Millions-Strong Online Rape Academies Are Here, And No One Is Talking About Them

Since the 26th March report exposing what CNN describes as a 'global rape academy', I’ve been patiently waiting for the British media to give serious attention to such a harrowing investigation, particularly given the broader context. Gisèle Pelicot’s recent court victory is still fresh in public memory, as she successfully brought a case against her former husband who raped and abused her. His despicable actions were facilitated by online communities. But Pelicot's case also made clear that such horrifying stories are not isolated acts of abuse. Rather, they are part of a broader pattern in which online spaces enable and normalise extreme sexual violence. CNN's new investigation reminds us that Pelicot's was not an isolated case, and proves that the systematic abuse of women is still facilitated online. But as Canary has acknowledged, nobody is paying attention. 

This silence on what should surely be perceived as a crisis sits uneasily aside the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy, which commits to halving VAWG over the next decade. Although there has been some loose engagement with the investigation in Parliament, with Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws asking how platforms should deal with illegal sexual harm communities, the government’s response has merely pointed to the Online Safety Act and Ofcom’s statutory codes. Using policy that clearly has not been implemented, or indeed been effective, as a response to the vile descriptions of systematic abuse revealed in the investigation, is careless at best. The frameworks of the Online Safety Act are still in the process of implementation, and have evidently not delivered meaningful change.

Indeed, updated statistics on the VAWG emergency are difficult to reconcile with claims of progress. The CNN investigation revealed that in England and Wales, 43% of recorded sexual assaults involve a partner or ex-partner (only a small decrease from 45% five years prior), and the proportion of victims assaulted while unconscious or asleep has risen from 21% to 23% over the past decade. At this rate, these figures suggest that the government's aim to halve VAWG in the next decade is unlikely to be met. 

Government policy, of course, takes time to imbed. But VAWG has been declared a national emergency by police chiefs. The question is thus why it is not being treated with corresponding urgency by the government and the media. There has been more energy spent bickering over the report's figures than on engaging seriously with what the investigation describes. The explanation of 'eyecheck' content, for example - the vile practice of proving a woman is unconscious - is deeply disturbing regardless of numbers. But the revelation that videos of this type have been viewed over 50,000 times is nothing short of sickening. The contested '62 million' figure refers to site visits rather than engagement with specific abusive content, but such a distinction does nothing to undo the other horrific findings of the report. 

Against this backdrop of radio silence, I find myself, as many of my female friends are, enraged and terrified. We already don’t feel safe on the streets. Again, we find ourselves looking at men on the tube, in restaurants, in the gym, wondering what they have been exposed to. What do they think is normal, or acceptable? What spaces do they move through online that we will never see? CNN's investigation may have attracted little reaction by popular media outlets, but for women, it is yet another reminder that we are not safe. The VAWG strategy's declaration of emergency is fading into oblivion, and we find ourselves asking yet again whether there is any regulation that can truly keep women safe. No political party has responded to this problem with conviction, and it is beyond disappointing to see how little our government has chosen to engage with CNN's investigation in light of its proclaimed commitment to protecting women and girls.

Image: Flickr/Prachatai

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