On Tuesday Tiah Lynch made a post to her Facebook after her sister was allegedly badly beaten by a Facebook user under the name ‘Maine Taine’

The post included a before picture of her sister, two pictures of her sister after and one picture of the man allegedly responsible

The post went viral and has been shared thousands of times but lacks important details that could help the situation

It is becoming a common trend to see vigilante crusades on social media, which has both positive and negative effects. A recent post made by Tiah Lynch is a perfect example of people turning to their social media in an attempt to receive justice following wrongdoing.

What Happened

On Tuesday, Lynch made a post to her Facebook with three pictures of her sister after being abused and one picture of the man that allegedly did it. One picture appears to show her in the hospital, then another shows her sister with what appears to be multiple stitches from the attack. Lynch also included a picture of her sister before the brutal attack.

Maine Taine

Her post has been shared over 3,000 times in the hours that it has been up. While Lynch’s account says she lives in Newport News, Virginia, it is not clear where the attack occurred. The alleged attacker uses Facebook under the name ‘Maine Taine‘ but unconfirmed reports claim his real name is Jermaine Wilson. It appears Wilson previously went by the name ‘Jermaine Outlaw’ on the same account. It is not clear when he changed the account’s name to Maine Taine.

Social Media Justice

While some feel these vigilante social media campaigns are nothing but trouble, many of them do have some positive results. More often than people would like to believe, crimes such as domestic violence go under the radar of the law. Large social media pushes can result in local police departments responding quicker and more efficiently after being put under public scrutiny.

There are also negative effects though. Often times people are misidentified in the rush to call for justice and innocent people begin receiving death threats and general hate from other social media users. Lynch’s post is a blessing and a curse. While it does serve as a reminder of the dangers of domestic violence, the lack of information included can hinder any kind of justice. With a lack of information informing where the incident occurred or any kind of plan of resolution, there is not much social media users can do aside from send Wilson a hateful message on Facebook.

Help For Domestic Violence Victims

According to Crime Report, the help a domestic violence victim receives depends greatly on the state and city they are in. For example, Maryland is leading the way in assuring domestic violence victims receive the help they need after the fact. The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV) created the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP). LAP is 11 questions that help law enforcement and domestic violence counselors assess the level of danger a victim might be in, which allows them to connect the victim with the proper services at that point. Aside from law enforcement, the tool is also used by nurses, social workers, hospital personnel, case workers and court personnel. A total of 26 police departments currently implement LAP.

While areas like Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York City try to implement answers for domestic violence victims based on the individual needs, other areas are not as fortunate. Data shows Nevada is constantly ranking number one in the nation for domestic violence fatalities. Nevada has little to no services to offer domestic violence victims, and the services available are underfunded and understaffed. The same applies to Alaska where data shows 59% of adult women will experience domestic or sexual violence in their lifetime. Out of those women, almost 30% of those victims were not able to access victim services due to a lack of services in the area.