Time magazine has named “the Silence Breakers” – women who spoke out against sexual abuse and harassment – as its “Person of the Year”.
The movement is most closely associated with the #MeToo hashtag which sprung up as allegations emerged against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
But Time says the hashtag is “part of the picture, but not all of it”.
“This is the fastest-moving social change we’ve seen in decades,” editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said.
He told NBC’s Today programme that it “began with individual acts of courage by hundreds of women – and some men, too – who came forward to tell their own stories”.
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
The magazine illustrates the ubiquitous nature of sexual harassment by showcasing women from markedly different backgrounds on its cover.
Two celebrities are featured – Ashley Judd, one of the first to speak out against Mr Weinstein, and pop singer Taylor Swift, who won a civil case against an ex-DJ who she said had grabbed her bottom.
They are shown alongside Isabel Pascual, a 42-year-old strawberry picker from Mexico (not her real name); Adama Iwu, a 40-year-old corporate lobbyist in Sacramento; and Susan Fowler, 26, a former Uber engineer whose allegation brought down Uber’s CEO.
But many more people are identified as part of the movement behind the cover shot.
The runner-up for this year’s Person of the Year is President Donald Trump, who was Time’s Person of the Year in 2016.
Trump, who has been accused of harassment by multiple women, tweeted in November that the magazine had told him he would “probably” be picked again this year but he turned it down.
