55,000 Sign Twitter Abuse Petition After Jane Austen Campaigner Receives Rape Threats

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**daedalus**

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/495252/20130729/twitter-abuse-petition-signatures-criado-perez-feminist.htm

55,000 Sign Twitter Abuse Petition After Jane Austen Campaigner Receives Rape Threats
By ALISTAIR CHARLTON: Subscribe to Alistair's RSS feed | July 29, 2013 11:04 AM GMT

A petition campaigning for Twitter to improve its measures against online abuse has received more than 55,000 signatures in two days.

The petition was set up in support of feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, who faced a torrent of abusive tweets, including threats to rape and kill her, after successfully campaigning for a woman's picture to appear on a banknote; Jane Austen will appear on £10 notes from 2017.

After seeing the abuse endured over a 12-hour period by Criado-Perez, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper wrote to Twitter criticising the social network's "inadequate" response to the "disgraceful, appalling and unacceptable" comments made against the campaigner.

Created by Kim Graham, the petition calls on Twitter to introduce a button allowing users to quickly report abuse. "We need Twitter to recognise that it's [sic] current reporting system is below required standards," it reads.

"It currently requires users to search for details on how to report someone for abuse; a feature that should be available on each user's page.

"It is time Twitter took a zero tolerance policy on abuse, and learns to tell the difference between abuse and defence. Women standing up to abuse should not fear having their accounts cancelled because Twitter fail to see the issue at hand."

Extremely weak

Writing to Tony Wang, general manager of Twitter UK, Cooper said the company's official response to such abuse "continues to be extremely weak".

Cooper added: "Of course it is right to report such abuse to the police, and it is very important that they investigate and pursue this case. But social media platforms also have a responsibility for the platform they give users. And in particular they have a responsibility not to tolerate this kind of abuse, rape threats and potentially criminal behaviour."

Wang tweeted to say Twitter is "testing ways to simplify reporting, e.g. within a tweet by using the "Report Tweet" button in our iPhone app and on mobile web...We will suspend accounts that, once reported to us, are found to be in breach of our rules."

Scotland Yard has confirmed that a 21-year-old man was arrested by police in the Manchester area on 28 July on suspicion of harassment offences. By the following morning the petition had gained more than 55,000 signatures and is soon expected to reach its goal of 75,000.

Cooper's letter to Wang continued: "I urge you to go further and ensure that Twitter carries out a full review of all its policies on abusive behaviour, threats and crimes, including more help for Twitter users who experience abuse, a clear complaints process and clear action from Twitter to tackle this kind of persecution."

A freelance journalist who co-founded theWomansRoom.org.uk and Week Woman blog, Criado-Perez said: "It's sadly not unusual to get this kind of abuse but I've never seen it get as intense or aggresive as this. It's infuriating that the price you pay for standing up for women is 24 hours of rape threats.

"We are showing that by standing together we can make a real difference. We made the Bank of England change its mind; we can do the same with Twitter."

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: a.charlton@ibtimes.co.uk
To contact the editor, e-mail: editor@ibtimes.co.uk

Why on earth do people care that much about a bank note picture? Are they pissed because it's a woman, or because it's Jane Austen?

**Grey Templar**

Yeah, I mean the queen is on some of the pound notes right?

**xole**

It's always nice to have reminders that people are stupid the whole world over.

**azazel the cat**

Because Jane Austen is terrible. There are hundreds of more important and deserving women who could appear on a bank note than her.

...also, isn't the queen on, like, every bank note over there?

**Grey Templar**

How is Jane Austen "terrible"?

I'm sure there could be better choices but I'd hardly consider it a bad choice.

**Gentleman_Jellyfish**

It is time Twitter took a zero tolerance policy on abuse, and learns to tell the difference between abuse and defence. Women standing up to abuse should not fear having their accounts cancelled because Twitter fail to see the issue at hand.

Wut? Was the person being attacked dishing out equally abusive things to other people in response?

**reds8n**

Grey Templar wrote:
Yeah, I mean the queen is on some of the pound notes right?

£1 notes we scrapped years and years ago. Smallest paper denomination is £5.

Queen's head is on all currency.

And on stamps as well.

**azazel the cat**

Grey Templar wrote:How is Jane Austen "terrible"?

I'm sure there could be better choices but I'd hardly consider it a bad choice.

Have you ever read her works? She is, IMO, the single most over-rated author in all of literature, and her crowning achievement is penning a novel that would be the equivalent to the Sex and the City movie.

**Kovnik Obama**

azazel the cat wrote:
Grey Templar wrote:How is Jane Austen "terrible"?

I'm sure there could be better choices but I'd hardly consider it a bad choice.

Have you ever read her works? She is, IMO, the single most over-rated author in all of literature, and her crowning achievement is penning a novel that would be the equivalent to the Sex and the City movie.

I had to read Pride and Prejudice 3 mother-fething times between highschool and college. And watch the 6-hours tv adaptation twice.

Someday, someone will pay for that.

**Ahtman**

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was her best work.

**kronk**

I liked Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Donald Sutherland. I had to read Sense and Sensibility in high school, and I hated every second of it.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ahtman wrote:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was her best work.

This is the most accurate statement in the OT in the last 3 weeks by any poster.

**daedalus**

azazel the cat wrote:
Grey Templar wrote:How is Jane Austen "terrible"?

I'm sure there could be better choices but I'd hardly consider it a bad choice.

Have you ever read her works? She is, IMO, the single most over-rated author in all of literature, and her crowning achievement is penning a novel that would be the equivalent to the Sex and the City movie.

She is the classic queen of vapid. Hell, any of the Bronte sisters would have been less obnoxious than Jane-fething-Austen.

Or, better still, put someone genuinely impressive on there. Thatcher comes to mind. I mean, like her or hate her, she deserves the recognition more than Austen.

**xole**

Come to think of it, I want Terry Pratchett on one of your bills. Or all of them.

**whembly**

azazel the cat wrote:
Grey Templar wrote:How is Jane Austen "terrible"?

I'm sure there could be better choices but I'd hardly consider it a bad choice.

Have you ever read her works? She is, IMO, the single most over-rated author in all of literature, and her crowning achievement is penning a novel that would be the equivalent to the Sex and the City movie.

Me and Azazel agrees on something!

That was torture to read in my education days.

**Monster Rain**

Can't you be arrested for that sort of tweeting in the UK?

Surely this would be an opportunity to round up a few of these dildos.

**Grey Templar**

I actually find her work tolerable. Its not my favorite but its not bad by any standards, certainly not on the level you are describing. And given my very picky literary tastes my rating of tolerable is pretty high.

Her work does demand the full attention of the reader, and as such can be difficult for our modern short attention spans.

But what is important is that she was an important author. There were not very many women authors at the time. The work itself is less important over the context of when and by who it was written.

If GB was going to put an important female historical figure on its money besides the queen she would be a natural choice. Although I would personally choose Florence Nightingale, and a few others, before Jane Austen. but she would definitely be a candidate.

**Forar**

Whether Jane Austen should be on the note or not is irrelevant.

People's response to her campaign is utterly unacceptable.

When you're threatening violence towards someone over a difference of opinion, something is wrong.

Yes, hyperbole and overreaction are kind of "a thing 'the internet' as a whole does about everything", but I don't see that as an excuse. Merely a reason that more should be done to combat that behaviour.

**Medium of Death**

I don't mind Austen being on the notes, but did they really need to sit Darwin out?

**Monster Rain**

I suggest a 42$ bill be created with Douglas Adams featured on it.

**Grey Templar**

How about a round of coins with the various incarnations of The Doctor on the face?

**reds8n**

Grey Templar wrote:

If GB was going to put an important female historical figure on its money besides the queen she would be a natural choice. Although I would personally choose Florence Nightingale, and a few others, before Jane Austen. but she would definitely be a candidate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_on_banknotes#United_Kingdom_2

75-94

**Frazzled**

Grey Templar wrote:
I actually find her work tolerable. Its not my favorite but its not bad by any standards, certainly not on the level you are describing. And given my very picky literary tastes my rating of tolerable is pretty high.

Her work does demand the full attention of the reader, and as such can be difficult for our modern short attention spans.

But what is important is that she was an important author. There were not very many women authors at the time. The work itself is less important over the context of when and by who it was written.

If GB was going to put an important female historical figure on its money besides the queen she would be a natural choice. Although I would personally choose Florence Nightingale, and a few others, before Jane Austen. but she would definitely be a candidate.

Wait this is Great Brittania no? Where's Queen "You say Armada I say Target Rich Environment" Elizabeth?

**Grey Templar**

Ahhh, I see she's already been on one.

So why is this person campaigning to put a female figure on money in the first place? Its not like women have been excluded prior.

**reds8n**

There's also Elizabeth Fry on the current fiver as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England_note_issues#The_20th_century

.. I guess given the % of the population they make up it might not be unreasonable to have a few more representatives shown ?

I'd be quite happy to see Bouddica ( or representation of), Mary Wollstonecraft -- or maybe her daughter --, Octavia Hill seems a glaring omission too in a fair few ways.

**Gentleman_Jellyfish**

Grey Templar wrote:
So why is this person campaigning to put a female figure on money in the first place? Its not like women have been excluded prior.

Because it's not ALL females.

And equality and stuff.

**Frazzled**

reds8n wrote:

There's also Elizabeth Fry on the current fiver as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England_note_issues#The_20th_century

.. I guess given the % of the population they make up it might not be unreasonable to have a few more representatives shown ?

I'd be quite happy to see Bouddica ( or representation of), Mary Wollstonecraft -- or maybe her daughter --, Octavia Hill seems a glaring omission too in a fair few ways.

Boudicca would be awesome. Nothing says "come get some" like Boudicca the warrior queen on your money.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Now that I think about you need to put on "Generic Angry Fishwife" on your fiver. That would be choice.

And of course on the back a monkey driving a getaway van.

**Grey Templar**

Now you're talking

I'd go for that on our money.

**Howard A Treesong**

I would have preferred Rosalind Franklin seeing as her contribution to science was largely overlooked when alive.

**Kilkrazy**

Grey Templar wrote:
Ahhh, I see she's already been on one.

So why is this person campaigning to put a female figure on money in the first place? Its not like women have been excluded prior.

It doesn't matter why anyone might campaign for or against to put a man, a woman or a monkey on a currency note. The point is that you can't do it by issuing threats of violence against the other side.

**Monster Rain**

Kilkrazy wrote:
Grey Templar wrote:
Ahhh, I see she's already been on one.

So why is this person campaigning to put a female figure on money in the first place? Its not like women have been excluded prior.

It doesn't matter why anyone might campaign for or against to put a man, a woman or a monkey on a currency note. The point is that you can't do it by issuing threats of violence against the other side.

No, the real point is we have come very close to blaming the victim just now.