Women Are Boycotting Twitter For the Day to Protest Harassment and Abuse

Silence will speak volumes on Friday as a day long Twitter boycott has been organized to protest harassment and abuse against women on the social media platform.

The idea is the brainchild of software engineer Kelly Ellis in defense of actress Rose McGowan and “all the victims of hate and harassment Twitter fails to support.”

McGowan has been a loud voice on social media advocating for victims of sexual harassment and abuse following the multiple allegations against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. McGowan, who accused Weinstein of raping her, had her Twitter account suspended Thursday. The company said she violated their terms of service by tweeting a phone number.

Twitter users lashed out in her defense, accusing the company of not equally enforcing the rules against those who use hate speech.

#WomenBoycottTwitter was trending on Twitter Friday morning, with celebrities joining the campaign too.

It isn’t just women who are joining the boycott. McGowen urged men on the site to use their voices to “call on your brothers to be better.”

Actor Terry Crews tweeted: “I stand with women,” after sharing his own experience with sexual assault at the hands of a Hollywood executive.