This past Sunday, a 17-year-old girl in Nova Scotia named Rehtaeh Parsons died after hanging herself two days earlier. Parsons' mother says her daughter committed suicide because she was raped—and subsequently bullied and ostracized—in 2011. No charges were ever brought against her rapists: The police said the case was a matter of "he said, she said," and the pictures taken did not qualify as child pornography.
Yesterday, Leah Parsons talked to the CBC radio about how the incident changed Rehtaeh, as well as her daughter's disappointment with the police after she turned to them:
"She said 'nobody gives, nobody gives, nobody cares.' And it just gave voice to the boys and everyone else who didn't believe she was raped. It validated them, and again, negated her."
After an outpouring of online outrage, the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), reports that hackers, claiming affiliation with the decentralized hacking group Anonymous, have threatened to disclose the names of the boys involved in the harassment. RCMP Corporal Scott MacRae:
"Anytime people are going to use social media to identify people that can be a concern for the police and the public. Social media is a form for people to express opinion, good and unfortunately bad. When people are going to use the social media world for harmful or potentially threats or criminal activity, police will certainly have to take a look and investigate. Right now we don't see anything on the social media so we'll have to basically make a determination if that does happen at that time."
After saying there would not be a review of the case, Justice Minister Ross Landry has changed his position and asked his department to present him with some options for a review. In a statement, he said:
"It's important that Nova Scotians have faith in the justice system and I am committed to exploring the mechanisms that exist to review the actions of all relevant authorities to ensure the system is always working to the best of its ability, in pursuit of justice."
[CBC Radio | Global News, image via image via Rehtaeh Parsons's Facebook Memorial Page]