Hollywood holds #MeToo march against sexual harassment

Hundreds of people have marched in Hollywood in support of victims of sexual assault and harassment, inspired by the #MeToo social media campaign.

The march follows a torrent of assault and harassment allegations against public figures, set off by revelations about the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

The marchers started on Hollywood Boulevard and walked along the "Walk of Fame" to CNN's headquarters.

They were predominantly women but many men attended.

Tara McNamarra, 21, of Los Angeles, told Reuters news agency that the march felt cleansing after years of not being taken seriously about abuse.

"I've been sexually assaulted multiple times throughout my life," she said. "It's affected me in every aspect of my life."

The #MeToo hashtag was first used by social activist Tarana Burke and popularised by actress Alyssa Milano in the wake of the Weinstein allegations.

Ms Burke led Sunday's march. "For every Harvey Weinstein, there's a hundred more men in the neighborhood who are doing the exact same thing," she wrote on Facebook ahead of the event.

"What we're seeing, at least for now, is a unity of survivors, a community of survivors that have grown out of this #MeToo viral moment, that I'm just hoping and praying that we can sustain."

The actor Kevin Spacey and comedian Louis CK are among the high-profile figures accused of sexual harassment over the past few weeks.

Louis CK published an apology on Friday, admitting after years of denials that the allegations were true.

"The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly," he wrote.

The New York Times reported in October that Weinstein, 65, had settled out of court with eight women who had accused him of sexual harassment and unwanted physical contact.

Weinstein has also been accused of rape, but said through a spokesperson that he "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex.

Credit: BBC