Column
Fed-Up Teens Are Outing Their Rapists on TikTok
Social media may feel like some women’s only route to justice
Since Covid-19 hit, I’ve become a bit of a TikTok addict. The social media app offers entertaining, quick content that makes me feel connected to what young people are up to, an algorithm that’s proven remarkably mindful of my interests: dog videos, mom humor, and — of course — feminism.
It’s pretty heartening to watch a younger generation of women pick up the mantle of innovative activism and run with it. I’ve seen teens dancing to voicemails of their abusive ex-boyfriends as a way to raise awareness about red flags in dating, watched young women rapping about online abuse, and laughed as college clinic escorts superimposed pieces of broccoli onto anti-abortion protesters’ faces (trust me, it’s hilarious).
But there’s something else I’ve noticed lately, a trend not quite so widespread that it’s gained national attention, but one that could very well change how America deals with sexual assault.
Young women on TikTok are outing their alleged rapists.
Tired of schools that don’t take them seriously and a culture that often will still resort to victim-blaming, these women — some of them are still in high school — aren’t just…
