But what about survivors? : exploring the impact of content related to sexual violence on social media

Approximately one in four women experience sexual violence during their lifetime, making sexual violence a significant public health concern (Breiding, 2015). As social media has become increasingly popular, it has become a site of significant public discourse related to important social issues, such as sexual violence. Although this discourse can have significant social impact, the effect this regular exposure to reminders of sexual violence has on survivors also needs to be examined. The exposure to reminders of sexual violence on social media may trigger negative reactions for some survivors (Chivers-Wilson, 2006). However, for others, seeing others discuss and validate their experiences on a public platform may feel validating or empowering (Keller et al., 2018). From a perspective of Feminist Identity Theory (Downing & Roush, 1985), the current study sought to examine factors which may predict the presence of negative reactions for survivors of sexual violence after being exposed to content related to sexual violence on social media. Within the current study, a model to predict both general distress and symptoms of trauma-related disorders amongst survivors following exposure to content related to sexual violence on social media was proposed and examined. Factors which may predict these reactions included feminist identity development (Valentine et al., 2017), sense of control over the exposure (Briere & Scott, 2015), and righteous anger (Fischer & Good, 2004). A sample of 188 cisgender female survivors of sexual violence over the age of 18 was examined. Results suggested that righteous anger mediated the relationship between feminist identity development and both psychological distress and trauma-related symptoms, with individuals at lower stages of feminist identity development experiencing increased righteous anger and therefore increased psychological distress and more trauma-related symptoms following their exposure to social media content. Research, theoretical, and clinical implications of the current study are discussed.