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After Trump lashes out, sexual assault survivors share #WhyIDidntReport

The stories are harrowing, the reasons all-too-familiar.

Heather Dockray

on September 21, 2018

After Trump lashes out, sexual assault survivors share #WhyIDidntReport

An activists expresses her support for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who recently accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Credit: alex wong/Getty Images

Following days of *relatively* restrained behavior, President Trump unleashed an attack on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford Friday morning, accusing her of failing to report the alleged assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when they were both teenagers.

Survivors on Twitter bristled at Trump's tweetstorm. Using the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport, they explained their reasons for choosing not to report their own assaults.

"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!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

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"The radical left lawyers want the FBI to get involved NOW. Why didn’t someone call the FBI 36 years ago?" T rump wrote in a followup tweet.

Survivors often choose not to report sexual assault and harassment, whether they fear retribution, feel responsible for what happened, are too traumatized to speak out, or don't trust the local authorities to handle it responsibly. There are dozens of well-documented reasons.

Here are just a few stories survivors shared following Trump's attack:

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You can read more their stories by following the hashtag here.

Heather Dockray

Heather was the Web Trends reporter at Mashable NYC. Prior to joining Mashable, Heather wrote regularly for UPROXX and GOOD Magazine, was published in The Daily Dot and VICE, and had her work featured in Entertainment Weekly, Jezebel, Mic, and Gawker. She loves small terrible dogs and responsible driving. Follow her on Twitter @wear_a_helmet.