In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, many on Twitter decided to share why they didn't report their sexual assaults.
No matter how far we say we've come as a society, we will never be able to live down the truth that we've miserably failed those who've survived sexual assault. Even today, in this post #MeToo era, survivors who attempt to speak out about the abusers are shot down by classic victim-shaming tactics or President Donal Trump's favorite: Why didn't you speak up earlier? In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, many on Twitter decided to share why they didn't report their sexual assaults and their stories paint a rather grim picture of our so-called modern world.
it’s a topic that’s NEEDS to be discussed , hope this movement sheds light on everyone’s horrific situations and they find peace within themselves . I STAND WITH SURVIVORS ❤️ #WhyIDidntReport pic.twitter.com/PjQo7OPxVY
— laurieyonaa (@laurieyonaa) April 9, 2020
Here are some of them:
#WhyIDidntReport reporting made it seem real. and i didn’t want it to be real.
— baby adores leigh ♡ (@loutanic) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport we weren’t sober and i convinced myself i had said yes. it wasn’t until weeks later i called him out and instead of denying it, he said “thanks for not reporting me” and an apology. that text still grosses me out more than the actual assault
— ray gun ☀️ (@Reagan_goodwin2) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport
— nick anderson (@WRXNickA) April 9, 2020
I thought my self-awareness protected me. I thought it didn’t affect me and that I was in charge of my emotions.
I didn’t know it would drive an emotional wedge between love & sex and make me question my sexuality.
I didn’t want to ruin her career.
#WhyIDidntReport Fear, not sure how, didn’t want the stigma. I stand with those who stand alone. pic.twitter.com/Fzb0kRTfUc
— Brittany DeRosa 🏳️🌈 (@MollysMommy42) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport I was 5, and I didn’t have the vocabulary to articulate what was happening to me. Maybe that’s why I’m a writer. I would like to say that I’ve finally found the words, but the truth is I’m still searching for them, even though it hurts like hell.
— A. D. Conner (@AdConner31) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport
— ⋆ m a d i ⋆ (@maditelschow) April 9, 2020
I drank. I got in his car. I entered his apartment.
I thought that, bc some of the decisions made were mine, I bore the entirety of the blame. I never reported because I saw the difficulty of the case I would be facing.
& it was already difficult enough.
#WhyIDidntReport I was 6 and terrified that my family would be mad bc he always told me they would be. I felt like I was betraying them. Me, the 6 year old paralyzed by fear, betraying them, and not the trusting adult they considered a friend.
— 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬 💫 (@yikesLex) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport I was drunk and I let him come home with me; I willingly allowed him into my space. I didn’t realize what happened to me until a few days later. I felt like it was my fault and I didn’t want to “ruin his life”. I blame myself for not saving the girl after me.
— sidney! (@sidneyldeese) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport because some of my own friends didn’t believe me. because i had said yes to this person before so it didn’t count, right? because i knew how reporting it would go. i would sound like i just wanted attention. start believing people.
— em (@sparesushi) April 8, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport bc I was at a party I had a single drink and I wore short shorts and I knew it would all be held against me and I’d be told it was MY fault
— yovi (@caged__elephant) April 8, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport . Forgetting is difficult and remembering is worse BUT I will not be silent. #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/3abnAz6bVH
— lil deebo (@obxdd) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport
— zach ☼ (@zachydg_) April 8, 2020
because it was my uncle and with so many family issues happening at the time, i felt i would be causing more
#WhyIDidntReport
— deyc (@daissyduke) April 8, 2020
I felt guilty.
I had no evidence.
All of it happened when I was in elementary and didn't realize the severity of my abuse until I was sexually active.
I was abused by 2 married men (one of them was my uncle) and I didn't want to destroy their marriages.
#WhyIDidntReport
— Avery Sarah (@AverySarah18) April 8, 2020
I was 15. It was a morning before school, I figured it was my fault because I went to his house alone. He was my boyfriend. We were “supposed” to do that so “why did I say no?”
#WhyIDidntReport
— Franchesca (@fremlo_) April 9, 2020
because I knew him. because I was scared. still am. It is hard enough validating to myself that my experience was real, I can’t handle the burden of trying to prove it to people inclined not to believe me, of people trying to gaslight me.
#WhyIDidntReport I was 6 or 7 and he would lock the door behind him. My older sister was right next door when it would happened. I was always so scared my parents would be mad at me for that happening to me. I finally told my mom, I believe each and every one of you ❤️
— Vic ✨ (@vicky_0021) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport
— stay home (@J0RDANT0MEI) April 9, 2020
I was 15 and i went to his house willingly... i tried to convince myself it was consensual bc i was a virgin. I developed a drug addiction to xanax to cope. No one wouldve believed a 15 yr old addict.
My silence was valid
#WhyIDidntReport i was 14, scared, and didn’t think someone i called my best friend could hurt me like that. especially when he said all he wanted to do was “fix” me
— alex (@notafenton) April 8, 2020
I was 15 and didn't realize I had been raped. Real rapes were when women got a gun pointed to their head and beat up. My rape wasn't violent enough. So therefore, my rape wasn't a "real" rape. Plus I had an alcoholic mom. Who would I have told? #WhyIDidntReport
— Bernie's #1 fan 🌹🌻 (@AmTheLastUnicrn) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport I was 6 yrs old, my mother needed drugs, I became an commodity. Women are rarely believed, who would ever believe me? I was just a troubled kid that was not only a rape baby but now a victim, that no one cared about.
— Lord James of F♤ckery (@House0fHavoc13) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport
— raven (@sIeepyraven) April 8, 2020
bc i was a child and he was a family member who was babysitting me. bc his sister found out and did nothing to stop it from occurring again & again. bc he would message me as if to check if i remembered. bc my family still posts pictures of them together
#WhyIDidntReport
— Dunn with u (@lauradunnblogs) April 7, 2020
b/c how do you report someone whose name you don’t even know? who was a complete stranger, yet still felt entitled enough to my body to violate it? who came into my home, ripped my clothes off, mutilated me, & then left without saying a word? who’d believe her?
#WhyIDidntReport
— ya no quiero que llores (@minerva_garciaa) April 8, 2020
Bc he was my mom’s boyfriend.
Bc my friends left me at his apt even tho I was drunk. they thought that I wanted to. He continued to snap me until I had the courage to block him.
Bc my friend was in the living room and the next day she said that I wanted it.
I experienced sexual abuse multiple times. At first I told and not much (or nothing) happened. The behavior was excused, I was told to forgive, I was made to fear hurting THEM, etc. Each time took more of my voice away until I didn’t bother to use it anymore. #WhyIDidntReport
— Parisa Fitz-Henley (@ParisaFH) April 9, 2020
#WhyIDidntReport because I was a Black gay man, brutally raped by another Black gay man while living in Virginia. I didn't report because who was going to believe me? Who was going to take my care seriously? I was embarrased & I was living in a conservative state at that time.
— 👑 Black Professor 👑 (@WonderKing82) April 9, 2020
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