Social Media Affects Sexual Assault Conversations

TW: Mention of sexual assault

Welcome back to the blog!

Today we have a wonderful TedTalk about how important social media can be when it comes to uniting survivors of sexual assault. Ione Wells was sexually assaulted after a night out with her friends, and shared her story on how she decided to change her narrative.

Ione Wells found solace in writing about her experience by making a letter to her assaulter. However, she did not deliver it to him. Instead, she shared her letter online and thus sparked an online discussion.

The #NotGuilty movement began as a way for Ione to encourage others to come forward about their own stories. Men and women from all walks of life all around the world shared their stories online. Many said that seeing others share their stories encouraged them to tell theirs too. In this way, social media was used as a form of connection and started to reduce the stigma around talking about assault encounters.

Ione explains how with these heavy subjects, social media can spark different kinds of reactions. Some people tend to be more bold in their reactions, good or bad, because they are behind a screen and not visible to others. Some reactions that Ione got to survivors sharing their stories were victim blaming and pushing the feminist agenda to hate men. She was shocked to say the least, as her movement was meant to do the opposite. It can be easy to become defeated in sharing your story when receiving these reactions, but Ione encourages others to remember why they came forward.

She finishes the speech talking about how not reacting can be more helpful than reacting sometimes. For example, not speaking about shaming can prevent walls being built between a survivor and other social media users. Ione also encourages people to not stop talking about issues just because they are not trending. These issues stay relevant and with the people who experience them, and the fight is not won.

This speech was incredible at showing the strength in numbers, even online. The way you talk about sexual assault online can influence others to share their stories and not feel alone. Altering the way you react or don’t react to certain topics does have an influence on those affected and it’s important for people to be held accountable without insulting or shaming. The video is linked in the blog for those interested in watching.

If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, please visit our "Crisis Support" tab that has resources for reporting and getting the help you need. If you are a student at Clemson University, you can reach out to any of our leadership for support. RAINN has a survivor hotline, survivor stories, and extended resources to assist you in getting the help you need. Please visit https://www.rainn.org for more information.

See you guys soon!

It’s On Us