At the Intersection of Social Media and Rape Culture: How Facebook, Texting and Other Personal Communications Challenge the “Real” Rape Myth in the Criminal Justice System

The “real” rape frame informs how both the criminal justice system and society in general understand rape and operationalize it as a crime. A significant contributor to the maintenance of rape culture in the United States is the belief that acquaintance rapes are not “real” rapes and that women who suggest otherwise are liars. The he said/she said dynamics of acquaintance rapes create ambiguities that work to the detriment of female victims seeking to pursue their cases in the criminal justice system because uncertainty allows individuals to resort to stereotypes and myths. Due to the fact that the “real” rape myth pervades all aspects of the legal system—from law enforcement officers’ investigations to prosecutorial discretion when bringing charges to judges’ and jurors’ deliberations in cases—the absence of corroborating evidence or testimony to substantiate a woman’s rape claim opens opportunities for rape myths and assumptions to take hold and dictate outcomes in ways that work to the detriment of female victims seeking justice in the legal system. Yet, the widespread use of social media and handheld communicative technologies and the practice of documenting one’s each and every action and sharing these posts, photos, and videos with peers and beyond produces evidence that may be used to substantiate women’s rape reports and challenge the “real” rape myth. The role of social media in rape investigations and prosecutions may go a long way toward challenging local “rape tolerance” by forcing actors in the criminal justice system to take action. At the reporting stage, social media evidence may prod law enforcement to investigate a claim and provide police officers with leverage when interviewing potential witnesses and suspects. In addition, prosecutors may be more likely to file charges and take a case to trial if they are able to submit social media discussions and depictions as evidence. Finally, at trial, social media evidence may be used in various ways to persuade jurors that a rape occurred and the accused is guilty of a crime. At each phase of the criminal justice process, social media evidence may be utilized to challenge commonly held assumptions about what constitutes a “real” rape versus a “simple” rape as well as stereotypes about rape victims and their culpability in sexual assaults