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 hope this will provide some measure of comfort to family members.". This happened in the 80s before there were cell phones. The Canadian police only reopened the case following her death and were able to convict two boys of making and distributing child pornography. The underlying reasons for it - the drugs, the sex, the bullying, whatever she might've had going on before the party in question - are much larger than any one individual. [19] Among the 13 recommendations[20] made by the authors were: The report traced Parson's history through the school system. The girl we couldn't names attacker whom we also can't name as he is also underage to be sentenced today for not being the dead kid in a picture we can't show you. Thank you for sharing and thank you for staying strong for Rehtaeh spreading the word on cyber bullying, getting laws changed, providing resources for the sexually abused, and much much more. [26], Parsons' suicide and the circumstances surrounding it have been compared to those of British Columbian Amanda Todd[26][31] and with Audrie Pott, a fifteen-year-old girl from Saratoga, California, United States, and appear to show similar characteristics. Their names can't be legally published in Canada. This issue is so problematic in a multitude of ways. Following the sentencing, members of Halifax anonymous wearing Guy Fawkes masks yelled at the young man's supporters as they left the courthouse. There was shots and just being a 15 year old that wanted to be liked and cool I drank. [7] Likewise, there were no arrests for the March 2013 stabbing incident. The report said the Parsons family faced challenges when they turned to Nova Scotia's mental health system for help. Two years earlier, when Rehtaeh was just 15 years old, she told her mother that four teenage boys had raped her while she was drunk on vodka and passed her around at a small house party in. 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. And this was how the notorious picture of Rehtaeh Parsons naked from the waist down, hanging out a window after she'd thrown up, unaware that the half-naked boy behind her was looking over his. (The young man who posed for the photo was also underage at the time. 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 died shortly after. Her parents lobbied NS Justice Minister Lena Diab to lift the ban so her story could be publicized. "[24] Segal found that it was "important that either police or school authorities" speak to the students. Other photos offer a further. "Where's the consent? Her parents took her off life support three days later. When Rehtaeh Parsons died following a suicide attempt, a national conversation was sparked on how people address sexual assault and consent. In November 2014, the Halifax Chronicle Herald violated the ban by publishing the name and photo of Parsons on its front page and online; the story was accompanied by an editor's note, stating: "We've decided to publish the name of the victim in this story, despite a court-ordered ban. Between those two extremes of extraordinary violence, Rehtaeh lived as a perpetual victimof her rapists, who took a photograph of that night and made sure it spread virally among her classmates, and the Canadian Mounted Police, who never filed a single charge in the case., UPDATE: How schools and police failed Rehtaeh Parsons. Please try again later. Today, Rehtaeh's mother Leah Parsons said she was relieved the ban was lifted. These images reclaim power over the female body. Rehtaeh Parsons Pictures, Images and Stock Photos View rehtaeh parsons videos Browse 32 rehtaeh parsons stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The photo shows Parsons and the 17-year-old both naked from the waist down, with him pressed against her. "The public had the right to know who the creeps are amongst 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'm not going to go on about all the struggles I now have to endure just to make it through the day. 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. She's gone," Glen Canning said. She has a keen interest in WikiLeaks and web culture, and her bylines have appeared in Salon, Vanity Fair, Serious Eats, and elsewhere. She later locked herself in a bathroom and attempted suicide. Funny you asked. Rehtaeh Parsons was raped by four boys at a party. [9] "[28], There are reports that members of the hacker group Anonymous involved itself in tracing the alleged perpetrators of the incidents Parsons suffered. We believe it's in the public interest in this unique case, given the widespread recognition of [her] name, and given the good that can come, and has already come, from free public debate over sexual consent and the other elements of her story." Her parents said she was sexually assaulted when she was 15 years old and then bullied relentlessly for more than a year. "I don't sit here as a parent and say he's perfect," she told Blatchford. Where's the rape charge? Rehtaeh quickly became intoxicated and was left behind in a home with four males. "He's not. One of the three boys, who was a friend of Parsons, was stabbed and treated for a "non-life-threatening injury". [6] The teenagers were drinking vodka at a small party. In a heartbreaking victim impact statement delivered during his Thursday sentencing, Rehtaeh's mother Leah told the teennow a manhow much she'd lost with her daughter's death, and chided him for not bothering to learn what a beautiful and generous person she was: I know that Rehtaeh did nothing to deserve that type of treatment. Thank you for your message. Shunned by almost everyone she knew, Rehtaeh was forced to move away and attend a new school. Previously, the team had withheld the names at the request of Leah Parsons until after the funeral. Afterwards, many in school called Parsons a "slut" and she received text messages and Facebook messages from people requesting to have sex with her. "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. ", "She didn't get to see any of those goals listed and she never will," Leah added. The young man cried when he first heard Rehtaeh died. Anonymous knows who the suspects are, but its staying silent out of respector Leah Parsonss wish that the boys not be publicly named. This inquiry, which was requested by the Dexter government in August 2013 and released on October 8, 2015, during the government of Stephen McNeil, was performed by Murray Segal, a former chief prosecutor in Ontario. Only a year later, the police concluded their investigation stating that there was insufficient evidence despite a viral photograph of Rehtaeh with her rapists. Despite the darkness and the cruelty of this situation, there are positive things happening that I believe have been inspired by the way we treat women who fall victim to online predators. Canadian media cannot refer to Parsons or the man by name because . April 7 - Rehtaeh Parsons is taken off life support and dies three days after she tried to kill herself following an alleged sexual assault by four boys at a party in November 2011. "It was all mutual. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. Through the eyes of her parents, this film re-examines these alarming events, which ultimately led to Rehtaeh's suicide. Kevin Morris is a veteran web reporter and editor who specializes in longform journalism. Parsons' parents have called it rape. ", Listing mitigating factors in the case, his lawyer said the man became well known after Anonymous activists in Halifax publicized his name. Did you know that the day she was born she changed my life for the better? I left her house that night and walked to a friends house. ), "Obviously, if I felt like if she didn't want it, it wouldn't have happened," the teen told the paper. Our Angel, born December 9th, 1995. and Tragically passed away on April 7th, 2013 Three years ago in British Columbia, another teenage girl was gang-raped. We consider a womans sexuality so linked to her physicality that for a woman to appear naked publicly is automatically an act of sex and not for herself My prerogative was to share the stories and plight of women just like you or me. [21], Significantly, the authors recommended an external review of the IWK Health Centre, the Halifax hospital where she was a patient for five weeks after she had a breakdown and became suicidal. Would you trust your family members to be around him in a public spot? This has never been about solely highlighting the alleged abusers. The consequences of these actions are severe. The authors met with 111 people, including school board staff, Ministerial staff, school staff, youth, police, health-care workers and others. Rehtaeh Parsons, 17, died just days after a suicide attempt that followed years of cyberbullying after she was allegedly gang-raped at a party. She was 17 when she died. Oregon Tea Party raid. "Humans make mistakes," said the young man, who turned 20 yesterday. Education Minister Karen Casey said one week after the report's release that "each of the provinces school boards has its own protocol when it comes to dealing with police investigations on school property."[24]. There's a part in the movie when Babe knocks over a goldfish bowl and the fish falls onto the floor and starts flopping around. Instead, the police called it a "he said, she said" case and also decided the photo was not criminal, in spite of Parsons being a minor. "We are curious and we've been wondering for three years now what are in those reports and what are the reasons that nothing was done when it should have been done and why no sexual assault charges. Instead, today a judge sentenced the man to 12 months probation. 04/11/13 AT 12:22 PM. Her . [8] The story drew international attention and sparked outrage on the Internet, with CBC reporting the phrase "Nova Scotia" was "trending on Twitter worldwide. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. [22] Segal made 17 recommendations, and found the system "failed" on just about every level; a series of improvements to policies, procedures and actions relating to cyberbullying, sexual violence, investigations and prosecutions was contained in the report,[23] but significantly Segal wrote that it was reasonable of the Crown Prosecutor's office to conclude there was no realistic prospect that sexual assault charges would result in conviction, and thus "the decision not to lay charges of sexual assault was understandable. In December, Diab removed the ban on the condition that Rehtaeh's name is respected. Really? She made my life complete. She checked herself into a hospital for six weeks as she struggled to cope with the fallout from the attack. [7], According to an RCMP report, in March 2013, six boys, including some of Parsons' alleged rapists, had an argument with three other boys. [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. Her mother was forced to make the painful decision to remove her from life support, thus saving four others lives. She was just 17 when she hanged herself in the bathroom of the familys home in Nova Scotia. 27 / Intimate Images and Cyber-protection Act, "Halifax police investigating violation of publication ban", "Rehtaeh Parsons' name can be published again unless it's derogatory", Rehtaeh Parsons (December 9, 1995 April 7, 2013), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Suicide_of_Rehtaeh_Parsons&oldid=1127364187. She would be haunted by that photograph and what it meant until her last breath. If theres anything indicative of 21st-century fears of young women, perhaps it is the fear of having your most intimate photographs and videos strewn across the internet. 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. The administrator of a website that used photos of Rehtaeh Parsons to advertise online dating is apologizing and has taken down his website, saying the use of the girl's image was a mistake . What we dont want to do is just drop names and start a witch hunt. Noting that her name and photo had been widely disseminated prior to the trial, both the victim's parents and the trial's judge objected to the ban. Parsons had little memory of the event, except that, at one point, she vomited while a boy was allegedly raping her. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. [17], On June 14, 2013, the 56-page report of Penny Milton and Debra Pepler, two education experts from Ontario, was released. The stigmatization of womens bodies? Their names can't be legally published in Canada. This is the place to engage on all things Canada. Holten is right when she says that rape and sex have nothing to do with one another. Rehtaeh Anne Parsons was born to Leah Parsons and Glen Canning on December 9, 1995, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There was an error trying to send your message. Tell me a teenager who hasn't. 2023 Miss Millennia Magazine Privacy Policy Splendor Theme by Restored 316, The pictures are an attempt at making me a sexual subject instead of an object. You certainly should have, the judge said, but you should have been crying while she was alive.. We seek to illustrate that the bullying of Rehtaeh in her immediate community continues on, even after her death. A vicious campaign of cyber bullying ensues that drives an innocent girl to take desperate action. I can assure you we had the names of the alleged rapists within hours of the story going live, he said: Unfortunately a few short-sighted Anons have rushed to release names (almost every dox Ive seen has incorrect names). Rehtaehs family took her off life support on Sunday, April 7. The policenever seized any of the boys phones, computers, or hard drives. [19] School boards need to share more information when kids transfer schools, as Parsons did to escape harassment. She read a list of goals that Rehtaeh had penned in a journal: learn to drive, make new friends, "plan for the rest of my life." The conclusion to Leah Parsonss Facebook post is heartbreaking. Despite these convictions,it is still not enough. Their beloved daughter left this world on April 7, 2013, at the age of 17. "I just want to say how pleased we are that progress has been made. We want to make sure you are financially fit, healthy and making excellent life decisions. I will say that I always believed Rehtaeh would make an imprint on this world. Nous parlons en anglais et en franais. I blamed myself for years. You probably knew nothing about her whatsoever. He told the man in court, according to CBC News: This was a vile crime, the consequences were tragic; they were the worst possible., He added that the photo was a gross violation of the personal integrity of Parsons and that the man had shown utter contempt for her by using her in her vulnerable state as no more than a prop for his enjoyment.. The group was a gathering place for those who supported the boys rather than Rehtaeh. The ban remains technically in place but unbiased reports about the case will not be subject to prosecution. 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. Perhaps we should consider a disclaimer. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. Rehtaeh Parsons, a 15 year old student from Nova Scotia, was raped by four schoolboys while drunk at a sleepover. The man said that he did not expect the photo to be shared among people. How could the police press no charges in a case where obvious child pornography spread virally across an entire high school? She was an amazing artist. Update:2 arrests made in Rehtaeh Parsons rape case. 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. "You lit the wildfire, so to speak, and it got completely out of control," judge Lenehan said to the man who appeared in the photo. 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. [18][19][20] The provincial government of Darrell Dexter requested the report, which is entitled "External Review of the Halifax Regional School Boards Support of Rehtaeh Parsons". Not simply because strangers, friends, and family alike would see you nude, but because of the judgment of these victims. This article originally appeared on VICE Canada. On April 4, 2013, Rehtaeh Parsons ( / rte /, r-TAY-; [1] December 9, 1995 - April 7, 2013), a 17-year-old student at Cole Harbor District High School, attempted suicide by hanging herself [2] at her home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, leading to a coma and decision to shut down medical support machinery on April 7, 2013 . Six years after Rehtaeh's death her life and struggle is still making a difference in peoples lives. If only her rapists were found guilty immediately following her assault and she had the chance to move on with her life and recover from the trauma of her assault. 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. She was a straight-A student. I hope we will be able to see this documentary! In 2011, 15-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons attended a party with a handful of friends. It has been sent. Victims also can seek a protection order that could place restrictions on or help identify the cyberbully. Earlier in the day, Rehtaeh's parents said news of the arrests brought them some solace, though the girl's father expressed disappointment that his daughter never saw justice served.
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