About

#WhyIDidntReport is a viral hashtag in which survivors and victims of sexual assault, harassment and other forms of misconduct catalogue the reasons why they did not report their experience to law enforcement. The purpose of the campaign is to inform the public of the dangers and risks of making their attacks public.

Origin

On April 11th, 2014, Twitter^[1] user @ethipoennesays tweeted, "hi fellow survivors <3 monday 4/14 at 7pm ET/4pm PT i'm hosting a chat using the HT #WhyIDidntReport--if you're able, plz consider sharing." They followed the tweeted, "if you'd like to participate in #WhyIDidntReport anonymously, you can submit your story on whyididntreport.tumblr.com.^[2] keep to 140 chars plz :)." The tweets have since deleted, but they were documented on the user's Tumblr (shown below). The Tumblr post has received more than 1,600 notes in four and a half years.

Spread

Following the post, survivors of rape, harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct explained their reasons. For example, one of the earliest uses was posted by Twitter ^[3] user @sctansey tweeted, "everyone loved him and told me what happened "wasn't that bad" despite his rape being my 1st experience of intercourse. #WhyIDidntReport" (shown below).

2018 Revival

In September 2018, During the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of United States President Donald Trump's nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a woman accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school.

On September 21st, 2018, President Trump tweeted,^[4] "I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!" The tweet received more than 26,000 retweets, 109,000 likes and 77,000 comments in three days.

That day, actor Alyssa Milano tweeted,^[5] "Hey, @realDonaldTrump, Listen the fuck up. I was sexually assaulted twice. Once when I was a teenager. I never filed a police report and it took me 30 years to tell me parents. If any survivor of sexual assault would like to add to this please do so in the replies. #MeToo." The tweet received more than 16,000 retweets and 63,000 likes in three days. She followed the tweet with the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport."

Following the post, victims began sharing their own reasons. For example, Twitter^[6] user @David_Leavitt tweeted, "I was four, and he said he’d kill me. #WhyIDidntReport" (shown below, left)

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References