Tech | September 19, 2010 | 122 comments

How Horrible is This! Teens share photos of rape on Facebook

source: http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/09/17/rape_technology

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Future_America
BY TRACY CLARK-FLORY
The horrific gang rape of a 16-year-old girl is roiling Canada. It's suspected that she was drugged at a rave on Saturday and then assaulted in a nearby field by a group of males. Truly adding insult to injury: The attack in Pitt Meadows, B.C., was photographed and videotaped -- and the evidence was then published on Facebook by one of her alleged attackers. The photos and video "have been viewed, shared, saved and reposted numerous times," an official told the Vancouver Sun. The images are spreading like wildfire, and it's impossible to contain.

This is the typical predicament law enforcement faces when it comes to online child pornography: Once it's out there, it's usually out there for good. The digital trail is just too difficult to trace. We've seen a similar thing with teen "sexting." A boyfriend gets angry when his girlfriend breaks up with him, so he texts a naked photo of her to all his buddies, they send it to all their buddies, and so on and so forth. In the end, it's hard to know just how many people have seen the image and where it's ended up.

This reminds me of reports earlier this year about a woman who goes by the pseudonym Amy: Her uncle sexually abused her as a little girl and circulated the photographic evidence in child porn circles. Now she's calling for damages from anyone caught with images of her abuse; so far, her photos have shown up in more than 800 child porn prosecutions. In a letter to the court, she wrote: "It is hard to describe what it feels like to know that at any moment, anywhere, someone is looking at pictures of me as a little girl being abused by my uncle and is getting some kind of sick enjoyment from it. It's like I am being abused over and over and over again."

The same could also be said about the images of the alleged gang rape. The major difference here is that the material is being distributed via a mainstream website. For the most part, these are not pedophilic child pornography collectors; many of the distributors are teenagers themselves. This of course has many adults asking that age-old question: What's wrong with kids these days? I suspect there are a couple explanations that do not require us to label "kids these days" as amoral animals. No. 1 on my list is, of course, the culture of victim blaming. According to one report, "only hours after disturbing pictures were posted on Facebook, teens were already suggesting the victim was a willing participant and asked for it." This "othering" response allows people to mentally guard themselves against the possibility of ever being a victim themselves; it's what's known as the "just-world phenomenon" (and, ironically, it creates a less just world).

Of course, the other defining element here is the Internet. The Web allows us to share videos -- whether it's a crazy cat trick or footage of someone's death -- with very few keystrokes, and often very little thought. These kids have grown up in the age of "Two Girls One Cup," a coprophilic video that rose to viral status thanks to the utter horror that it inspired in viewers. There are legion examples of even journalistic videos and photographs that have whipped around the Web specifically because they are horrifying -- think of the Neda Agha-Soltan video, for example. These sorts of images are the norm. We have access to them, they exist, and so we view them -- duh. Carry this view a little further and it isn't hard to understand how even a nonsociopathic teenager might opt to view a photo of a girl's rape, or even send it along to a friend. This is so often how we share things, good and bad; we hit "forward" or "re-tweet" or "like," etc. Technology offers us a sense of privacy, and detachment, even as we're sharing these things with the entire Web. The online mentality is one of entitlement and total freedom, no one has ownership over anything (just ask record label execs). I would venture to say that it hasn't even occurred to many of the kids -- the ones who are not, you know, patently evil -- that they are violating this girl themselves.
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  2. tags:
    Facebook,  Rape,  Violence Against Women
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122 comments // How Horrible is This! Teens share photos of rape on Facebook

  • Ogaal
    • +2
      Ogaal  

    • Like I've always said and believe Facebook is an abomination, which is why I will never have one or and social networking account because all social networks fall into the same deviantcy-which is in reality just a farther, faster, more dangerous, less hard-to-find, permanent variation/version of what already exists in real life society.
      But it's worse becasue as I said "It's PERMANENT" I mean at least in real life society this deviantcy would be forrgotten eventually and just dissapear, but in cyber space and cyber society once something is out there, it is out there.
      Just like in real life "matter cannot be destroyed, only changed into a different form" the same goes for Cyber life. But in Cyber life it is much harder to alter the information or matter, bordering on the edge of impossibillity and improbabillity.
      SO TAKE CARE WHAT YOU DO ONLINE!

    • 2 years ago
  • SHAWN_RITTIMAN
  • Ogaal
    • +1
      Ogaal  
    • SHAWN_RITTIMAN:

      Current is a collabrative news site that kind of works like a social networking site. Besides Current has very clear guidelines unlike Facebook and other true Social networking sites.
      PS: that's site not "sight"

    • 2 years ago
  • MisterWizard
    • +1
      MisterWizard  

    • Facebook is getting out of control. My girlfriend just pulled her 12 year old son of off Facebook. Some of the messages that his junior high school friends were leaving him on his page were dangerous and misleading.

    • 2 years ago
  • themotivateddropout
    • +3
      themotivateddropout  

    • At least because they put it on the internet the perverted little pricks will be dealt with. Every day the young seem to get more and more detached from reality. I shudder at the day some sick weirdo posts pictures on facebook of a murder he committed, inspired by the show Dexter.

    • 2 years ago
  • Ari_Liston
    • 0
      Ari_Liston  

    • Rape is one of the worst, most despicable crimes in existence and the fact that someone is spreading photos of this heinous crime on a social network is appalling...

    • 2 years ago
  • maebenot
    • 0
      maebenot  

    • can we say desensitization in the most horrific kind. some of us would have used the evidence to bring justice for this poor girl and thousands more who are victimized the same way and yet others get a kick out of forwarding something so disturbing to their "friends." I'll just never understand the reasoning of these types of descisions.

    • 2 years ago
  • Atalanda_Cameron
  • JuliusBC
  • FtheBULLSHT
  • JuliusBC
  • FtheBULLSHT
  • versasrev
  • versasrev
  • ScratchyPants
  • bailey78
  • JuliusBC
  • bailey78
  • JuliusBC
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • JuliusBC:

      I smashed my finger with a sixteen pound sledge hammer. I have also been hit in the nuts so hard that I pissed blood for a week. I would much rather smash my finger again

    • 2 years ago
  • JuliusBC
  • bailey78
  • JuliusBC
    • 0
      JuliusBC  
    • bailey78:

      I am fairly intuitive so I am leaning towards my impressions and they are telling me that it is worse if I do it. If you over do it on your finger I will send you a pipe, a hookah or a bong. Your rolling days may be over but your munchie days will live on. Just know that I have got your back on this one.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • JuliusBC
  • sunshine1649
  • yaget1chance
    • 0
      yaget1chance  

    • Possibly..just possibly, the one(s) who actually posted the pics wanted to get caught for being involved in such a horrible event. On the other hand, maybe it extended the feeling of dominance they felt during the act. I marvel at the level of low SOME teens will diminish others to. I just can't figure out where the need to ruin and hurt and destroy comes from at such levels. Somewhere along the line, we screwed up something. I use we as a total society. Be it the lifestyle, lack of or too much of something. I have two children and love them to death. I tell them that on a regular basis several times or more a day. They say it too out loud for all to hear even at school. We hug. We eat together, work and play together and they have a very active social life outside of the home as do we their parents....is this enough to save them from these horrors later in life? I really, really hope so. My heart goes out to that girl. I do suppose that sites like this one in which we all discuss her appearance on facebook just makes it worse. Now we all can be counted in the numbers of people who know. So we are making her feel worse and making the sick little boys that did this feel even more powerful...arent we?

    • 2 years ago
  • versasrev
    • 0
      versasrev  
    • yaget1chance:

      I know when I was in school, doing something like this and everyone finding out about it was a good way to get yourself severely beaten. There would have definitely been someone who would have instantly hospitalized or killed one of these kids. Chances are those kids are going to feel a world of hurt.

      There lucky if they have already been caught.

    • 2 years ago
  • onemalefla
  • JuliusBC
    • 0
      JuliusBC  
    • Image
    • onemalefla:

      Men should be given two chances, if you are proven guilty of rape then STRIKE ONE! If you offend the second time well............ STRIKE TWO! Problem solved! The man's need to rape are over and he will never have to worry about being guilty ever again.

    • 2 years ago
  • maebenot
    • 0
      maebenot  
    • JuliusBC:

      There should only be 1 strike and it shouldn't end nicely. A 1 time rapist is still a rapist I don't care if they are reborn, found God, Allah, Buddah or who the hell ever or if they were abused or raped as a child, their "junk" should be cut off as a constant reminder of what they did because you can never un-rape some one bc you found God or whoever. My mother always told me if I can't use my stuff nicely then I can't have it at all.

    • 2 years ago
  • JuliusBC
    • 0
      JuliusBC  
    • maebenot:

      I am inclined to agree with you but some men have been accused of rape when in fact they didn't. This one strike would be a bit brutal to an innocent man found guilty.

    • 2 years ago
  • timetide
    • +1
      timetide  
    • JuliusBC:

      I'm for that but rape is not only about the actual action but (from what I've read) the power exerted.if we get rid of their balls they'll move onto foriegn object rape.

    • 2 years ago
  • HRG
    • +1
      HRG  

    • Being in the same age group, I know how terrible it is for teens. I've seen rumors and things like this spread around my school. Even my friends have been victimized and its not a pretty sight. I'm glad this story is being recognized. Because simply put, its sick and it happens way more often then anyone thinks.

    • 2 years ago
  • KakuTheMan
  • Stoneyroad
    • +1
      Stoneyroad  

    • ooohh Canada, i thought you were better than this.
      I don't care how polite they were taking turns in the gang rape, the children of the great white north are starting to act like the ugly Americans.

    • 2 years ago
  • JuliusBC
    • 0
      JuliusBC  
    • Stoneyroad:

      Rape is not specific to any geographical location, never has been. It is an age old activity that has plagued womankind since shortly after the existence of the first humans.

    • 2 years ago
  • SHAWN_RITTIMAN
  • bailey78
  • bailey78
    • +5
      bailey78  

    • Just one more reason not to use facebook. I say fine the site and arrest all those that have taken part in it the resending of the pictures an video that is.

    • 2 years ago
  • KSirys
  • versasrev
  • bailey78
  • JuliusBC
    • 0
      JuliusBC  
    • bailey78:

      Just a side note:
      Facebook and many other such sites are portals for stalkers and the like to find a way to targetable victims. People that use these sites should be very careful as to what information they supply.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • JuliusBC
  • bailey78
  • JuliusBC
  • yaget1chance
    • 0
      yaget1chance  

    • Surely there is a competent computer "hacker" or whatever you want to call them that could connect a worm or some type of virus to all sexually explicit child or "looks like" child porn on the net. Wouldn't this eventually eliminate a good portion of it? I know you can't erase what happened but you may be able to keep it from spreading. It may make those who view it think twice before logging on to a site and make those posting it a bit less likely to do that. I don't know. I just think it may help a bit.

    • 2 years ago
  • soulhakr
    • 0
      soulhakr  
    • yaget1chance:

      computers cannot make judgement calls on what "looks like" pornography, better yet child pornography. the justice systems of the world consistently disagree on what constitutes pornography. so even a person sitting at a keyboard individually rating every one of the trillions of images on the internet wouldn't realistically be able to define the target area for such an attack.

    • 2 years ago
  • yaget1chance
    • +1
      yaget1chance  
    • soulhakr:

      I know there is not a perfect system. Back in the days that I was programming, we used BASIC, cobol, fortran and if we were really lucky, Powerhouse...even Hex and binary YEAGH..seriously though, we worked on software that would recognize words in files much the same as when you enter a search word for somehing and if the file is tagged with it or if (for the sneaky stuff) if it is just contained in the file as a batch, then it will recognize it. Such as the word "sex" problem is if you have the words "base xfiles" we couldn't get past it. I know it is not perfect but it is a start. by your screen name I assume you know way more about it than I do buy I just think it would nail a lot of the sites to a point where it would make it too much trouble than it is worth. Then again, we are dealing with pedophiles aren't we. They seem to risk a lot for their sickness.

    • 2 years ago
  • fun_size
    • 0
      fun_size  

    • Thats terrible! Rape is serious enough but spreading the picture on facebook? Those are some seriously fucked up and stupid kids.

    • 2 years ago
  • theblackguy
  • keithponder
  • theblackguy
  • Stacia_Weatherford
    • 0
      Stacia_Weatherford  

    • This is beyond sad for the girl and beyond stupid for the guys what IDIOTS to put it on facebook. then try and lie the lame lie that she wanted it. it's rape if the girl is to drunk to think clearly and if she's passed out! Im in college and a guy posted nude pics of my neighbor on facebook i felt bad for her and mad at her for allowing him to take those pics. she had a horrible year :(

    • 2 years ago
  • cclark_productions
  • Dortha
  • ii386
    • +1
      ii386  
    • Dortha:

      for what type of behavior? Rapist tendencies, facebook tendencies, etc? Who pays for the screening? What happens if they do have something "wrong" with them, do we pre-arrest them?

    • 2 years ago
  • Stacia_Weatherford
  • flyingkick
    • +1
      flyingkick  
    • Dortha:

      The problem with that is a child might meet all the criteria for becoming a future criminal, yet might not ever actually commit a crime. Is it justified to ruin that child's life because of what he might do?

    • 2 years ago
  • yaget1chance
    • 0
      yaget1chance  
    • Dortha:

      A few years ago, maybe 15 or 20, a couple of professors in a university in North America, no need for specifics, thought that screening "Parents to be" was a great idea. They thought it would make sense if we had to pass a test before "the government" allowed us to have children. This is a true story. Problem is, this has happened a few times through history. This would ensure that the children of the future would be "selected" from the best an increase the intelligence and health of the population of the planet and we would become a master race.....see where I am going with this?? No??

    • 2 years ago
  • JuliusBC
    • +1
      JuliusBC  
    • Dortha:

      It should be illegal to have children for the first five years of any marriage. When the honeymoon is over and the lust has subsided, reality begins to stare the couple in the face and many realize that they perhaps were never in love to begin with. However, if they are still together after five years, then if they choose they can consider having children.

      There are so many repercussions of single parent homes. Some pull it off but many do not.

      Broken homes increase the likelihood of children being exposed to all kinds of possibilities and in many cases way to much ungoverned time on their hands. The internet provides them a portal to things that many should not have access to, especially without adult supervision.

      People need to realize that having children is a commitment that comes with a lot of responsibility not an obligation to procreate.

      People should be required to have a mental evaluation before they are allowed to have children.

    • 2 years ago
  • remanns
  • remanns
    • 0
      remanns  
    • yaget1chance:

      Screening of SOME sort is a much better idea than none at all.
      ( NOT screening of child psych in particular,....I would have to think about that. But some sort of parental classes and testing should take place. Children are the citizens of the future,....and thus ARE the responsibility of the culture at large to safeguard. )

    • 2 years ago
  • keithponder
  • Haley35
  • remanns
  • Haley35
  • JuliusBC
  • CCorsair
    • +3
      CCorsair  

    • Par the course for FB as they didn't report a large child porn ring on FB they knew about for some time till police found the 100.000 plus of pictures on FB and busted all of those who were part of it. FB has some real problems they seem not want face. this guy posting the rape is just another one of those problems..

    • 2 years ago
  • zHellas
  • ThatdBMe
  • abhishek25
  • flyingkick
  • Rodashar
    • 0
      Rodashar  
    • abhishek25:

      Facebook cannot ever check the contents of its servers let alone act upon any morally objectionable material. This is a huge privacy issue for fb. I seriously doubt fb condones this sort of activity but it is bound by law.

      I remember awhile back a lady was fired from Wal-Mart because she came across some abusive images a customer had dropped off to have developed and she contacted the authorities. While the abuse was a real issue and she might well have saved the child from further abuse Wal-Mart fired her for breaching the customers privacy.

      I am in no way sympathizing with these idiots who thought it was okay to attack and video this poor girl; Quite the opposite in fact. As a father of two girls I swear if this where to happen to my children I would find anyone associated and I would hurt them in ways they could not imagine.

    • 2 years ago
  • CarlosIsDown
  • Fr_Gregory
    • +1
      Fr_Gregory  

    • Facebook should be shut down if they continue to allow this type of garbage to be posted on their site. They have monitors that review the posts and they have programs/crawlers to detect this sort of thing. There is no excuse. This is not a free speech issue. They should be turning in the poster's ID to authorities and stop being enablers.

    • 2 years ago
  • flyingkick
    • +4
      flyingkick  
    • Fr_Gregory:

      I think you're mixed up.
      Facebook doesn't allow offensive images on its site. I don't think you read the article, lol.
      The police found out about the crime because people saw the images on Facebook, which led to the capture of the photographer.
      The only system Facebook or any other site has for controlling content is the flagging system- just like Current, Youtube, etc. Offensive images only get removed when staff see them or users complain about them. There's no way to stop people from posting them, but they're usually removed shortly after they're posted. I don't think a program exists that can detect offensive images, lol.

    • 2 years ago
  • iamaman
  • Confucius
  • EmperorThan
    • +4
      EmperorThan  
    • Confucius:

      I LITERALLY had never heard of this idea that the rape could be the woman's fault before reading some article about it on Current last month!

      Which stemmed from some stupid UK tv ad saying 'don't wear short skirts if you don't want to get raped' I was like WTF?!?!?!!?!? So apparently I've completely missed this phenomena of people blaming the rape victim. Or whoever of my friends might have thought it knew I would kick their ass if they said it. lol

      This ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGnGPAZcsqE

    • 2 years ago
  • ThatdBMe
  • cclark_productions
  • remanns
    • +4
      remanns  
    • ThatdBMe:

      tate.+^d Yep.

      ( since its NOT an ideal world,....I would tend to lean in the doirection of having my daughters carry side arms and be sure to live in a "right to carry" and "stand your ground" . Not to get all Bronson or "Die hard",....but having a father the neighbore- "Hood" boys outright fear isnt a bad idea )

    • 2 years ago
  • mitekillem
    • +2
      mitekillem  
    • ThatdBMe:

      In an ideal world, She'd learn that her style of dress attracts a certain type of attention.
      Also, she'd know that men who play sports for a living, have a lot of testosterone. Going into a place where men go to change clothes and shower, while dressed in a manner that advertises the goods, and expect not to get that type of attention is naive.

      Also, do you think they'd let a male reported go into the women's locker room to interview a female athlete? -I don't think so.
      And neither should they allow women to be in the men's locker room.

      Men have a penis. It does half of our thinking. Deal with it.

    • 2 years ago
  • Rodashar
    • 0
      Rodashar  
    • remanns:

      I mostly agree thouth the thought of a child with a sidearm causes me to cringe. I can see the headlines now."5 year old shoots other child over playdough" (Okay that was a joke before I get flamed). As soon as my doughters are old enough they will be taking self defense classes. Not that would have helped here since she was drugged but you do what you can.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • ThatdBMe
  • JuliusBC
    • +2
      JuliusBC  
    • cclark_productions:

      I have yet to walk into a bar and be met at the door by any woman begging to be raped nor have I seen any bars with a section just for woman that have asked to be raped.

      I highly doubt that teenagers are inclinded to ask for such things either.

    • 2 years ago
  • artemis6
    • 0
      artemis6  
    • mitekillem:

      I once , was a student reporter , I asked the coach where the interviewee was , he took me to he locker room , yelled in the door "FEEMALE IN THE LOCKER ROOM " THEN , I walked in ..... decent people are decent , rape , is not decent . It is Abhorrent .

    • 2 years ago
  • ThatdBMe
    • +2
      ThatdBMe  
    • mitekillem:

      If men are going to fall back on such a lame excuse as "I have a penis, deal with it." Then you guys can "deal" with the "I'm suing you for sexual harassment" excuse.

      Grow up and take some responsibility. Not all men sit there with a raging hard-on, salivating over the tightest ass walking into the room. So, you can be a big boy now and stop dry humping anything that moves.

    • 2 years ago
  • JuliusBC
  • artemis6
  • artemis6
  • artemis6
  • bailey78
    • 0
      bailey78  
    • artemis6:

      I freak out anytime someone jacks with my food. You can call me bad names and talk shit about anything I own but don't mess with my Wife or my food in that order.

    • 2 years ago
  • littlwarrior
  • Aoibheal
  • RojoGatto
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