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#WhyIDidntReport : Sexual abuse survivors share what kept them from reporting their ordeal

A social media movement underlining the courage of sexual abuse survivors is gaining steam as a response too yet another misogynistic outburst by US president Donald Trump.

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WhyIDidntReport

A social media movement underlining the courage of sexual abuse survivors is gaining steam as a response too yet another misogynistic outburst by US president Donald Trump. Recently, the US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual harassment by Christine Blasey Ford, an academician. She opened up about the harrowing incident in a letter where she accused Kavanaugh of pinning her on a bed, groping her and covering her mouth to keep her from screaming when they were teenagers. On Friday, Trump questioned the veracity of her accusations in a tweet, wherein he said, if the attack was as bad, she should have reported it to the authorities, then and there.

This resulted in a social media movement by survivors of sexual harassment who opened up about their personal experiences of abuse and what kept them from opening up. Tweeting with, #WhyIDidntReport, these survivors underlined the difficulties women face while reporting such incidents – victim shaming, embarrassment, lack of courage, family pressures and much more.

https://twitter.com/wondrousSNM/status/1044183010835345409

Countless such stories surfaced wherein survivors recollected their experiences of sexual abuse and what kept them from talking about it. According to psychologists who have been working for the cause of abuse victims, it takes a while for the abused to even process what has happened. There is an insurmountable amount of shame and embarrassment which they have to go through before they can even mention it to their close friends and family. The culture of victim blaming we have been fostering in our society can be made culpable for such latency, and hence, if someone is gathering up the courage to report their plight, the person should be trusted and believed.

Social media movements like #WhyIDidntReport can make victims feel that they are not the only ones who went through a tumultuous assault, but their pain is shared by millions like them. This inspires trust, and help them in opening up about their mortifying stories. Such movements remind victims that it’s never too late to talk about that deplorable incident since speaking about your personal struggle can inspire so many others to come out and talk about their own.

 

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