When Olivia Melville posted a Tinder profile with some Drake lyrics in her bio, she never expected the fallout to be so dangerous or abusive.
When Tinder user Chris Hall swiped onto Melville’s profile, he took a screengrab posting it to Facebook with a derogatory caption:
The post was met with a series of disgusting, degrading and abusive comments – including messages with slut-shaming language, and threats of rape and violence against Melville.
The main protagonist, Zane Alchin, started threatening Olivia and her friends who tried to defend her against the cyber attack:
Images: Elite Daily
The attack, which happened in late August, motivated Melville to take a stand against cyber bullying and threats against women, and now months later, Alchin is being charged with using a “carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.”
The action comes after a group of women founded a victims support group ‘Sexual Violence Won’t Be Silenced’. The group aims to assist victims of cyber bullying convince law enforcements of the dangers of threats they experience online.
Having originally set up a petition against Alchin and his action, the 15,000 signatures on their petition has seen the man face a real life punishment for his online crime:
We would like to announce the person who allegedly made explicit rape threats to the core members of Sexual Violence Won…
Posted by Sexual Violence Won’t Be Silenced on Sunday, October 25, 2015
Sending a message to other victims of online trolls, the group added:
“The group acknowledges that it has taken a lot of campaigning and understand that not every person who experiences online violence has the time, resources or support network to start a campaign after being harassed. That’s why, regardless of the outcome of this legal case, SVWBS will continue to fight for better laws, training and education surrounding online harassment.”
Which is a pretty strong message to send to any trolls who think they can hide behind a screen…
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