“Can't consent at 14. Not in Alabama. Not anywhere. #MeAt14,” read the caption that Catherine Lawson posted above a photo of her teenage self on Twitter last week.

The Nov. 9 social media post by Lawson, a third-year litigation associate at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, came in response to the news of sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, who The Washington Post reported that day had initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was a 32-year-old district attorney.

Within a day of tweeting out her photo, Lawson's #MeAt14 was trending on social media with people sharing photos of themselves along with descriptions of their young lives and underscoring their inability to understand, let alone consent, to a relationship with an adult. Some people also opened up and shared their stories of abuse at 14.

Lawson, now 30 and a registered Republican living in Raleigh, North Carolina, spoke with The American Lawyer about why she started the #MeAt14 social media push and what still needs to be done to keep the conversation about sexual abuse and harassment moving forward.

“This is not a political issue,” Lawson said. “This is just a common value issue.”

Where did this idea come from and why did you decide to put it out there on social media?

Last week, The Washington Post article came out and it was this incredibly well-sourced piece that was really disturbing, detailing all kinds of alleged abuse by Moore. And while the story itself was really disturbing, for me what was worse were the number of people who were willing to defend the behavior that was being reported. People we willing to come out and say that it was possible that those relationships were consensual or to say that it wasn't something we should really care about.

For me, that's just not true. I thought that sharing a picture of myself from when I was 14 would kind of illustrate that there's no acceptable version of this story. Kids can't consent to relationships with grown adults under any circumstance. So I thought up the hashtag and went from there.

Obviously, the hashtag took off like a firestorm after that with people sharing photos and descriptions of themselves at 14. What did you think of the overall reaction to it?

I just think that there's a larger conversation that's happening right now around abuse and exploitation, whether it's in the technology industry, Hollywood or politics. This is something that we're learning happens a lot—and a lot more often than people realize. People are beginning to feel comfortable coming forward with their stories and their own experiences of abuse and exploitation.

What's been so extraordinary to watch has been people not only posting pictures of themselves, but to also tell their stories. Stories of childhoods that were innocent and protected, but also to just share their stories of abuse. That's just shown incredible vulnerability from a lot of different people.

What's been the reaction from your co-workers or colleagues in the Big Law world?

They've been completely supportive. I'm really lucky to work with people who understand that there's a distinction between what I do personally and what I do at work. This is something I did personally and they've just been completely supportive.

What do you plan on doing with this new platform? Do you have political aspirations or want to start a nonprofit or some other kind of advocacy group?

At the moment I'm content with where I am. I think honestly this is a conversation that has to be had by a lot more people than just me. Whatever platform I might've had was amplified so much by other women like [“The Daily Show” co-creator] Lizz Winstead, Alyssa Milano and Katie Couric and all the other just normal people who shared their own stories. I hope that the conversation keeps happening. What role I do or don't have in that [discussion] honestly isn't that important to me right now.

Obviously, there's been a lot of conversation on a national scale right now about instances of harassment, and Big Law hasn't necessarily been immune from that. There have been stories about gender-based discrimination and harassment. Have you experienced any kind of objectification or bias, or have you heard from other women in Big Law who have?

I think we'd be kidding ourselves if women didn't have those stories to tell. I think that anytime you have power that's concentrated in a nontransparent, nonaccountable fashion you're going to have abuse. I consider myself incredibly lucky that has not been my experience. I have worked with men and women who have looked out for me, who have mentored me and supported me. I'm grateful for that. I also think that it's a really sad thing that that's something I'm thankful for. That should be the norm for everyone, and not just for a minority of people.

All interviews are condensed and edited for style, grammar and clarity.

“Can't consent at 14. Not in Alabama. Not anywhere. #MeAt14,” read the caption that Catherine Lawson posted above a photo of her teenage self on Twitter last week.

The Nov. 9 social media post by Lawson, a third-year litigation associate at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, came in response to the news of sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, who The Washington Post reported that day had initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was a 32-year-old district attorney.

Within a day of tweeting out her photo, Lawson's #MeAt14 was trending on social media with people sharing photos of themselves along with descriptions of their young lives and underscoring their inability to understand, let alone consent, to a relationship with an adult. Some people also opened up and shared their stories of abuse at 14.

Lawson, now 30 and a registered Republican living in Raleigh, North Carolina, spoke with The American Lawyer about why she started the #MeAt14 social media push and what still needs to be done to keep the conversation about sexual abuse and harassment moving forward.

“This is not a political issue,” Lawson said. “This is just a common value issue.”

Where did this idea come from and why did you decide to put it out there on social media?

Last week, The Washington Post article came out and it was this incredibly well-sourced piece that was really disturbing, detailing all kinds of alleged abuse by Moore. And while the story itself was really disturbing, for me what was worse were the number of people who were willing to defend the behavior that was being reported. People we willing to come out and say that it was possible that those relationships were consensual or to say that it wasn't something we should really care about.

For me, that's just not true. I thought that sharing a picture of myself from when I was 14 would kind of illustrate that there's no acceptable version of this story. Kids can't consent to relationships with grown adults under any circumstance. So I thought up the hashtag and went from there.

Obviously, the hashtag took off like a firestorm after that with people sharing photos and descriptions of themselves at 14. What did you think of the overall reaction to it?

I just think that there's a larger conversation that's happening right now around abuse and exploitation, whether it's in the technology industry, Hollywood or politics. This is something that we're learning happens a lot—and a lot more often than people realize. People are beginning to feel comfortable coming forward with their stories and their own experiences of abuse and exploitation.

What's been so extraordinary to watch has been people not only posting pictures of themselves, but to also tell their stories. Stories of childhoods that were innocent and protected, but also to just share their stories of abuse. That's just shown incredible vulnerability from a lot of different people.

What's been the reaction from your co-workers or colleagues in the Big Law world?

They've been completely supportive. I'm really lucky to work with people who understand that there's a distinction between what I do personally and what I do at work. This is something I did personally and they've just been completely supportive.

What do you plan on doing with this new platform? Do you have political aspirations or want to start a nonprofit or some other kind of advocacy group?

At the moment I'm content with where I am. I think honestly this is a conversation that has to be had by a lot more people than just me. Whatever platform I might've had was amplified so much by other women like [“The Daily Show” co-creator] Lizz Winstead, Alyssa Milano and Katie Couric and all the other just normal people who shared their own stories. I hope that the conversation keeps happening. What role I do or don't have in that [discussion] honestly isn't that important to me right now.

Obviously, there's been a lot of conversation on a national scale right now about instances of harassment, and Big Law hasn't necessarily been immune from that. There have been stories about gender-based discrimination and harassment. Have you experienced any kind of objectification or bias, or have you heard from other women in Big Law who have?

I think we'd be kidding ourselves if women didn't have those stories to tell. I think that anytime you have power that's concentrated in a nontransparent, nonaccountable fashion you're going to have abuse. I consider myself incredibly lucky that has not been my experience. I have worked with men and women who have looked out for me, who have mentored me and supported me. I'm grateful for that. I also think that it's a really sad thing that that's something I'm thankful for. That should be the norm for everyone, and not just for a minority of people.

All interviews are condensed and edited for style, grammar and clarity.