Sex assault claims must be tried in court, not by online vigilantes
OVER the past few days, there have been quite a few young Irish women sharing their experiences of harassment and assault under the now familiar hashtag, #MeToo. Some tell a specific story of a sexual assault, some of rape, of emotional abuse or the secret recording by sexual partners. Lots of these women name the perpetrators.
Night after night we scrolled through our Twitter feed to see familiar names mentioned and the frenzy that followed was wild – people do care when there is an alleged rapist among their midst.
It’s brave to speak out, to tell others you have been wronged. But those stories, the naming of abusers, and the male Twitter user who urged his followers to “keep tabs” on one alleged abuser’s account made me feel very uncomfortable too.
The #MeToo phenomenon was a global social movement where women posted their experiences of sexual abuse online, and came in the wake of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein being charged with criminal sexual assaults.
A few years after the rest of the world, post-lockdown Ireland seems to have reached its #MeToo moment where online allegations and social justice seem to be superseding criminal justice as the best way of punishing perpetrators of sexual harassment and rape.
We always knew we had a problem. The 2002 ‘Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland’ (Savi) report – the last comprehensive study on the subject – found that 42pc of women had experienced some form of sexual abuse but only 10pc of sexual offences were reported. The study’s findings were so shattering the lead author, Prof Hannah McGee, worried whether it could even be believed.
The sheer volume of disclosures over the past week highlights that sexist and entitled behaviour – from the illicit squeeze of the knee to penetrative sex – are still unacceptably widespread almost 20 years later and institutions and society at large are failing to protect and support victims.
We know many victims find the legal system alienating and re-traumatising. Thanks to a widespread culture of victim-blaming, attackers sometimes have it fairly cushy. But that doesn’t mean we should move towards a situation where the accused are not given a fair trial.
In the judicial system, everyone has or should have certain rights – the right to be heard and the right to be regarded as innocent until proven guilty. But one of the obvious shortcomings of the online world is that no such rights apply. We should think carefully before moving towards a world where digital vigilantism substitutes the role of our courts.
Naming and shaming risks prejudicing a fair trial. It’s reputationally very damaging. There may be men incorrectly named and shamed, a traumatic and violating crime in its own right – just consider the heartbreaking recent case with Sil Fox.
It is very important survivors of sexual violence are free to speak up and are heard when they do, said Noeline Blackwell of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.
“Our current systems are entirely inadequate to permit accessible reporting and dealing with instances of sexual harassment and abuse, particularly in industry, particularly for sole traders/freelancers. Many survivors report that such systems blame the person reporting and consider their behaviour disruptive,” she said.
“In the absence of good systems, there is an inevitable risk that people will feel obliged to take the systems into their own hand. We absolutely endorse and applaud survivors who speak out.
“We believe that they have that right. The challenge is to ensure that no one else’s rights are violated in speaking out. That, in the absence of adequate systems, is a very hard line to draw and there is a real risk of damage to the rights of others. The need for respectful, accessible ways of reporting was never more urgent.”
We all lived vicariously through the steamy sex scenes in ‘Normal People’ throughout April but it turns out life for the average college student is far more distressing and troubling than it ever was for Marianne and Connell.
This week saw the publication of new research by NUI Galway’s Active Consent Programme. Of the 6,026 students who completed the survey, 29pc of females, 10pc of males, and 28pc of non-binary students reported non-consensual penetration through force, or threat of force, or while incapacitated and unable to give consent. Many of these students said they had not reported the incidents before being surveyed.
The survey points to widespread sexual harassment in the colleges and universities covered, with half of first-year students experiencing sexual harassment. The incidence rose to 62pc for second years, while two-thirds of third-year undergraduates said they had experienced sexual harassment. We still have a lot of work to do to ensure that Irish young people have positive and safe sexual experiences at university.
Social media is powerful, it garners support and energy for any cause. And, oh God, is it the centre of validation. Still, I’m hoping that other victims become more measured, that they resist the urge to join in online shaming.
I suppose that the problem I have with the #MeToo movement is that it is a movement. And movements always come with their own narratives and ideologies. But sexual assault is a criminal act and should always be evaluated objectively in a court of law.
There may be men incorrectly named and shamed, a traumatic and violating crime in its own right