We the Judge and Jury – Chronicles of Canada Slim

Adult film star Stoya accused her former boyfriend and fellow porn actor James Deen of rape in a series of tweets posted to her account the weekend of 21-22 November.

On Saturday afternoon, 21 November, she tweeted:

“That thing where you log in to the Internet for a second and see people idolizing the guy who raped you as a feminist.

That thing sucks.”

“James Deen held me down and f—-d me while I said, ” No, stop”, used my safeword.

I just can’t nod and smile when people bring him up anymore.”

The Internet swiftly reacted to the very public allegations against the golden boy of smut, who has been framed as a Ryan Gosling-esque “hero of feminist porn.”

But amid the expected, tired social media vitriol against sex workers and the perpetuation of the farcical notion that they can’t be raped, social media lit up in support of Stoya.

A hashtag, #SolidarityWithStoya, has emerged with people pledging their support to the adult actress, sharing their own experiences with abusers and shutting down myths about sexual assault.

Stoya hasn’t posted any further statement on social media and could not be reached for comment.

Deen released a statement on Instagram and Twitter Sunday evening calling the allegations “false and defamatory.”

“I respect women and I know and respect limits both professionally and privately,” he said.

The support for Stoya has extended beyond social media.

Amelia McDonell-Parry, the editor-in-chief of the women’s website The Frisky, said she would immediately stop publishing a series of sex advice columns from Deen.

“I very much liked James Deen.

I enjoyed working with him,” McDonell-Parry wrote.

“I asked him to do an advice column because I liked his directness and his confidence, but most of all, I liked his emphasis on communication, honesty and, most of all, CONSENT.”

McDonell-Parry also addressed the difficulty survivors of rape face when trying to “prove” that an assault took place — especially when an accuser also happens to be a sex worker:

“As is the case with the vast majority of rape accusations, especially between intimate partners, Stoya’s story of being raped by James Deen is very likely the only “evidence”…

The court of public opinion is not a court of law and I don’t need Stoya or any woman to “prove” that she has been raped for me to believe her.

Women who come out as rape victims are far, far, far too often not believed.”

Stoya herself wrote an article for Vice in 2013 about the burden sex workers face sharing their stories with a public that holds inherent biases against an industry they privately love but publicly scorn.

“Precision in reporting and firsthand accounts from sex workers are both necessary to create an authentic picture of sex work and the people who do it,” she wrote.

In 2015, rape remains one of the most underreported crimes and false reports of sexual assault come out as rape victims are far, far, far too often not believed.

“Victims are put on trial themselves, with everything they’ve ever said/done/worn suddenly under scrutiny as possible ‘evidence’ that they are lying or that they asked for it,” McDonell-Parry wrote.

“I believe women.

Period.”

Assuring women they are believed is exactly the message the #SolidarityWithStoya hashtag hopes to get across.

As Laurie Penny tweeted:

“The tide is turning.

Women are no longer prepared to be silent about powerful men in their industry who are abusers.”

Something is off with this story.

Maybe Ms. Stoya was raped.

No one should be forced into sex, regardless of their profession, gender or promiscuity.

But when accusing someone of such of a crime, is tweeting the right way to do it?

She is accusing him in public.

The public is now acting as judge and jury.

The court of public opinion is not a court of law.

There is a need for Stoya to prove that she had been raped for her to be believed.

I agree that a victim should receive sympathy and compassion.

What about the idea that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty?

What is in her mind that she has chosen this method of seeking justice?

Is it because she feels her profession will deny her justice in a court of law?

Is she seeking publicity to expose a criminal or to enhance her name recognition?

I truly hope it is the former.

It takes an amazing amount of courage to report sexual violence.

I truly sympathise with Stoya if she is telling the truth.

I wish we did not live in a world where women live in fear and act on the side of caution.

Far far too often women are attacked by men they believed they could trust.

Far far too many men have never learned how to respect women and treat them in an equal loving way.

Am I the only one frightened by the notion that anyone can tweet anything about anyone else and be judged by the world?

Just as pain, insecurity and limitless fear remain with the victim of sexual violence, so does the scandal remain attached to both the attacked as well as the attacker.

Too often the victim of rape is judged inappropriately, as if making the accusation is judged as being as reprehensible as commiting the crime of rape itself.

It takes an amazing amount of courage to report sexual violence.

If Deen is a rapist then he needs to be prevented from raping anyone else again.

Rape is one hell of a thing to be accused of.

The infamy will remain with Deen for the rest of his days.

Whether he is guilty or not.

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