--- title: Tarana Burke: 2020 Candidates Should Address Survivors description: Survivors of sexual assault are voters too. So why aren't the Presidential candidates paying attention to them? canonical: https://time.com/5696961/tarana-burke-2020/ author: Tarana Burke article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-10T10:02:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:31.986Z article:section: Politics og:title: Survivors of Sexual Assault Are Voters Too. So Why Aren't the Presidential Candidates Paying Attention to Them? og:description: This month marks the two-year anniversary of the #MeToo hashtag og:url: https://time.com/5696961/tarana-burke-2020/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0cc3793101c7b731/698a040b86f68e43fb6edb21/me-too-voters-presidential-candidates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: me-too-voters-presidential-candidates og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Survivors of Sexual Assault Are Voters Too. So Why Aren't the Presidential Candidates Paying Attention to Them? twitter:description: This month marks the two-year anniversary of the #MeToo hashtag twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0cc3793101c7b731/698a040b86f68e43fb6edb21/me-too-voters-presidential-candidates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Survivors of Sexual Assault Are Voters Too. So Why Aren't the Presidential Candidates Paying Attention to Them? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=454932c7-4a15-44ac-ac69-a5c793d7199f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jbtW5SvJ.m3u8) (5:02)  _Published 2017-12-06. For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing all of us to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year._ by [Tarana Burke](https://time.com/author/tarana-burke/) ## Tarana Burke Oct 10, 2019 10:02 AM UTC  Presidential candidates have not prioritized sexual violence as a campaign issue Presidential candidates have not prioritized sexual violence as a campaign issue Jeff Kowalsky—AFP/Getty Images by [Tarana Burke](https://time.com/author/tarana-burke/) ## Tarana Burke Oct 10, 2019 10:02 AM UTC This month marks the two-year anniversary of the #MeToo hashtag, but it also marks the start of a monumental shift. In just a few hours, sexual violence, including harassment, went from a topic seldom discussed on mainstream platforms to one that dominated headlines and affected everything from pop culture to policy debates. On Oct. 15, 2017, Alyssa Milano asked her Twitter followers to reply “me too” if they had been sexually harassed or assaulted, a reference to the Me Too campaign I started in 2006\. For millions, it was the first time they were invited to open up about the trauma their experiences with sexual violence had caused. For hundreds of thousands, it was the start of a much needed conversation about safety in our workplaces, neighborhoods and communities. And for a few hundred, it meant a disruption in the harmful, toxic behavior they were engaged in, using the various seats of power they held. What happened two years ago was a historic and critical part of one of the most significant movements in the world, but we know it didn’t result in the kind of major shift in culture that the movement needs–the kind where not only laws and policies change but individuals also feel a sense of responsibility to survivors for the harm that has been done and for the bodily autonomy they all deserve. It was a consciousness-stirring moment, but it’s not enough to create awareness. What matters is what we do next. The U.S. is just over a year away from the most consequential election in decades, and not one remaining presidential candidate has prioritized addressing sexual violence as a platform issue. (Kirsten Gillibrand was vocal about it, but she’s no longer in the race.) We, as survivors, aren’t just people looking for services. We are a constituency looking for change. We are working people, taxpayers and consumers who push through our trauma every day, despite being triggered and erased by a world that tells us our healing isn’t important. It’s been only two years since the movement began to shed light on the behavior of wealthy and powerful predators, but we’ve already witnessed many of them return to and continue their daily lives without much consequence or repercussions. Candidates have a responsibility to address the rampant sexual violence that permeates all of society’s systems and structures, including government. If we are talking about sexual violence as a public-health crisis–and with more than 19 million respondents to the #MeToo hashtag in the first year alone, and a record numbers of calls at rape crisis hotlines across the country, I feel confident doing so–then it should be talked about with the same seriousness as other topics that have received far more attention. Policies around race, immigration and health care have rightfully taken center stage during the recent presidential debates, but something as prevalent as sexual violence, an issue spanning and intersecting with all of the above, has been largely overlooked. Sexual violence is a national problem that deserves a national response. If we are invested in the outcome of this movement that we’ve built, then we must ensure that it remains part of the conversation. With no presidential candidate that seems willing to truly and publicly grapple with this bipartisan issue, we must once again raise our voices. We must demand that the men and women who want to represent us in the White House and other political offices speak directly to and respond to our needs. And we must be clear that we are ready to vote for accountability in 2020\. We deserve a country that values our safety, since its health and prosperity depends on our well-being. I am one person who saw a problem and tried my best to ignore it. I tried to ignore it when it happened to me, I tried to ignore it when it happened to folks in my family and I tried to ignore it when I saw it ripping my community apart. I tried and tried until the part of my heart that has a passion for justice could not ignore it any longer. Today none of us can justify ignoring it. Two years ago, millions of Americans bravely raised their hands to say that their lives had been affected by the scourge that is sexual violence. Their hands are still raised while we wait for our candidates to answer a question that hasn’t even been raised yet: What about Me Too? Burke is the founder of the Me Too movement ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] We can't all be ****. We can't all be asking for it. I am here to give you permission to be angry. This reality might not have to be our reality anymore. I felt this crushing sense of powerlessness. This is the time to take my power back. Here's my story. Uber promises. Investigation into sexual harrassment. Fox News cutting its ties with Bill O'Reilley. I felt it was my duty for the women who are silent to be brave. It's okay to stand up for yourself. Taylor Swift appearing in court today. Harvey Weinstein, the New York- People forget a lot that there's a human behind this. Someone who was very hurt and wronged. [ MUSIC ] [ CROSSTALK ] I always thought maybe things could change for my daughter. I never thought things could change for me. [ MUSIC ] Honestly, I was furious. I have had a man grope me in front of multiple collegues and I was tired of wondering if it was something I wore, I was tired of wondering if it was a vibe I was giving off and when I talked to other women they were furious too >> I felt that if I can speak out, may be if I just stand up then someone else would stand up with me >> There wasn't a place For us to report these experiences. But I sure did talk about it a lot over the years. The least I could do was actually tell my own story and validate theirs for them in a way, just as I was hoping someone much bigger than me would help validate my story. And I knew that other women Would continue to apple for jobs there and that made me feel really uncomfortable. I was afraid of the retaliation, I know the power of patriarchy. I know what men can do when their angry. They did everything that they could to prevent me from raising my concerns further. They asked me if there were other girls, maybe that he has done this too and can I go get them. I had to show them that I wasn't lying And it's like they took me for a joke. And if they couldn't stop us from talking, well, they were gonna stop everybody from listening to us. People digging into my Instagram and pulling up sexy photos as if they kind of discredited me. Well, I've seen you in committee. You're really tough. Why didn't you just hit him? Why did you let it go on for so long? I was a smart young woman that had gone to college, that knew how to fight, and I still was manipulated and conned. I felt ashamed that I hadn't spoken out sooner, not having the strength earlier on to make it stop. The feeling of being humiliated as a woman And there's a point you think is it my fault? For so long I went around harboring this ridiculous belief that because I was a non white woman in my 20s, it was expected that I would have to be treated this way. We don't have to just live like this. Few things could change from my daughter I never thought things could change from me. I'm here to give you permission to be angry, people are afraid specially women where conditioned since birth to be polite. To be nice, to be kind, to be liked to not make waves. ****. We can't all be crazy, we can't all be ****, we can't all be asking for it. And I'm telling you that all the people who stand up, all the people who speak out you are teaching people how to treat and you should not be shamed for that. The shame is not ours to hold, the shame is on perpetrator. Me Too can be a conversation starter or it can be the whole conversation. It took away the power from the predator. And placed the power on the victim. And maybe, just maybe we would be able to get a glimpse at the magnitude of this problem. The amount of people sharing the stories with me is so intense. People that were complete strangers reached out to tell very personal stories. It's What they did with this and they did a lot and not only in France in Hong kong japanese. The most months >> I feel like the day that I spoke up and I said you are a sexual harasser I changed >> some of the. Things in the night. [ FOREIGN ]. It's an honor to be the person that hey I spoke up about this. I took on the risk. And I was very humbled and I was very proud. I'm very glad now that the story has been heard. It's a direct response to that arrogance and that show of power and [ UNKNOWN ]. A sense, we won't be silenced. 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