The Snitch Factor: The Harms Associated With Reporting Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence in Secondary Schools

• In Event: Listening to Youth Voices in Research, Education, and Social Action

Abstract

As part of a larger study examining teacher, administrator, and youth perspectives on technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) in Ontario's secondary schools, this article focuses specifically on student voices. Utilizing feminist critical discourse analysis, we analyzed semi-structured interviews with sixteen young people aged 18-21. When asked about barriers to accessing help in response to TFSV, young people spoke to the 'the snitch factor,' encompassing four sub-discourses: snitch as next target of TFSV, snitching as futile, snitch as troublemaker, and snitch as complicit in harm. Findings reveal that for both victims and bystanders, the snitch factor is a meaningful barrier to seeking help and often leads to further gendered and racial harm, contributing to spaces that encourage silence rather than prosocial intervention.

Author

• Salsabel Almanssori, University of Windsor