When Rape Goes Viral

Youth and Sexual Assault in the Digital Age

Anna Gjika

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9780520391031
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780520391055
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminal Law
• Index: Social Sciences

Stories of teen sexting scandals, cyberbullying, and image-based sexual abuse have become commonplace fixtures of the digital age, with many adults struggling to identify ways to monitor young people's digital engagement. In When Rape Goes Viral, Anna Gjika argues that rather than focusing on surveillance, we should examine such incidents for what they tell us about youth peer cultures and the gender norms and sexual ethics governing their interactions. Drawing from interviews with teens and high-profile cases of mediated juvenile sexual assault, Gjika exposes the deeply unequal and heteronormative power dynamics informing teens' intimate relationships and online practices, and she critically interrogates the role of digital cultures and broader social values in sanctioning abuse. The book also explores the consequences of social media and digital evidence for young victim-survivors and perpetrators of sexual assault, detailing the paradoxical capacities of technology for social and legal responses to gender-based violence.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Understanding the Youth, Identity, and Technology Nexus
• 2. Missing Cultures of Consent: Gender Inequality, Digital Commodification, and Youth Ethics
• 3. A Gold Mine of Information? The Digital Trail in Sex Crimes
• 4. Navigating Justice: Young Survivors and the Harms of Image-Based Sexual Abuse
• 5. Beyond the Law: Sexual Violence and Justice Practices in Digital Spaces
• 6. Toward Harm Reduction and Prevention
• Conclusion
• Appendix: Methods
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index