Communicating about sexual violence on TikTok: A content analysis

Abstract

TikTok presents an opportunity for strategic and health communicators. There are more than 300 million views associated with the hashtags #sexualassaultawareness and #sexualassaultsurvivors on TikTok. Using quantitative content analysis, we analyzed 150 TikTok videos about “sexual assault” for trends in self-disclosures (RQ1), message framing (RQ2), types of sexual violence (RQ3), emotions (RQ4), creator characteristics (RQ5–7), and engagement (RQ8). We found that millions of people are seeing and engaging with this content. Coded videos were often (68%) framed from the perspective of educating or creating awareness. Video creators often engaged in displays of authenticity like showing their face on camera (84%). Coded videos often (60%) framed information in a way that “calls out” perpetrators or social norms surrounding sexual violence. This study sets the stage for future explorations of strategic communication on TikTok, including but not limited to projects related to sexual violence resistance and prevention.