This article examines the role of social media in exposing
cases of rape. In the past, rape victims were hidden in interviews, their faces
blurred on television and sometimes voices disguised. Journalist David A Kaplan
found a problem in the attempted anonymity of the victims, however; he claims
that hiding women from society perpetuates the stigma of being raped. By concealing
the victim in the media, the culture of shame towards rape victims continues
on. That was 20 years ago, though. Now there are social media, such as Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram and blogs, which make it harder to conceal rape. Aggressors
cannot hide anymore; often times witnesses communicate the violence through the
social media, and the internet spreads the crime.
Steubenville, Ohio has become the example of how men
committing rape can no longer be anonymous, just as the victim is no longer
anonymous. A 15 year old girl was drugged and publicly raped at multiple
parties in the area. Tweets and pictures on Instagram appeared of her in her unconscious
state, and even a video of her being raped. Even though the internet spread the
traumatic event quickly, the spread meant that the aggressors were quickly
brought to justice. Anonymous, and online collective of sexual violence vigilantes,
made sure all the footage was wide spread on the mainstream media. They shifted
the shame from the victim to the perpetrators, aiding in changing the stigma of
shame away from the victim.
Anonymity also works negatively in mainstream media. While
stories of sexual violence are being put online to speak out, the internet is
also aiding in anonymous misogyny. Female bloggers working to stop gendered
violence often receive death and rape threats from total strangers. With no way
to trace who sent them the threat, no legal action can be taken. Thus, there is
still no safe place to speak out against sexual violence.
Globalization is bringing us all together, and
the internet is an effective way to share information with each other. In the
aspect of revealing persecutors of rape, this is a very positive thing.
Knowledge of sexual violence is more wide spread, as well as the idea that it
is wrong to rape. In some regions,
rape is very common place, and women cannot speak out, let alone try because it
is so common. Internet attention to the immorality of rape is giving women the
courage to speak out. With internet readily available to more people, more
women can become educated in how to work against the violence. They can also
create support systems with each other without shame. On the flip side, abusers
can commit as much online harassment as possible and still remain anonymous. Is
it moral to be able to track someone’s internet accounts and use? That would be
an invasion of privacy, but it could stop at least some of the cyber aggression.
Globalization via internet is a great thing, but it also presents new issues to
society that affects everyone (who has internet access). http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/02/20132411111433879.html
Dylan Reddish
2/12/13 6:07pm
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