Although the COVID-19 pandemic was the headline of 2020 globally, for many countries this past year was also characterized by new and revamped #MeToo reckonings.
In Egypt, an anonymous Instagram page was created to warn others about a man accused of being a sexual predator. (Its creator, 22-year-old Nadeen Ashraf, later revealed her identity.) Within a week, the page (@assaultpolice) gained 70,000 followers, and thousands of Egyptian women shared on social media their own testimonies of sexual violence.
It has now been more than three years since the birth of the #MeToo hashtag on Twitter. And women and girls around the globe continue to use social media to share their experiences with sexual violence.
As someone who researches sexual assault policy and prosecution, as well as digital feminist activism, I see the beginning of the new year as an opportunity to reflect on both the benefits and risks of disclosing sexual violence online.
In my preliminary research, I analyzed 1,200 #MeToo tweets posted between 2017 and 2019, mostly from the United States, where the movement began. I found that the hashtag was largely used by women and girls to disclose their experiences with sexual violence. And for some, this was the very first time that they ever spoke out about their victimization.
When women and girls share their experiences of sexual violence online, there are benefits for both the individual and the society as a whole.
For starters, disclosing sexual violence online has shown to help with individuals’ healing processes. The simple act of posting #MeToo can give users a sense of justice that they are unlikely to receive elsewhere.
Everyday stories of sexual violence shared on social media helps to make this troubling reality visible. It forces members of society to face head-on the prevalence of sexual violence, and the devastation it causes.
Risks of online disclosure
Despite the personal and societal benefits of disclosing experiences of sexual violence online, it comes with significant risks.
In the most extreme situations, Twitter users who disclosed their victimization were doxxed, meaning that their private identifying information was maliciously shared online.
Gender-trolling under the #MeToo hashtag was amplified by “bot accounts.” Bots are software programs that are programmed to generate simple messages on social media. Bots would reply to #MeToo tweets with abusive messages.
This kind of gender-trolling can have significant physical and psychological effects, including mental health problems, insomnia, panic attacks, self-harm and, in some cases, suicide.
Although the risks to disclosing sexual violence online are serious, it is clear that social media has offered women and girls across the globe a powerful platform to challenge sexual violence.
The global #MeToo reckonings of 2020 have already led to new and revamped sexual violence laws (and bills) in several countries, such as Egypt and Iran.
While there is still a way to go in changing societal attitudes on sexual violence, the increased legal protections for sexual assault survivors is a promising start to 2021.