[7] Likewise, there were no arrests for the March 2013 stabbing incident. The RCMP are playing deaf and dumb with informing the public of the information they have in the case, our source continued. Consent is key. Sat, Apr 13: Family and friends gathered together for Rehtaeh Parsons' funeral today. Their lives took a terrible turn in November 2011 when Rahtaeh attended a party with a few friends. The authors met with 111 people, including school board staff, Ministerial staff, school staff, youth, police, health-care workers and others. She was transferred from Cole Harbour District High School, to Dartmouth High School, to Prince Andrew High School to Citadel High School. No, you would not know these things because you never took the time to view her as a person. "You should have been crying when she was alive," the judge told him. Rehtaeh's death has been compared to similar cases in the United States, including 15-year-old California girl Audrie Pott, who hanged herself after her family says she was sexually assaulted by friends and a photo surfaced online. She's gone," Glen Canning said. You need to have a number of people holding [the government] to account and seeing what's actually done", said Dalhousie law professor Wayne MacKay. Until recently, Parsons's name was the subject of a publication ban as she was underage when the photo was taken, and thus it qualified as child pornography. Through the eyes of her parents, this film re-examines these alarming events, which ultimately led to Rehtaeh's suicide. The day after she discovered the photo, she formed a suicide plan and came close to putting it in effect, ex-plaining that she couldn't see another option. I thought she died. A Halifax court ruled on Thursday that no jail time or probation would be given to the young man responsible for the photo that led Rehtaeh Parsons to kill herself in April 2013. Press J to jump to the feed. Her . This article originally appeared on VICE Canada. Halifax police Chief Jean-Michel Blais said policed and prosecutors agreed the available evidence did not meet the threshold for sexual assault charges against the two. Justice is Blind: a slogan that is paraded through courthouses across the United States, a motto adopted by countries across the globe. Why ex Neighbours actress Caitlin Stasey launched feminist website Herself.com, Teenager commits suicide after photograph of her being gang-raped goes viral, Consent Is Key: A Victim of Revenge Porn Released Her Own Nude Photos. Despite these convictions,it is still not enough. Rehtaeh is gone today because of the four boys that thought that raping a 15 year old girl was OK and to distribute a photo to ruin her spirit and reputation would be fun. The boy I was set up with raped me. Rehtaeh Parsons was raped by four boys at a party. Theyve produced a series of shorts under the title Web Of Lies. She was just 17 when she hanged herself in the bathroom of the familys home in Nova Scotia. How do you give consent when you are vomiting out of a window? How can we undo the damage that has been done? [10] On April 12, the RCMP announced the case was being reopened in light of "new and credible information" that they said did not come from the Internet.[11]. Rehtaeh Parsons was a 14-year-old teenager in Nova Scotia who went to a party in November 2011, where she was allegedly gang-raped. Rehtaehs family took her off life support on Sunday, April 7. Her assailants documented her rape through photographs shared with classmates and posted on Instagram. He said the photo was a "gross violation of the personal integrity of Ms. Parsons" and that the man had showed "utter contempt for Ms. Parsons," saying she was "no more than a . We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, applauded the progress in the case and said Rehtaeh's death was a terrible tragedy that touched people across Canada. "I am truly sorry. At the time of the incident, the parents were with different partners but equally involved with her upbringing. Despite the fact that some people have criticized her decision. Fed up with the abuse that continues on and offline against a dead rape victim and her family, hacker collective Anonymous decided the law wasnt working fast enough. In November 2011, Rehtaeh Parsons, then 15, allegedly went with a friend to a home in which she was reportedly raped by four teenage boys. She loved animals. When gang-rape victim Rehtaeh Parsons hanged herself April 5, she saw nothing ahead for herself but a future of accumulating pain. "I just want to say how pleased we are that progress has been made. Police in Canada have charged two young men with distributing child pornography in the cyberbullying case of Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old who killed herself after a photo of her allegedly being raped was shared online. involving young people in advisory roles; ensuring that students help develop policies that affect them; clarifying the process for transferring students between schools; removing barriers between government bodies that serve students and their families; stronger anti-bullying and anti-sexual aggression policies in schools; restorative justice to help students "learn from their mistakes"; more young people in government advisory roles; a curriculum that includes "intellectual, ethical, social-emotional, and physical development for all students"; schools should ensure harassment allegations are thoroughly investigated and perpetrators punished. When Rehtaeh Parsons died following a suicide attempt, a national conversation was sparked on how people address sexual assault and consent. I am not ashamed of my body, but it is mine. Following the sentencing, members of Halifax anonymous wearing Guy Fawkes masks yelled at the young man's supporters as they left the courthouse. The RCMP have a history of dragging their feet in cases of teen sexual abuse. "Her voice was not heard when she struggled to be heard, but it sure is now," Leah Parsons told the court during her victim impact statement. The teen in the photo was sentenced Thursday to one year of probation and ordered not to drink alcohol. [32][33] Parsons has been described as a "victim of sexting". Now that the court case is over, former Ontario chief prosecutor Murray Segal is free to conduct his independent review of how police handled Rehtaeh's case. Segal made it clear that Parsons' complaint of sexual assault and cyberbullying was mishandled, and as early as one day later there were calls to implement his recommendations. Holten has reclaimed the power that was stolen from her when her nudes were posted online. He admitted to sharing the picture of himself and the girl, that was taken during a small house party at his home in November 2011, and was given 12 months probation by a court in Nova Scotia. But they havent come out and said the reasoning for dropping the case originally. "Where's the consent? The boy's mother, meanwhile, insists that he's a good kid, although she doesn't understand "why kids are having sex at parties," she says. [35] In response, Parsons' father, Glen Canning, accused Blatchford of victim blaming and argued, "The two boys involved in taking and posing for the photograph stated Rehtaeh was throwing up when they had sex with her. "I was unable to console her as she crumbled emotionally after that photo was taken. Another 20-year-old man charged in the case, whose identity is also protected, was given a conditional discharge in November after he pleaded guilty to making child pornography by taking the photo of the accused. How could the police press no charges in a case where obvious child pornography spread virally across an entire high school? Other photos offer a further glimpse into her life. "This morning when I started to get ready, that was the first kind of big relief I felt off my shoulders," she said. Perhaps we should consider a disclaimer. "She's dead now. We are in essence doing what the RCMP should have done themselves, investigate the circumstance thoroughly. The end of this story could have been quite different. Then the slut-shaming, bullying and mental health challenges that are so often experienced by the victims of sexual assault followed her for more than 17 months leading to her eventual suicide. Six years after Rehtaehs death her life and struggle is still making a difference in peoples lives. According to Rehtaeh's mother, Leah Parsons, the Nova Scotia teenager went to a party in 2011, when she was 15, and became drunk on vodka. I am in tears over this. Depending on the direction the RCMP are going it could very well be them. Rehtaeh Parsons had her life support machine switched off after she attempted suicide following bullying over an explicit image taken against her will (Creative Commons) A man has walked free. I left her house that night and walked to a friends house. He told us that while the names of the boys themselves took no more than two hours, finding the actual proof, in terms of incriminating posts, messages, and photos, took a team of several people less than a week. I didnt tell him or anyone what happened until I was older. But she still called me a slut. The young man cried when he first heard Rehtaeh died. Try not to drop it this time., Screenshots via AnonPaste.me. (The young man who posed for the photo was also underage at the time. Her parents took her off life support three days later. A photo of her rape soon began circulating online. In response to Parsons' suicide, Nova Scotia enacted a law in August 2013 allowing victims to seek protection from cyberbullying and to sue the perpetrator. Rehtaeh Parsons' suicide caused outcry across North America (AP) Facebook has issued an apology after publishing a dating advertisement that used a picture of Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old. Never has the message been so powerful than Caitlin Staseys (ofReign)Herself,a feminist website that features not only nude photographs of women but also in-depth interviews with each participant. I cannot imagine going through what she did with the cyberbulling. Photographs of the attack, which took place at a rave, spread throughout social media. I wanted these women to be subjects, not objects. The policenever seized any of the boys phones, computers, or hard drives. A vicious campaign of cyber bullying ensues that drives an innocent girl to take desperate action. Blatchford calls that "a courageous challenge to the public narrative" around the case and calls the teen "brave." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan . Instead, today a judge sentenced the man to 12 months probation. In March, 21-year-old Dennis Warrington was finally sentenced to 18 months probation, but no jail time, for his role in distributing the pictures. Parsons had little memory of the event, except that, at one point, she vomited while a boy was allegedly raping her. Police in April said a person had provided new information in the Parsons case and was willing to identify the suspects. I blamed myself for years. The crime itself. "It was all mutual. In a memorial gallery the Parsons family posted to YouTube, you can see Rehtaeh holding her newborn sister in her arms, her mother smiling in the background. This has never been about solely highlighting the alleged abusers. Rehtaeh stood up for others, showed compassion to animals and people. I just never imagined it would be at such a young age and it would cost her her life.". Tell me a teenager who hasn't. The episode, The Girl in the Photo, was released yesterday in the United States and, going by the comments, emails, and Facebook posts Im receiving, it made quite an impact. [34], On April 26, 2013, Christie Blatchford wrote in the National Post that a problem in the case was that one of Parsons' friends claimed Parsons was "flirtatious" on the night the photo was taken, was seen laughing in bed with two boys and also there were "accounts from Rehtaeh herself and independent evidence, including retrieved online messages, that supported the suggestion the sex that took place was consensual."
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