Jada's Sexual Assault Case

Overview

Jada’s Sexual Assault Case refers to the recorded sexual assault of a 16-year-old Texas resident in June 2014. After footage of the assault began circulating via social media, the disturbing photo fad “#jadapose” was launched in which participants mimicked pictures of the victim’s unconscious body.

Background

On July 8th, 2014, a 16-year-old identifying herself as Jada came forward to the Houston news station KHOU^[4] after discovering images of herself naked and unconscious being shared by her peers via social media. Jada claimed the attack occurred at a party she attended one month prior and that she believed she had been drugged as she had no recollection of the events.

Notable Developments

Alleged Rapist’s Response

The same day, Jada’s accused rapist Innel Yahia posted several tweets defending himself and mocking his accuser (shown below). As of July 10th, 2014, the Twitter account has been removed.

#Jadapose

After images of her assault began circulating via social media, Twitter users began posting disturbing photos of themselves mimicking Jada’s photographed position with the hashtag #jadapose^[2] (shown below).

On July 10th, feminist activist and YouTuber Laci Green posted a graphic on her Facebook^[1] page condemning those who were mocking the alleged assault. In the first two hours, the post gained over 20,200 likes and 450 comments (shown below).

Meanwhile, other Twitter users began posting tweets in support of Jada with the hashtag “#jadacounterpose,” some of which included photographs of people holding signs with messages speaking out against rape culture (shown below).

News Media Coverage

In the coming days, several news sites reported on the assault and subsequent online reaction, including Slate,^[5] The Washington Post,^[6] The Huffington Post,^[7] Think Progress,^[8] The Daily Mail,^[9] The Blaze^[10] and The Root.^[11]