Allegation escrow platforms: Target rape, reporter's dilemma, and the promise of "he said, they said"

Abstract

Callisto, created by Sexual Health Innovations in 2015, is a sexual assault reporting application based on an information escrow model. By employing a walkthrough method of the platform’s primary tools (recording and matching), this essay situates Callisto’s design within proliferating informal rape justice responses that try to overcome the law’s disappointing rehearsal of “he said/she said” logic. This critical user-centered approach to interpreting the values enacted through the technology suggests that Callisto is the reflection of the evolving social dynamics of “target rape” and internal dynamics of victimization (“reporters’ dilemma”) on college and university campuses. As Callisto generates forms of evidence of sexual assault through its platform, collective forms of responsibility are fostered among victims to report, demonstrating the influence of digital platforms as novel forms of popular evidence unburdened by law’s preoccupation with the immediacy of visual proof.