Premium
Trauma, social media, and #WhyIDidntReport: An analysis of twitter posts about reluctance to report sexual assault
Author(s) -
Whiting Jason B.,
Pickens Jaclyn Cravens,
Sagers Abby Luthi,
PettyJohn Morgan,
Davies Bria
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/jmft.12470
Subject(s) - social media , sexual assault , psychology , power (physics) , content analysis , sexual abuse , social psychology , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , sociology , computer science , medicine , world wide web , medical emergency , social science , physics , quantum mechanics
Recent social trends regarding sexual violence and gender have included elements of “hashtag activism,” which involves using social media tools for cultural awareness and change. For example, the Twitter hashtag: #WhyIDidntReport was created for survivors of sexual victimization to share their barriers to reporting. In this project, 600 tweets attached to this hashtag were analyzed using a combination of grounded theory and content analysis methods. Results were organized into a conceptual map, with a central category (power), connected to three other ecological categories (culture, community systems, and relationships) and one category of survivor experiences. Each category has subcategories which illustrate certain contextual and internal barriers to reporting assault. The model shows how these barriers intersect and interact, and often further traumatize those who have been assaulted. The model offers implications for professionals working with those who have survived sexual trauma, as well as those studying the dynamics of abuse.