Facebook has been accused of promoting rape and “rape culture” by British and American women’s rights activists.
The claims came after the social networking site refused to remove pages featuring jokes and apparent confessions of sexual assault posted by users.
More than 3,600 people in the UK and 175,000 in the US have signed the petition titled “demand Facebook remove pages that promote sexual violence” set up on US website change.org, to get sites like “You know she’s playing hard to get when you’re chasing her down an alley” removed.
“Facebook’s own Terms of Service prohibit content that is ‘hateful, threatening’, or contains ‘graphic or gratuitous violence’,” the Daily Mail quoted the petition as saying.
“Moreover, users are specifically barred from posting content that aims to ‘bully, intimidate, or harass’ any user.
“Facebook needs to clarify that pages that encourage or condone rape - like the ones mentioned - are in violation of their existing standards,” it stated.
According to the Guardian, campaigners, who have raised their voice again such site, claim that they found such pages disturbing.
“This is hate speech, I find it very disturbing that Facebook don’t appear to see the connection between pages such as this and the prevailing rape culture we have in our society,” Jane Osmond, who campaigned on behalf of the UK petition, added.
