Feelings of powerlessness and guilt are often byproducts of rape, mental health experts say.
Those feelings can linger — and when social media is added to the equation, victims may feel even more helpless.
If photographic or video evidence of a sex crime makes it onto social media, there’s one common denominator, said Athens City Councilwoman Michele Papai, a licensed child and adolescent outpatient therapist at Hopewell Health Centers.
“It minimizes the humanity,” Papai said. “It objectifies a situation that shouldn’t be objectified.”
The response on social media to the alleged rape on Court Street in the early morning hours of Oct. 12 is strikingly similar to the Steubenville rape case that took place last year, said Ohio University graduate student Holly Ningard, who is writing her master’s thesis in criminology on the Steubenville case.
“I think the biggest problem people see is how students are reacting…and that’s a lot like Steubenville,” Ningard said. “I see the same similarities and the same things being tweeted, in terms of getting too drunk and not being able to take control of themselves.”
When these types of messages are posted to social media, Ningard said, rape victims often can be discouraged from following charges through.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle had previously told The Post he saw some similarities between the two cases, but added that each one should be judged by its own circumstances.
Ningard said she’s worried these attacks could affect the Court Street rape victim’s motivation to work with police.
“When you have a case like this… you basically are on the chopping block on social media,” she said. “Just from response I’ve seen… there is a lot of name-calling and a lot of blaming falling on somebody.”
A key factor in rape recovery falls on the shoulders of a victim’s support system, Papai said.
Though Papai said she thinks OU has effective infrastructure in place to support rape victims, she also thinks the initial response on social media may only enhance the psychological problems the victim will face.
Christine Gidycz, OU professor of psychology, agreed.
“I think it would likely compound the feelings of shock, anxiety, confusion, and distrust that can occur after an assault,” Gidycz said in an email.
Research suggests the inaction by some 30 bystanders on Court Street may not be out of the realm of psychological understanding.
“There’s research to suggest that in such scenarios it is not that people feel comfortable in such situations or believe that everything is all right, they are just looking to others to ‘make the first move’ and help,” Gidycz said.
Still, despite the failure of bystanders to intervene, instead taking to Twitter and Instagram, Papai, whose son, Will Drabold, is the assistant campus editor for The Post, said she’s not convinced the incident is indicative of a rape culture at OU or in Athens.
“I think that’s a very loaded term,” Papai said. “Everybody for the most part cares about the students and nobody would like to see that happen to a student.”
sh335311@ohio.edu
@SamuelHHoward
