A whisper network is an informal chain of information passed privately between people, typically women. It consists of gossip about people in a community (frequently a professional community) alleged of being sexual harassers or abusers.^[1][2][3][4] The information is often shared between women by word of mouth or online in private communities, forums, spreadsheets, and crowd-sourced documents.^[2][5][6] The stated purpose of maintaining these lists is to warn potential victims of "people to avoid" in their industry.^[7] Whisper networks also purportedly help victims identify a common abuser and come forward together about a serial abuser.

The term "whisper network" was newly popularized during the #MeToo movement^[2][8][9] after several private lists were published outside of private networks. Among the published lists were the Shitty Media Men list,^[2][10] the California State Capitol list,^[11] and the Harvey Weinstein Google doc.^[12][13] Karen Kelsky created a less controversial list about men in academia called "Sexual Harassment In the Academy: A Crowdsourced Survey" which had grown to over 2000 entries by the end of 2017. It includes stories without actually naming the accusing and accused parties.^[5] Kelsky said she hoped the list would help demonstrate the scope of sexual misconduct in the academic field,^[5][12] and it has resulted in the investigation of twelve men at the University of Michigan.^[14]

Alternatives

Publishing whisper networks to the public has been widely criticized for spreading unsubstantiated rumors that can damage reputations.^[3][15] However, there continues to be debate on the best alternatives for women who have been punished or ignored by official channels to warn other women.^{[2][12][13][16]} It has been noted that certain vulnerable groups, such as young women and women of color, rarely get access to these private lists. As a result, these groups rarely receive any protection from whisper networks unless they are published.^[7][13][17] The main problem with trying to protect more potential victims by publishing whisper networks is determining the best mechanism to verify allegations.^[13][18] Some suggestions have included strengthening unions in vulnerable industries so workers can report directly to the union, maintaining industry hotlines which have the power to trigger third-party investigations, and creating public systems that allow anonymous reporting with the ability to connect victims who report the same perpetrator.^[13] Several apps have been developed which offer various ways for women to report sexual misconduct, and some of these apps have the ability to connect victims with each other.^[15] Sex workers regularly share “bad date lists” and St. James Infirmary Clinic (which offers health and safety services for sex workers) created a “Bad Date” app that allows sex workers to anonymously log incidents and warn other sex workers about clients who have threatened, extorted, robbed, or been violent.^[19]

See also

• Whispering campaign

References