#ChurchToo hashtag blows up social media to expose sexual abuse in religious communities

After victims’ advocate Tarana Burke launched the #MeToo in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, numerous entertainment figures and politicians have been felled by accusations of sexual abuse and misconduct. According to TIME, the hashtag trended in 85 countries and was tweeted out 1.7 million times.

Now, a movement is growing to push for the same accountability in the church. Launched by Twitter users Hannah Paasch and Emily Joy, #ChurchToo is being used to expose sexual abuse and harassment that takes place in religious communities.

The tweets are a sobering and powerful read. Below are a few examples:

https://twitter.com/helenaj0y/status/933381654965563393

https://twitter.com/yellowinmysoul/status/933103015338262528

https://twitter.com/jessieigeorge14/status/933209019535253504

https://twitter.com/DMcNulty70/status/933349637246849027

https://twitter.com/ishylynn3/status/933112999509884928

https://twitter.com/EB_FindingMercy/status/933200564791296000

You can view more tweets here.

[This article has been updated from a former version that incorrectly said Alyssa Milano was the originator of the #MeToo movement. The actual originator is Tarana Burke.]

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.