Jada's Sexual Assault Case
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Part of a series on Cyberbullying. [View Related Entries]
Overview
Jada's Sexual Assault Case refers to the recorded sexual assault of a 16-year-old Texas resident in June 2014. After footage of the assault began circulating via social media, the disturbing photo fad "#jadapose" was launched in which participants mimicked pictures of the victim's unconscious body.
Background
On July 8th, 2014, a 16-year-old identifying herself as Jada came forward to the Houston news station KHOU[4] after discovering images of herself naked and unconscious being shared by her peers via social media. Jada claimed the attack occurred at a party she attended one month prior and that she believed she had been drugged as she had no recollection of the events.
Notable Developments
Alleged Rapist's Response
The same day, Jada's accused rapist Innel Yahia posted several tweets defending himself and mocking his accuser (shown below). As of July 10th, 2014, the Twitter account has been removed.
#Jadapose
After images of her assault began circulating via social media, Twitter users began posting disturbing photos of themselves mimicking Jada's photographed position with the hashtag #jadapose[2] (shown below).
On July 10th, feminist activist and YouTuber Laci Green posted a graphic on her Facebook[1] page condemning those who were mocking the alleged assault. In the first two hours, the post gained over 20,200 likes and 450 comments (shown below).
Meanwhile, other Twitter users began posting tweets in support of Jada with the hashtag "#jadacounterpose," some of which included photographs of people holding signs with messages speaking out against rape culture (shown below).
News Media Coverage
In the coming days, several news sites reported on the assault and subsequent online reaction, including Slate,[5] The Washington Post,[6] The Huffington Post,[7] Think Progress,[8] The Daily Mail,[9] The Blaze[10] and The Root.[11]
#IAMJada
On July 14th, 2014, MSNBC news program host Ronan Farrow tweeted[13] a photo of Jada holding a whiteboard sign which featured the hashtag #IAMJada after she appeared[12] on Ronan Daily. The tweet encouraged others to take pictures of themselves holding signs featuring the hashtag. Within 48 hours, the tweet gained over 500 retweets.
Within 48 hours the hashtag was tweeted out over 5,000 times, and the sign holding activism trend was covered on several websites including The Daily Dot and The Root.[15]
Search Interest
Not available.
External References
[1] Facebook – Official Laci Green
[3] Twitter – #jadacounterpose
[4] KHOU – 16 Year Old Girls Says Her Rape Went Viral
[5] Slate – The Double Edged Sword of Social Media
[6] The Washington Post – How a 16-year-old rape victim becomes an internet meme
[7] The Huffington Post – 160year0ikds alleged rape goes viral
[8] Think Progress – 16-year-olds rape goes viral
[9] The Daily Mail – Teen rape victim identifies herself in heartbreaking interview
[10] The Blaze – Rape victim courageouly does something that not even the tv station covering her story expected
[11] The Root – 16 Year old Says Her Rape Went Viral
[12] The Daily Dot- Cyberbullied rape victim fights back on Twitter with #IAmJada
[15] The Root-Social Media Stands in Solidarity With #IAMJADA
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