Domestic violence is a serious public health issue in the United States. In the digital age, social media platforms like Twitter provide users with the opportunity to anonymously share short, 140-character narratives. Following the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal, thousands of women took to Twitter to share their abuse stories using the hashtag #WhyIStayed. Building on existing domestic violence research, we conduct what is, to our knowledge, the first assessment of women utilizing Twitter to share their lived experiences with abusive relationships and reasons for staying. Findings revealed four themes: (lack of) resources, responsibility for abuse, fear, and gender-linked power. The results suggest that Twitter functions as a space where women can share lived experiences about domestic violence, which then fosters discussion about a stigmatized topic. Thus, Twitter functions as a connective mechanism where women can understand the lived experiences of domestic violence and access a large community where information and support can be exchanged.

中文翻译：

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从沉默到#WhyIStayed：找到我们的故事并找到自己的声音

家庭暴力在美国是一个严重的公共卫生问题。在数字时代，Twitter等社交媒体平台为用户提供了匿名分享140个字符的简短叙事的机会。雷·赖斯（Ray Rice）家庭暴力丑闻发生后，成千上万的妇女上了Twitter，使用#WhyIStayed标签分享了自己的虐待故事。在现有家庭暴力研究的基础上，据我们所知，这是对女性使用Twitter来分享其与虐待关系和留下原因的生活经历的首次评估。调查结果揭示了四个主题：（缺乏）资源，对虐待，恐惧的责任和与性别相关的权力。结果表明，Twitter是一个空间，妇女可以在那里分享有关家庭暴力的生活经验，然后促进了关于被污名化话题的讨论。因此，Twitter是一种联系机制，妇女可以在其中了解家庭暴力的生活经历，并访问可以交流信息和支持的大型社区。