Introduction <p>Sexual assault remains one of the most underreported crimes in modern society. Survivors of sexual assault often face intense societal scrutiny and judgement for how they choose to navigate their experiences with sexual assault. Such judgments, often informed by oppressive ideologies, expose survivors to continued harm. We examined the strategies survivors used in navigating their experiences with sexual assault, and how survivors developed strategies to insulate themselves from harm.</p> Methods <p>We used Boejie’s constant comparative method to conduct a secondary qualitative data analysis of 22 semi-structured interviews collected between 2018 and 2019 from survivors who were sexually assaulted between the ages of 12 and 17. The sample includes stories from an array of diverse voices across varying gender and racial identities.</p> Results <p>Survivors in this study utilized five distinct strategies to insulate themselves and others from harm: story management, reframing, regulatory, avoidance, and re-direction. The survivor-generated strategies in this study demonstrated the powerful influence of oppression, and wider societal understandings of sex and sexual violence rooted in oppressive ideologies.</p> Conclusions <p>The description of surviving as a process, in relation to sexual assault, assisted us in developing an Activated Strategizing Framework. This framework draws attention to the ways in which systems of oppression infiltrate one’s psyche and shape strategizing processes following a sexual assault or rape, and how the decisions made by survivors are guided by their desire and need for harm insulation.</p> Policy Implications <p>Implications call for research, policy, and practice responses that are informed by survivor experiences and insights, while also reckoning with the influence of oppression on the manifestations of sexual violence and those who labor to survive it.</p>