'You should tell somebody': An evaluation of a survivor stories blog project to motivate sexual assault victims

Objective: Sexual assault victims often do not disclose their assaults or seek positive health outcomes. The RAINN Survivor Stories project shares testimonials in the form of online blogs from sexual assault survivors to motivate and encourage others to come forward and disclose their assaults. This study aimed to better understand the themes present in the survivor stories to motivate victims to disclose their assaults and seek positive health outcomes. Design: A theoretical thematic analysis was conducted on blog posts created for the project to identify (a) how the posts tell survivor stories and (b) how the posts model positive health outcomes using social cognitive theory and the disclosure processes model as a guide. Setting: Online setting linked to the rainn.org website. Method: Blog posts were collected for inductive thematic analysis. Themes were identified based on their prevalence in the data and their pertinence to the research questions. Results: Emerging themes included (a) overcoming initial disclosure, (b) overcoming the lasting effects of victimisation, (c) utilising support and (d) advocating for others after assault. Conclusion: Findings offer insight to researchers and practitioners creating media messages for sexual assault victims and other stigmatised groups by expanding understanding of modelled positive health outcomes in media and the disclosure process of victims.