Social Science Research Center Publications and Scholarship
ORCID
Anna Gjika: 0000-0002-3134-5146
Megan Stubbs-Richardson: 0000-0001-8636-497X
MacKenzie Paul: 0000-0001-5103-7899
Abstract
In 2017, the #MeToo movement garnered international attention when millions of people used the hashtag to share personal experiences of sexual violence. The present study examines how non-celebrity users discussed their experiences of sexual victimization through a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of a random sample of #MeToo tweets (N=1,427). We found that survivors prioritized details about the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” of trauma in their disclosures (Bogen et al., 2021). Key themes in their responses included child sexual abuse (22.7%), long-term adverse effects (17.6%), and polyvictimization (10.4%) across the life course. Survivors also utilized #MeToo to highlight the prevalence of violence against women (26.4%) and offer critiques of rape culture and social structures (23.9%) as indirect causes of their victimization and subsequent negative experiences. Our analysis demonstrates the utility of Twitter for broadening current understandings of the context in which sexual violence occurs, while also offering a nuanced analysis of the persisting difficulties many survivors face in narrating personal experiences of violence.
Publisher
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
DOI
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08862605251319348
Publication Date
Winter 2-23-2025
Research Center
Social Science Research Center
Keywords
digital feminist activism, #MeToo, Twitter, rape culture, sexual violence, child sexual abuse, polyvictimization
Disciplines
Criminology | Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology
Recommended Citation
Gjika, A., Stubbs-Richardson, M., & Paul, M., (2025). From Private to Public: Narratives of Gender-based Violence Among the Everyday Voices of the #MeToo Movement. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Online First. Copyright © [2025] (Copyright Holder). DOI: [DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605251319348]."
Comments
This article is protected by copyright and falls under the licensing requirements of CC-BY-NC-ND. Reuse of this article is restricted to non-commercial, and no derivative uses. For more information, see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en.