#ididnotreport – women tell their stories in 140 characters or less

March 13, 2012 |
Valor


There is a movement happening on twitter in the last two days – women throughout the world are posting their stories of sexual harassment and sexual assault and why they chose to not report. There are thousands of tweets from survivors as well as people who are dismayed to find that there are such a high number of survivors who have not reported. As a preventionist, my hope is that the high volume of survivors telling their stories on twitter generates conversation about the need for prevention and cultural change to generate a climate where survivors feel supported, valued, and heard.
You can follow the convo with the hashtag #ididnotreport or go to https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23ididnotreport to read responses in real time.
Here is a sample of what I’ve been seeing online:

cate cate ? @birdgehrl #ididnotreport the man who would not listen to me when I said no, even though I was drunk.
Vicky Kapoor ? @hrsyofgrmnghst #ididnotreport because I have no faith in our justice system where so few rapists are jailed + victims are treated like perpetrators
Nicole Sullivan ? @stubbornella #ididnotreport because I was too little to know I had any right to my own body… to say no.
aimee ? @moewytchdog #ididnotreport because he was a police officer.
Rae Leaver ? @raethepain So much respect for those contributing to the #ididnotreport tag. I can’t, because I *did* report it and the police told me I had no case.
RopesToInfinity ? @RopesToInfinity The #ididnotreport hashtag makes for some pretty sobering reading. We have a depressingly long way to go.
David Aaronovitch ? @DAaronovitch #ididnotreport is an extraordinary hashtag. Saddening. Enraging.
witch of Angmar @gwrthryfel If you want to understand why feminism and feminist movements are still vitally important–> #ididnotreport
John Allsopp ? @JAScarb #Ididnotreport the 3 people in my school class (35 yrs ago) who got girl unconscious at party & screwed her & denied when she vistd in morn