Sexual Assault Support Centre's 5 tips to navigate #MeToo pushback

It's been a year since #MeToo appeared on social media, but the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region says the movement continues to have an impact on survivors and their supporters.

"We're at a place where we're starting to recognize how big of an issue this is and I think that's been really great for the community to see that," said Kasey Politano, violence prevention educator with the centre.

• #MeToo campaign doubles requests for counselling in Waterloo region
• 44% jump in reported sexual assaults in Waterloo region

But she said that the relentless coverage of sexual violence in the media and the conversations around violence on social media has a downside.

"For some women, yeah, it's super triggering," she said. "It can be retraumatizing to re-live that over and over and see that every day and be reminded of it."

And in a society where life is lived online, Politano said that disengaging from these problematic conversations can be difficult, even impossible.

Difficulty in turning off

"We're on there, not because we only want to see news and media, but we want to see our friends and family on there and we want to have a place to communicate with them," she said.

"I think it would be extremely isolating to say to someone, 'Well, if you can't handle what's happening on social media and in the news, then you shouldn't watch it,' because then you become very disconnected."

But that doesn't mean social media has to be an unavoidable evil. Politano said there are ways to make platforms like Facebook and Twitter more user friendly.

1. If you can't unfriend, unfollow

If one of your Facebook friends is consistently posting content that is unhelpful, Politano recommends unfriending them. However, if you're not comfortable with that, she said there's another option: you can choose to remain Facebook friends, but unfollow their posts.

2. Block trending stories

On Facebook, Politano said you have the option to unfollow trending stories, which will decrease your chance of seeing coverage of popular sexual violence stories in your news feed.

3. Unfollow key words

In Twitter, Politano said there's an option to unfollow or block posts that contain certain key words. This option could be used to clear your feed of posts related to sexual violence or rape myths, for example.

4. Create social media boundaries

While it may be difficult to cut yourself off from social media completely, Politano said it can be helpful to give yourself a break. For example, you could dedicate one hour each day to being social media free.

5. Create a community of care

Politano said it's important to have people in your life to talk to about your social media struggles. These could be friends, family or coworkers.

Politano and two of her colleagues plan to share these and other tips at a public workshop planned for Tuesday evening from 6 - 8 p.m. at the centre's Kitchener location: 300-151 Frederick Street.