Social media has taken the world by storm, especially when it comes to individuals reporting their own sexual assault experiences with the rest of the world. This has lead to movements like #MeToo, where women and men speak openly about their incidents of sexual assault and/or rape.
But what are they losing in the process of getting justice by sharing their stories on social media? Is social media really the best place to discuss these topics?
Social Media Brings Awareness To These Issues
It’s easy to make a social media account on any platform and start making posts for others to see. It becomes even easier when you add tags to your post so that if anyone is searching for similar stories, they can find yours as well. These kinds of stories have made headlines in recent years
However, sharing these stories online can actually make a person’s case much more complicated and even hinder the adjudication of a person’s case. That’s why having sex crime attorneys with top-notch experience on your side while you’re going through a court case will prevent certain problems from happening.
How Social Media Harms Victims
The main problem lies in the posting. The victim may find solace with others online, but because the information is made public, then that information is also discoverable by the other party and their attorney’s. All they have to do is go online and find everything that you’ve posted. Then It becomes an online story of he said, she said without providing any actual evidence.
Social Media Bringing More Harm To College Students
The public naming and shaming of alleged perpetrators can lead to disciplinary hearings if the incidents took place on a college campus, for example. As a result, that alleged perpetrator may be put on probation, be suspended, or even expelled from the school. As a result, both parties stand before panel members of the college or university to hear both sides of the story instead of a judge.
These kinds of hearings are very subjective, where panel members have to weigh the credibility of both parties, considering questions like “what reasons would each party have to lie?”, “which account makes the most sense?”, “how details are their explanations?”, and “does one party have some kind of grudge against the other?”, just to name a few. And if the victim’s story is posted online, that can be used against them if the details in the post don’t match up to the story they provide to panel members.
Social Media Victims Are More Likely To Receive Backlash
Those who share their stories online are more likely to be blamed for their assaults, which can cause a lot of emotional trauma. And since the majority of social media platforms don’t take very substantive steps to reduce harassment on their platforms, which only increases the emotional trauma that survivors experience.
If you are currently involved in a case or who may have posted your stories on social media, it may be a good idea to speak to your attorney immediately.
