Each year, Time Magazine chooses to award the prestigious title of “Person of the Year” to one out of ten candidates in the running. According to the Time website, the award is granted to “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year.” Over the years, Time has chosen a number of controversial characters to hold the title, such as Adolf Hitler, Ayatollah Khomeini, Bill Clinton and Vladimir Putin. Last year’s winner was then President-Elect Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, Time announced the 2017 winner to be “The Silence Breakers,” specifically honoring Ashley Judd, Alyssa Milano, Tarana Burke, Selma Blair, Sara Gelser, Taylor Swift, Sandra Pezqueda, Blaise Godbe, Rose Mcgowan, Wendy Walsh, Lindsey Reynolds, Isabel Pascual, Lindsay Meyer, Juana Melara, Sandra Muller, Susan Fowler, Terry Crews, university professors, Megyn Kelly, Amanda Schmitt, Adama Iwu and the Plaza Hotel plaintiffs. Those recognized hold jobs from actors to strawberry pickers, awarded for their courage and speaking out for the “problem that has no name” which encompasses the sexual harassment controversies that have inundated the news.

The Time article, featuring the recognized women and men named above, illustrates the effect that each person has on the “Silence Breaker” movement. Highlighting the Women’s March which took place in early 2017, Time mentions the precipitating factors that led to this surge of backlash from women and men who supported or joined the march.

“I think that the election in many ways was a setback for women, but overall the message to us was that we don’t really matter,” said Megyn Kelly, Fox news reporter. Kelly believes that the movement is not motivated by politics, but rather the threats imposed on women’s rights.

Following the Women’s March and Trump’s election into office, which was cited as one major factor, major news anchor Bill O’Reilly was fired from Fox News after being accused of harassment. Later, it was found that O’Reilly and Fox News had spent over $45 million to settle multiple harassment charges.

O’Reilly and the trial of Bill Cosby, scheduled to be retired in April 2018, began a powerful cultural shift which allowed even the most powerful of people to be held accountable for their actions. In early October, the first exposé was published in the New York Times against Harvey Weinstein, which was soon followed by a long list of accusers coming out against Weinstein for his harassment. This sparked a chain effect, leading to powerful figures to be removed from their jobs over harassment claims. These figures are heads of major companies, politicians, publishers, actors, political analysts and journalists — people who were deemed invulnerable before the movement began.

As the women spoke out against their harassers, there was backlash from society regarding the authenticity of the accusations. The #MeToo movement quickly became popular, becoming a powerful way for people to stand in solidarity with anyone who has experienced sexual harassment or assault. This encouraged people to come forward with their stories — hence the name “the Silence Breakers.”

Not only recognizing people with power, TIME highlights everyday workers story dealing with sexual harassment. “I stayed anonymous because I live in a very small community,” an anonymous former office assistant said. “They just think usually that we’re lying and complainers.”

The article tells the story of Plaza Hotel plaintiffs who called attention to a situation wherein male co-workers harassed female employees as the management silently ignored the situation. These women filed a sexual harassment suit against the hotel, taking the case to court in Washington.

This award recognizes people of all professions who have made an impact on the “silence breaker” movement; the movement not only brought the continuing issue of sexual assault to the news circuit, but it continues to raise awareness around the world. The “Silence Breakers” sparked courage and created conversation on a topic long ignored, deserving of an award such as this.