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In September, dozens of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell stood enarthrosis to enarthrosis astatine a news convention connected Capitol Hill. There was a consciousness of gravity successful nan aerial – portion exhaustion, portion resoluteness – arsenic they recounted nan maltreatment that had agelong been dismissed, buried aliases ignored. They asked for afloat transparency, nationalist accountability and nickname of nan harm done by their infamous abusers and traffickers. All of them demanded nan merchandise of nan Epstein files.
For nan first clip successful years, awesome media outlets for illustration NBC and ABC carried nan survivors’ voices live, broadcasting not conscionable fragments but nan afloat weight of their testimony. While nan Epstein files – nan trove of documents that item nan criminal activity and societal web surrounding nan convicted activity offender – person made headlines for years, overmuch of nan sum centered connected nan powerful men who could beryllium recovered successful them, including Donald Trump. The convention felt for illustration a breakthrough: nan state yet seemed consenting to perceive to nan women astir affected by Epstein’s violence, advocates said.
“This mightiness really beryllium different large moment,” Tarana Burke, laminitis of nan #MeToo intersexual unit survivors’ activity that went viral successful 2017, recalled reasoning while streaming nan convention online. “The tide mightiness beryllium turning.”
Epstein victims reference #MeToo pinch giving them nan courageousness to speak retired and respire caller power into nan survivor’s movement. For galore of them, nan way to that property convention lectern stretched backmost decades – immoderate opportunity they were silenced and dismissed until they saw nan powerfulness of women coming guardant successful numbers. It’s nan aforesaid support and solidarity that precocious gave women nan courageousness to speak retired astir nan maltreatment of different powerful men, specified arsenic erstwhile US typical Eric Swalwell and labour activistic Cesar Chavez.
“I person travel to understand that nan only measurement to break powerful group down is for survivors to set together and speak,” said Lisa Phillips, a podcast big and Epstein survivor. “When survivors travel together, and erstwhile we get powerful group down us, thing shifts. We are not frightened anymore. We took our powerfulness back. And we are not done.”
A once-viral activity is still alive
To understand nan authorities of #MeToo successful 2026 – and nan Epstein survivors’ narration to it – requires knowing what Burke calls nan quality betwixt nan activity and nan viral moment. Burke created nan activity successful 2006 to bring consciousness to young Black survivors of intersexual unit and foster empathy for their experiences.
Then, successful 2017, aft news reports elaborate dozens of allegations of intersexual maltreatment toward movie shaper and now convicted activity offender Harvey Weinstein, millions of group who had besides knowledgeable intersexual maltreatment posted #MeToo online – nan standard of nan consequence stunned moreover longtime organizers. The building dispersed crossed continents successful days, revealing what Burke and others had agelong argued: that intersexual unit was not uncommon aliases isolated but profoundly embedded successful mundane life.
The viral surge “broke unfastened nan world to an consciousness of nan issue”, said Dani Ayers, who, pinch Burke, co-founded Me Too International, an statement that focuses connected treatment for survivors and action against intersexual violence, successful nan aftermath of nan viral moment. “The sheer number of group that raised their hands to opportunity ‘Me too’ made it clear this is simply a monolithic world nationalist wellness crisis”.
The 2017 activity produced undeniable consequences. Powerful men successful politics, media and intermezo mislaid jobs, firm policies changed, and workplace intersexual harassment training multiplied. In nan years aft nan viral moment, astir 2 twelve states and Washington DC passed much than 70 workplace anti-harassment bills, according to a 2022 report. Survivors had recovered nan connection and courageousness to picture experiences that had agelong been minimized and, for nan astir part, were taken seriously.
In 2017, nan activity concisely appeared tin of uniting women crossed people and group lines – from agricultural workers to Hollywood actresses – creating a shared knowing of “gendered vulnerability”, according to Moira Donegan, who started a whisper-network-style database of “shity media men” and is now a columnist astatine nan Guardian.
But, Donegan said, “the media was astir willing successful nan stories of nan rich | and famous,”, narrowing nan scope of nationalist attention. And erstwhile #MeToo faded from nan news cycle, galore powerful men who had been accused changed people connected their repentance.
“We unrecorded wrong of a backlash,” said Burke. “It conscionable comes pinch nan territory.”
But possibly nan astir sustainable effect of #MeToo was a taste shift, she said. Young group who were teenagers during nan viral infinitesimal are now entering adulthood pinch a different group of expectations astir consent and accountability. “They grew up complete nan past 10 years successful a MeToo era,” Burke said. “They don’t tolerate nan aforesaid things. They person a connection for it.”
What besides has remained since #MeToo’s virality is nan powerfulness successful unity among survivors – a instruction that activists opportunity tin transportation moments for illustration nan existent 1 surrounding nan Epstein files.
“You tin consciousness unsocial successful each of this. You tin consciousness for illustration you’re nan only 1 that these things happened to,” said Liz Stein, a quality trafficking master and subsister advocator who was abused by Epstein and Maxwell. “But to now person a group of women who person akin stories, location is thing very treatment successful having that validation.”
Finding solidarity pinch different survivors
Epstein survivors first tried to study maltreatment successful nan 1990s, only to beryllium ignored by nan FBI. Others spent years navigating a ineligible strategy that grounded to clasp powerful figures accountable, incensed by nan controversial plea woody Epstein secured successful 2008 that allowed him to debar national charges for activity trafficking.
Over time, astir survivors ne'er said astir nan maltreatment they endured and independently revenge lawsuits, submitted requests for records, and pressed rule enforcement for justice.
It wasn’t until a fewer survivors took their stories publicly, namely Virginia Guiffre successful 2011, that others began to process what had happened to them. Then successful 2018, The Miami Herald’s investigation into Epstein’s sweetheart woody brought much women retired of anonymity. Though Epstein died by termination successful 2019, it would still return galore survivors years to speak out.
“Building this activity has required each of us,” said Stein. “For a agelong time, we were operating independently, and it’s easy to disregard 1 person’s voice. But it is really difficult to disregard a collective.”
In 2025, Stein collaborated pinch World Without Exploitation, nan nationalist conjugation statement to extremity quality trafficking and intersexual exploitation, to bring much than 20 survivors together to stock their stories connected a shape and telephone for authorities that would support nan merchandise of each of nan Epstein files. By nan clip Epstein survivors gathered astatine nan Capitol successful September, their demands had go clear and unified. The news convention was not nan opening of their fight, but nan culmination of years of persistence. It was nan first clip galore had moreover met each other.
“We are portion of a sorority that nary of america asked to join,” said Stein. “I wasn’t nan only one, and this was a overmuch larger point that nary of america could’ve controlled, nary matter really overmuch we wanted to.”
After survivors held their property conference, tides did shift. Survivors met pinch lawmakers, and congresspeople connected some sides of nan aisle pressured Trump to travel done connected his run committedness to merchandise nan files. In November, nan Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law.
“The transition of nan Epstein Files Transparency Act – cipher thought that was ever going to happen,” said Stein. “But erstwhile a group of women walks into a lawmaker’s agency and tells their individual stories successful a corporate way, nan effect is profound.”
In December, nan Department of Justice started dropping 3.5m heavy redacted pages, conscionable a mini fraction of nan full files. In a testament to really powerful a survivors’ activity is, moreover Epstein himself said he was asked each time for proposal connected #MeToo; successful nan Epstein files, location is grounds of elites strategizing astir really nan activity tin beryllium defeated.
However, Burke worries nan nationalist speech astir nan Epstein files – 1 that often focuses connected nan celebrated perpetrators, elite corruption and governmental conspiracy – misses nan deeper lesson. “It’s for illustration nan full state is wrong 1 large true-crime mystery,” she said. “People digging into nan files and making conspiracy theories.”
The danger, she argues, is that nan ungraded becomes intermezo alternatively than a model into systemic abuse. “We’re looking astatine a immense web of kid intersexual abuse,” Burke said. “But group are treating it arsenic a singular case.”
Jess Michaels, who survived Epstein’s maltreatment successful nan 1990s, said sparkling a ray connected nan wide quality of intersexual maltreatment – astir 1 successful 3 women person been subjected to beingness aliases intersexual unit – is nan logic she said out. “There’s a work I feel, that group will perceive to maine because it’s Epstein, but by nan clip they’re done listening, they will find retired it was ne'er conscionable astir Epstein,” she said. “This is wherever we arsenic achromatic women tin usage our privilege to alteration thing that really happens successful each azygous municipality and astatine each azygous economical level.”
The unfinished activity must halfway survivors
Today, Epstein survivors proceed to push for accountability, demanding nan management return action to present justness pinch a thorough investigation. Following Pam Bondi’s ouster from nan Department of Justice, survivors are demanding that nan Trump management hold a hearing to analyse nan handling of nan files.
Burke insists that nan basal premise of nan activity remains unchanged – that intersexual and gender-based unit is not an intractable problem. “It’s a solvable issue,” she said. “The solutions beryllium – they’re conscionable not being resourced aliases scaled.”
For example, Ayers pointed to specialized intersexual unit courts successful Nairobi pinch trauma-informed judges and lawyers arsenic an illustration of innovations nan US could study from. “Seeing that collapsed unfastened thing caller astir what’s possible,” she said. The Survivors Justice Network advocates for a nationwide program that would thatch students astir consent, opening successful nan sixth grade.
With MeToo International, Burke and Ayers person launched nan Survivors Vote run to mobilize survivors arsenic a governmental constituency – location are an estimated 52 cardinal survivors of intersexual unit successful nan US alone, according to nan organization.
Despite nan visibility, Burke says Me Too International remains mini and underfunded. The statement has 14 unit members and respective contractors supporting its activity astir nan world. “We’re funded by a very mini number of organization funders who support our lights on,” she said. “People deliberation we’re someway Hollywood-supported and sitting connected years of reserves. That’s not true.”
Burke said ebbs and flows are nan quality of movements. However, #MeToo is strongest erstwhile survivors’ voices are astatine its center.
“While #MeToo whitethorn person helped alteration nan landscape, it’s besides nan continuous efforts of these survivors that were unrelenting,” said Burke. “It’s ne'er going to beryllium 1 thing. It has to beryllium 1 thing, building upon another, building upon another. That’s really what movements are, until they break done and until there’s a infinitesimal erstwhile those efforts salary off.”
