The Tumblr Surviving In Numbers enables victims to tell the stories of their sexual assaults through numbers.
Mount Holyoke student Ali Safran said she came up with the idea for the Tumblr in October 2012, the three-year anniversary of her own assault. She said the name is a play on the phrase "strength in numbers."
"The blog has grown to be about removing stigma and shame from sharing your story as a survivor, and is also a place for survivors to read others' stories and be able to have their own experience validated," the 21-year-old Safran said.
She added, "A lot of people have written to me to say how thankful they are to have a space to share; that they'd never told anyone about being assaulted before, or had told people and had gotten really hurtful or blaming reactions."
Since starting the website, people have come to Safran to tell her they finally felt safe enough to share their story or even report their assault to police.
"I think it's really become a space where people can go to feel less alone with and isolated by trauma," Safran said.
