Online viral sex tape: Lessons to be learnt

Joseph Veramu

Since writing this blog, local media has reported that two students involved in the recent sex video have been charged by Police. A 17yr old has been charged with 1 count of rape while another 17yr old has been charged with 1 count of rape and 1 count of trafficking of obscene publication. The matter has been adjourned to the 10th of January 2018. Comments on social media are in this vein, “Ridiculous...that was not rape nor assault....the gal looked like she was enjoying herself....anyone who saw the video can come to the conclusion that it was a mutual act on both sides...he wasnt forcing her nor raped her....from her actions it looked like she gave consent the whole time....why blame the boiz....the only wrong thing here was the upload of the video...she was even in school uniform...” Not correct.

The Crimes Act states that a person commits a summary offence (statutory rape) if he or she unlawfully and carnally knows or attempts to have unlawful carnal knowledge (sex) of any person being of or above the age of 13 years and under the age of 16 years. The maximum penalty for this offence is 10 years imprisonment. The Act also states that a person commits a summary offence if he or she, for the purpose of …distribution or public exhibition, makes, produces or has in his or her … tending to corrupt morals. The maximum penalty for this offence is 5 years imprisonment.

Before I proceed to discuss the video of two students having sex as a third friend filmed the proceedings I will discuss the context of social media in Fiji. A media report (8/10/2016) quoted statistics from Vodafone Fiji that there were 340,000 social media users – approximately 40 per cent of the total population. 300,000 Fijians are using social media through their mobile phones. The level of internet penetration will reach about half of Fiji’s population by early 2018. Some local universities use chat pages for study discussions and submission of assignments. Social media is also beneficial in terms of small and micro business transactions. Like any tech tool with positive features, there are also challenging aspects. 

Reading through social media posts, I gather that the two teenagers who were having sex while a third friend filmed the proceedings appeared to have tacit approval for the filming. The sex (usually referred to as a ‘quicky’ by active youths) was conservative and businesslike in its execution and appeared to take place within a school’s sick bay area. From chat posts, the lovers and the filmmakers carried on a light banter amongst themselves and with the boy filming as the act proceeded. At some point, the video was distributed outside of this small group and went viral.

One of the positive points about social media is that it allows access to a variety of viewpoints on controversial topics. The challenge is that people tend to harden their views on an issue early on, which makes it difficult to engage in honest discussions. The bulk of the comments I read blamed the girl who appeared to be 13 or 14 for being sluttish and sinful. The boy who appeared to be 16 or 17 hardly rated a mention.

One thing that comes out clearly from the video is that stakeholders working in sexual and reproductive health should rethink their strategies on sex education. Yes we most certainly should encourage young people to have sex after marriage. However the statistics over the last 20 years shows that thousands of Fiji’s teens engage in premarital sex which often leads to pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.  There is a need to provide counselling and to make condoms readily available for sexually active young people. The Police also have their Bluelight youth outreaches which is popular because of its mix of sports, friendly advice on the law.

Sex talk is taboo in most Fiji homes and this has to change overnight. The standard parental responses in cases where their children are involved are to look aghast and to say they were not aware of the activities. That is not good enough. Church leaders and community elders should support parents to openly discuss sex matters with their children. Schools need to use more creative learner centred methods of talking and counselling about sexual health issues. While we respect that nuns, priests and elderly pastors usually are assigned to talk to youths on abstinence, it would be good to get young role models to engage with young people too. This is especially in regards to the strategies they use to effectively deal with sexual urges and drives that affect most teens growing up into adulthood. It might also be constructive if peer sex educators can engage proactively with youths in their chat rooms. One poster (commenting after the sex video came out) argued that consensual sex acts are private matters. He was basically saying that it was none of the public’s business. Another said it may ‘involve more than 2 people or 5 people can even be in a room and there has to be consent for all activities among all of the people. So if say, I invited someone to record a video of me and my boyfriend having sex. That is it. I invited them to record it. I didn’t give consent for it to be shared. It was for me and my partner’s consumption.” Active engagement in youth chat rooms on values clarification can help individuals to clearly think through their actions.

One view is that social media has given users in Fiji and globally the notion of the 'instant celebrity, the average person(s) (often with little or no talent) who uploads a youtube video and becomes instantly infamous! Social media users in Fiji and globally are constantly looking at ways of increasing their tech footprints and the viral video is the most dramatic way of achieving this. I am told that the boy in the affair had discussed two sexual styles and there was an implication of a sequel. Sometimes young people produce videos that go viral and they gain street cred on their peer social media chat pages.

We need to actively engage young people in discussions on sex matters. Older folks must get out of their ‘holier than thou’ attitude. Youths of 10, 20 and 30 years ago were just as sexually active as today. If social media had been available in those days our population would probably have been in the millions by now. We need to be realistic and practical.

The important point to note is that social media is here to stay. It has a lot of advantages. There are also challenges of huge proportions. To solve them we need to get out of our culture of seeing sex talk as taboo. We also need to use learner centred methods in schools, churches, homes and communities to engage young people in sex talk and values clarification.