Digitalization and digital communication have generated new forms of violence against women and girls due to gender. This prevents their empowerment, development and full enjoyment of their human rights such as dignity, freedom of expression, protection of personal data, freedom from interference in private life and access to justice.
During Covid-19, digital violence has worsened as women and girls need to use it more in a context where there exists also a digital gender gap.
What is digital violence?
Digital violence can be defined as violence that is committed and spread through digital media such as social networks, email or mobile messaging applications, and that causes damage to dignity, the integrity and/or safety of the victims.
Some forms of digital violence are: monitoring and stalking, harassment, extortion, discredit, threats, impersonation and identity theft, as well as sexual abuse related to technology, among others.
But, do not forget:
Digital violence is articulated with the sexist violence that women and girls experience every day in different spaces, such as in the streets, at work and in their own homes; that is, there is no online/offline separation and it is as real as any other form of violence. New platforms are used within the framework of the same system.
How big is the problem?
According to an UNESCO report, 73% of women in the world have been exposed to or have experienced some form of online violence.
In the United States, according to the 2017 Pew report, women are twice as likely as men from being attacked as a result of their gender.
According to the UN, women in the age range of 18 to 24 years have a high probability of experiencing sexual harassment in addition to physical threats online.
Why is the problem even bigger?
Besides the direct experience of violence, there is another grave result: Women are pushed out of the digital world.
Research indicates that 28% of women who have been subjected to digital violence have deliberately reduced their online presence, warns the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Gender-based violence against women and girls in digital spaces increasingly finds ways to silence and exclude women from the digital space. Without free access to the digital ecosystem, the ability to achieve gender equality is limited to women and girls, as is the exercise of their essential rights for their full development, such as right to freedom of expression, information and non-discrimination. And the Internet plays a preponderant role in the structuring of identities and the organization of social interactions, based on the same economic and power structures as the “offline” space.
What can we do?
First of all: If you are a victim, remember that you are not alone, it is not your fault and you are not the only one.
Before taking legal action, document through screenshots of the photos or threats before deleting or reporting them, to serve as evidence.
Policymakers should adopt and implement clear legislation to criminalise digital violence, for example the misuse and abuse of people’s images online, and create a legal obligation for technology companies and social media platforms to put effective moderation and reporting systems in place.
Technology companies and social media platforms should improve and scale up their active moderation of content, and to immediately remove harmful and abusive images without requiring court orders which delay responses.
And you?
Where do you see possible dangers from violence in digital spaces, and have you already had to experience them?
What do you think we can all do against digital violence?
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