A lot has changed since the #MeToo movement took force last fall. Many sexual harassment and abuse survivors are feeling more confident in speaking out. And many predators are facing consequences. People are questioning our culture’s knee-jerk reaction of doubting women when they report misconduct. The world truly feels like a different place.

Not that everything is perfect now: it’s not by a long shot. But there’s no question that #MeToo and the onslaught of sexual harassment accusations in Hollywood and elsewhere have made an impact. The New York Times spoke with women and men from all sorts of professions — all of whom have made public allegations of harassment or assault — to find out if and how #MeToo has affected their lives.

Highlights from the piece, “How Saying #MeToo Changed Their Lives,” are below. You can read it in full on the Times’ website.

Ashley Judd on her lawsuit against her assailant, Harvey Weinstein:

“Sexual harassment in the workplace damages economic opportunity. The power dynamics at play are revealed in a worker’s trajectory and in her paycheck. Being able to have the legal basis for remedy is crucial. The promotion that doesn’t materialize, the shift that’s reassigned, the opportunities for advantageous overtime … those are all ways that women are punished. Bringing that to light and having economic and legal remedy is an integral part of the strategy of moving the American work force forward.”

Former music exec Drew Dixon on her reluctance to speak out against Russell Simmons and L.A. Reid, who are black:

“It’s very hard as a black woman to call out powerful black men because we have no heroes to spare. We are always, still, fighting this uphill battle, always trying to overcome this myth of the predatory black man. So the last thing you want to do is contribute to that in any way. It’s complicated as a black woman — do you take it for the team? Which is what I did for 22 years. Or do you insist that you, too, deserve dignity, physical safety, and respect? That was very hard for me and it’s literally why I kept the secret for all these years. I didn’t want to tear down a black man, let alone two. But what they did was wrong.

On the other hand, I didn’t want black women to be left out of the #MeToo moment. And I did not want to miss this opportunity to be heard and believed.”

Gwyneth Paltrow on the seismic shift that has occurred because of #MeToo:

“This is a system that has existed for thousands of years, and now you cannot behave that way. The psychological implications for those of us who have been exploited by men in power are so much to process, because we’ve built our identities and defense systems and strength out of protecting ourselves against this kind of system. For a mother of a 14-year-old girl, it’s overwhelming to know we’re living in a culture where ramifications exist for this kind of thing.”

Former Vice Media employee Helen Donahue on the negative aspects of speaking out:

“When the article [detailing Donahue’s experience of harassment at Vice] dropped, my anxiety skyrocketed. Strangers recognized me from the internet, and people I hadn’t spoken to in years texted me. But I have fewer friends at Vice than ever. Only one man I worked with at Vice reached out to me in the days following, and it was expected — a good friend who knows me very well. The rest were women. And even then, far fewer than I’d hoped. It was incredible because all of these people I’d considered family at one point just … weren’t there.

A few other former co-workers reached out in time, but even so, it was like every straight man I’d worked with at Vice was terrified that perhaps they, too, had harassed me at some point, so best to not say anything at all, best not to apologize lest it looks like an admission of guilt, I suppose. I think men are so used to the office-place power dynamic they don’t realize what they’re doing is permanently damaging to women.”

Vanessa Carlton on the solidarity of the movement:

“It feels terrifying to speak on the record. Once you jump off the cliff and you say it, you realize that actually there is no cliff. It turns into a door that’s open and there’s all these people standing on the other side and they’re literally saying, ‘Me too.’”

Singer Tina Baker on how people reacted to her accusation of rape against Simmons:

“A very good friend, a man, I told him about it and he looked upset. He said: ‘I need to ask you this question: I don’t understand how such a strong woman like you, how this could have happened to you? Like, how did you let this happen to you?’

So I think that there is a lot of education that still needs to be done. This person loves me, and he needed to understand. Anyone can get raped.”

Comedian Abby Schachner on stepping back into the spotlight after going on the record about Louis C.K.:

“I was called out [for leaving comedy]. I was hiding. [Now] I better get over myself and start sharing. You have your own voice and you can use it as you see fit. Just because you’re not in the business doesn’t mean you stop creating; if you’re an artist that’s what you do. I think that’s the empowering part. It’s not about tearing someone down. Stopping people earlier, cauterizing the problem with people who are chronic or compulsive, that’s important. Hearing people’s experiences so they don’t have to sit with shame, that’s one of the most powerful aftereffects.”