Story highlights 1 in 5 Americans said close friends or family members shared stories on social media

52% think recent news coverage will help reduce sexual harassment and assault

(CNN) In the month since news broke of allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Harvey Weinstein, about 1 in 5 Americans said close friends or family members shared stories about sexual harassment or assault on social media, according to a CNN poll.

Headlines about the scandal and the culture in which it flourished were just as ubiquitous, especially as other powerful men were called out. About 66% of people said they've heard a lot of news stories about sexual harassment and assault lately, according to the same poll.

But what do people really think of all this coverage and the impact it will have? The CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that most people are hopeful that the surge of attention on sexual harassment and assault could lead to positive change.

What's more, the men and women surveyed had, for the most part, strikingly similar reactions to the news while greater differences emerged among age groups.

A narrow majority of 52% of the respondents think these stories will reduce the amount of sexual harassment and assault women face. When broken down by gender, about 54% of men and 51% of women said the media attention will reduce the prevalence of mistreatment.

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