Burke announced a new hashtag #MeTooVoter on Tuesday to mobilize voters ahead of the 2020 election.

In part, this stems from the fact that sexual violence and harassment — issues central to the #MeToo movement — haven't been discussed during debates.

“You can’t have 12 million people respond to a hashtag in this country and they not be constituents, taxpayers, and voters,” #MeToo founder Tarana Burke said to the Associated Press. “We need these candidates to see us as a power base. So many people engage with survivors from a place of pity.”

Burke explained to the Associated Press that none of the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls have contacted her while designing their platforms, and that this signifies a lack of urgency surrounding the topic. One of her intentions with #MeTooVoter is to inspire a question pertaining to sexual violence in the next debate, though she doesn't see this as likely during Tuesday's debate, the Associated Press reported. Burke is also considering a town hall that focuses on the topic.

#MeTooVoter is a partnership between the #MeToo movement, the National Women's Law Center, Justice for Migrant Women, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

The #MeToo movement's website has a #MeTooVoter signup page for those who want to learn more about getting involved.

"Survivors are powerful and demand action," said Mónica Ramírez, president of Justice for Migrant Women and gender justice campaigns director for National Domestic Workers Alliance. "Through #metooVoter, we are calling on survivors and allies to use our collective power to hold political leaders and candidates accountable at the ballot box and in their overall leadership."