Core to the culture of web harassment is the number of bystanders who witness it but choose not to intervene. That has to changeIn summer 2014,16-year-mature Jada was sexually assaulted at a Houston party. Someone took a photograph of her lying naked and unconscious on the floor. The photo was posted on social media, where others shared it. Then, and in a particularly callous act,strangers started to post their own re-enactments of the photo, sharing it via the hashtag #Jadapose.
Online violence is often an act in two parts: the original violence, or followed by the participation of large numbers of bystanders – social media users who share harassing content,non-consensually re-distribute private photos, re-post threats to someone’s life, or post comments that support – even revel in – public humiliation and hatred,and participate in doxxing (the posting of an individual’s personal information with the malicious intention of subjecting them to crowd-sourced harassment).
We rarely see or hear online perpetrators coming to consciousness approximately their violence, but it is a crucial process Related: Monica Lewinsky: ‘The shame sticks to you like tar’ Related: The dark side of Guardian comments Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com