The Intervention Of Anonymous In The Steubenville Rape Case

The intervention of Anonymous in the Steubenville rape case was ethically justified as it exposed the flawed justice system, held the perpetrators accountable for their actions, and empowered survivors to speak out against sexual violence.

The Steubenville rape case highlighted the pervasive issue of sexual violence in high schools, and how it often goes unreported or overlooked by authorities. Anonymous, a hacktivist group, intervened in this case by exposing the video evidence and the perpetrators, which sparked a nationwide conversation about rape culture and victim-blaming. However, the ethical implications of their intervention have been widely debated. In this essay, I will examine the ethical aspects of Anonymous's intervention in the

The Steubenville rape case was not an isolated incident, and sexual violence in high schools is a pervasive issue that often goes unreported. The intervention of Anonymous brought national attention to the case and sparked a conversation about rape culture and victim-blaming. People at Steubenville hosted a rally where people like Alicia, Robin, and plenty of others spoke out on their experiences and the need for more awareness of sexual assault [1]. This conversation helped to break the silence around sexual violence and encouraged survivors to speak out about their experiences. Before this situation, many victims were shamed upon and felt like they weren’t safe anymore because they were telling the truth about a terrible situation that they had to endure. People like Sheri who was sexually assaulted and wanted to prosecute but the response she got was that the deputy knows him so they won't be able to take the case. After that situation, Geri felt unsafe and at times she would sleep with a baseball bat because she was paranoid that people would try to hurt her because she spoke [1]. The intervention of Anonymous, therefore, had a positive impact on survivors and helped to create a safer and more supportive environment for

By making the video evidence public, Anonymous helped to expose the culture of silence and victim-blaming that often surrounds sexual violence. The video evidence also helped to counter the defense of the perpetrators, who claimed that the assault was consensual. During the case the was other evidence that proved that this was an act of rape. They were many text messages that “created something like a real-time accounting of the assault.” [2]. Also, the testimony from the 16-year-old victim helped a lot when she explained “the story of waking up confused, naked, ashamed and worried, and then finding out that day that many of her friends had an idea what had happened to her or had even seen a picture of her naked. The girl also testified that she had come to realize that Mr. Mays — who maintained that he had taken care of her while she was drunk and that their encounter had been consensual and did not involve penetration — had done far more.”[2].The intervention of Anonymous, therefore, was ethically justified as it helped to bring attention to the issue of sexual violence and hold the perpetrators