TIME

What happens when the silence is broken

Last year, TIME interviewed dozens of people in at least as many industries about speaking up against sexual harassment at their jobs

Last fall, a reckoning swept through society, giving rise to allegations of workplace abuse and harassment that had blighted lives for generations. Scores of powerful men, long immune to the consequences of their behavior, were toppled, as survivors found the courage to speak up and demand an end to accepting the unacceptable. TIME named these Silence Breakers the 2017 Person of the Year.

Recently, a group of 12 Silence Breakers reached out to TIME to explain the realities of life as whistle-blowers, as well as the unexpected network of support they found with one another. “Our battles are

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