A Qualitative Analysis of Disclosing Sexual Victimization by #NotOkay During the 2016 Presidential Election

This study sought to characterize disclosures of sexual victimization using the Twitter hashtag #NotOkay, which emerged before the 2016 presidential election. A random sample of 777 original English language tweets that contained the hashtag #NotOkay were garnered through NCapture software over a 5-day period. Content analysis was conducted using NVivo software. Only tweets that reflected personal disclosures of sexual victimization were included in the analysis. Disclosures included seven major themes pertaining to the characteristics of the assault(s), including (1) a description of the perpetrator; (2) type of assault; (3) age at the time of victimization; (4) location of the assault; (5) perpetrator tactics; (6) beliefs about why the assault occurred; and (7) the emotional impact on the victim. This study identified several common themes in the content of sexual assault disclosure on Twitter. Future research can explore whether social media is a cathartic platform for disclosure and how responses to disclosure on social media influence recovery following sexual victimization.