Online Shaming and the Power of Informal Justice

In recent years, survivors of sexual assault began disclosing identifying details of their alleged assailants, as part of sharing their stories online. The practice has been termed “online shaming.” Some survivors have used shaming in addition to reporting their cases to the police, and others have used it as an alternative action. This Article reveals, for the first time, how sexual assault survivors who participate in online discourse on sexual assault perceive the practice of shaming their alleged assailants online. <br><br>The Article relies on in-depth interviews with survivors who have shared their stories on Facebook to uncover both their justifications and objections to online shaming. According to survivors, online shaming serves to achieve not only personal and feminist objectives, such as undermining gender and social hierarchies and giving voice to survivors, but also some classic criminal justice-oriented goals, such as deterrence and incapacitation. Indeed, online shaming can outperform the criminal legal system in achieving these goals. At the same time, survivors stressed that the online channel has its own perils if victims use it to achieve informal justice. <br><br>The Article sheds light on the dynamics and tensions between two “competing” platforms of justice – the mainstream, formal one and the online, informal one – and suggests important lessons for the criminal legal system. Survivors need both the formal and informal channels to be open and accessible to make an informed choice between them according to their preferences, needs, and circumstances.