The ‘Silence Breakers’, the individuals who came forward to open a conversation about sexual harassment, have been named Time’s Person of the Year for 2017.
The movement, which was launched in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and charges against Harvey Weinstein and a number of other high-profile men in Hollywood, is credited with beginning “one of the highest-velocity shifts in our culture since the 1960s”.
The publication’s editor-in-chief, Edward Felsenthal, made the announcement on Wednesday morning’s TODAY show.
The cover features a composite which includes former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, actress Ashley Judd and singer Taylor Swift.
The Silence Breakers are TIME's Person of the Year 2017 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/mLgNTveY9z pic.twitter.com/GBo9z57RVG
— TIME (@TIME) December 6, 2017
Mr Felsenthal said in a statement:
“The galvanizing actions of the women on our cover…along with those of hundreds of others, and of many men as well, have unleashed one of the highest-velocity shifts in our culture since the 1960s.”
The magazine editor noted that the hashtag #MeToo, which he called a “powerful accelerant”, has been used in at least 85 countries.
Since 1927, Time Magazine has awarded the Person of the Year title to an individual or group of people who the magazine editors believe influenced news and events over the last year “for good or ill”.
He added:
“The idea that influential, inspirational individuals shape the world could not be more apt this year.
“For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing us all to stop accepting the unacceptable, The Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year.”
