A rape survivor hit out after she was targeted by an online troll who claimed she “should consider herself lucky”.
The attack came hours after justice reformer Ellie Wilson launched a campaign with fellow survivor Hannah McLaughlan calling for better rights for victims during the parole process.
Ellie, 27, said she was sent a direct message to her Instagram account following the media attention from a user called sajm354, who wrote: “Considering you have a fat nose, you should consider yourself lucky to be r@**d.”
Ellie said the derogatory slander is just the tip of the iceberg of regular trolling she receives on her social media platforms. Last month, a user on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted that they had a leaked sex tape of Ellie with her attacker and shared a photo alluding to her identity. It was followed by a poll asking, “Should I post Ellie Wilson’s sex tape?” with 40 users casting votes.
“At times, it makes me question whether it’s worth speaking out, but ultimately I know my voice is too important,” Ellie told the Record.
“This type of comment is all too common, unfortunately. It looks like a fake account that’s been set up specifically to troll me. I haven’t even reported it because I’ve done this so many times before for similar comments, and they are deemed as acceptable to s ocial media giants.
“The only intention of these trolls is to shame women so they will be silenced.”
Ms Wilson’s ex-boyfriend, former medical student Daniel McFarlane, was convicted of raping her twice between December 2017 and February 2018. He was jailed for five years in July 2022 after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
She will find out today, December 1, whether her attacker will be released from prison.
Ellie called for urgent reform of the system on Monday, describing it as deeply flawed and saying victims were treated as an “afterthought.” The campaign is asking for victims to be given the right to attend oral parole hearings, for parole decisions to rely heavily on whether an offender has denied guilt, and for clear explanations of victims’ rights during the parole process.
Ellie continued: “I received this disgusting message on Monday morning, probably just a little while after the campaign was launched in the media and that’s the way they’ve decided to respond.
“A lot of men making comments like have been tracked to extreme communities in the past, and some have been in incel communities, where they talk about how ‘rapable’ women are. It’s all ideological.
“I think I have become desensitised because it happens so often, but it’s also so depressing. The comments are so disturbing that it not only makes me scared for myself but women in general.
“These trolls don’t want women speaking out.
“Women who choose to speak out about sexual assault are trolled so much that they are silenced by intimidation. That’s not freedom of speech.”
It comes as the latest criminal proceeding statistics revealed convictions for non-sexual crimes of violence rose by 23%, and sexual crimes increased by 10%.
The number of convictions for rape and attempted rape increased by 17% from 160 in 2021-22 to 187 in 2022-23.
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