As you read through this post, please keep one thing in mind. I think the fact that women are finding the courage to come forward about sexual violence and abuse is a good thing. However, the way that social media are piling on to alleged perpetrators is deeply disturbing.
Have you ever heard of Ched Evans? He is, or was, a professional soccer player in England. In 2012 he was convicted of rape and given a five-year sentence. With the usual time off for good behaviour, he served half the sentence and was released in October 2014. It's worth noting that to this day, he denies the crime, and indeed the conviction is being investigated by the authorities, who fear it may be "unsafe". Regardless of how that pans out, Evans was dealt with by the law and took the punishment that the law imposed.
Since his release, Evans has been trying to resume his playing career. However, any club that has been linked with him, even tentatively, has been subjected to campaigns of vilification in the media and even threats of violence. The most recent team contemplating hiring him, Oldham Athletic, has had to step back. For the social media lynch mob, it's not sufficient that he's done time for the crime; his entire life must be ruined. A separate set of internet trolls has been determinedly making the life of Evans's victim a misery, even though she has supposedly been granted anonymity.
Meanwhile, at the school of dentistry at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, there's a nasty little scandal over a sexist Facebook group run by some of the male students. Judging from the details that the media have seen fit to publish, the discussions among the group were nasty and tasteless, though arguably they're just Animal House-era sexism updated for the age of social media. There doesn't seem to be any prospect of criminal charges; being unpleasant and boorish is not a crime. However, the university is under tremendous pressure to throw the book at the students involved. A normal type of academic punishment, such as suspension for a term or a full year, is not seen as sufficient: there are demands that the names of the "guilty" be made public, so that regulatory boards across Canada can block them from ever practicing their profession. Proportionate punishment is not enough: these people's entire lives must be laid waste.
Staying here in Canada, former CBC radio journalist Jian Ghomeshi appeared in court today for the latest stage of proceedings against him relating to allegations that he engaged in violent, non-consensual sex with a series of women. The number of charges against him has now risen to six, all dating back several years. Ghomeshi intends to plead not guilty, but regardless of how the legal process eventually pans out, he has lost his job and has zero chance of ever working in Canada again: the court of public opinion, stirred up both by the traditional media and the internet, has spoken.
Three separate cases with three separate legal situations. Ched Evans: convicted, sentence served. Dalhousie students: nothing illegal has taken place. Jian Ghomeshi: awaiting trial, so still innocent in the eyes of the law. But they're all the same in the eyes of the self-appointed moralists hiding behind the anonymity that the internet allows. The heck with the justice system: there must be vengeance. There's nothing new about the lynch mob, of course, but its ability to wreak lasting harm on its chosen prey in the age of the internet is deeply disturbing to anyone who believes in justice.
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