I asked Jessica Bennett, the gender editor of The Times and the author of “Feminist Fight Club,” about how the rethinking of sexual harassment had spread to Canada and much of the rest of the world. Ms. Bennett updates and analyzes the current debate each week in The #MeToo Moment newsletter.

Q. While he was unquestionably powerful in Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein was not a household name in Canada until last fall. Why has his downfall set off debate and action in Canada and elsewhere outside of the United States?

A. I actually think it was less about Weinstein and more about the women who chose to speak out. This was one of the few, perhaps only, cases in recent history where the victims were vastly more famous than the abuser — and I think that was one of the many factors that contributed to the explosion. Social media played a part in the ripple effect, continuing to spread the message and to shift the conversation away from those famous women to the rest of us. And the rest of us are key to this. The #MeToo movement has sustained because sexual assault and harassment is a universal experience.

While debating sexual harassment legislation in Parliament this week, some of the legislators expressed concern that the #MeToo movement might flame out as rapidly as it rose up. What will it take to affect sustained changes?