Editor’s note: This post contains tweets that some may find offensive.
Social media can be a lot of things: entertaining, educating and thought provoking. But it can also be traumatizing, especially if you’re a 16-year-old girl whose alleged rape has now gone viral.
Jada, 16, of Houston, says she thought the invite to a house party was harmless. Her friend knew the person throwing the party, so she decided to attend. But what the teen alleges happened at the party wasn’t so harmless. Jada told Houston’s KHOU that she was given a drink that ultimately knocked her out. And that’s when the alleged rape took place.
“I had no control,” said Jada. "I didn’t tell anyone to take my clothes off and do what they did to me.”
Jada told the news station that she didn’t know what happened until photos started popping up on social media. Photos that included images of her fully clothed on a bed passed out and then lying naked on the floor, still passed out.
Kids have been sharing the photos and shaming Jada for what happened that night. Currently, Houston police are investigating her claims. KHOU says it normally doesn’t identify rape victims, but Jada wanted her story to be told.
“There's no point in hiding,” she said. “Everybody has already seen my face and my body, but that’s not what I am and who I am.”
Outside of Jada’s story, there’s also the story of the alleged rapist, Innel Yahia, who has proclaimed his innocence on social media, as well as joked about his recent arrest:
https://twitter.com/WhiteboyLaflare/status/486708235412316160https://twitter.com/WhiteboyLaflare/status/486771830179393536https://twitter.com/WhiteboyLaflare/status/486722189085782016
Not only has he bragged about not raping the young girl, but his “supporters” have made light of the situation:
https://twitter.com/lowkeyitsmoe/status/486707671286833152https://twitter.com/southbank_taee/status/486715824443387904https://twitter.com/WhiteboyLaflare/status/486920409476919296
Friends of the alleged rapist have posted photos from the night of the party, and no one seems to realize that they’re adding fuel to the rape story and are now distributing what could be considered child pornography.
Social media has a way of highlighting tons of positivity and humor, but then there are instances like this where the ills of society and the teenagers who partake in it don’t leave much hope for the future.
Yesha Callahan is editor of The Grapevine and a staff writer at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.