Duaa Aijaz reflects upon how the online harassment of women has become synonymous with the Digital age, and what can be done to combat this.
In an era of globalization, the internet and digital media offer great potential as spaces for positive engagement and activism. However, as violence against women, persists as a global issue, the advent of emerging social media platforms is somewhat of a new frontier of abuse towards women with cyber bullying and online harassment becoming increasingly prevalent. to a survey undertaken by Amnesty International, 41% of women who experienced online harassment felt that their physical safety was threatened.[1], It is also true that the majority of cases remain unreported so the figure in reality, is likely much higher.
Online harassment includes online stalking, bullying, making sexist remarks, blackmailing, doxing, identity theft, rape, sexual assault, and murder threats. As a result, not only are victim’s emotional well-being compromised, it often leads to victims self-esteem being impacted. The reality is that this harassment is rooted in societies existing gender inequality. This is exemplified by a recent UN report, which states that 73% of women worldwide experience cyber violence and that women are 27 times more vulnerable than to this than men.[2] Hence, it is clear that we are in need of a global wakeup call to address the issue of cyber violence against women
Legal Framework Governing Online Harassment
Generally, what is deemed illegal offline is also illegal online[3].A set of broad guidelines has been published by the Crown Prosecution services regarding prosecution in cases where social media is involved [4]. Another legal instrument, the Budapest convention, is one of the most important legal instruments in combatting cybercrime. [5]Countries that have ratified it ensure that their laws are harmonized leading to increased cooperation among other states. In the UK, specifically, The Protection from Harassment Act (1997) and the Protection of Freedoms Act (2012) can be used to prosecute the wrongdoers. However, it is important to note how Protection from Harassment Act (1997)fails to define cyber-harassment resulting in vagueness.[6] Therefore, the Protection of Freedoms Act (2012) can be used to ascertain behaviors equating to cyber-harassment. While these acts do protect the victim against perpetrators in the UK, they fail to provide protection against those who reside outside the UK.[7] Despite the existence of certain loopholes, the law has been quite effective in dealing with those who cause harm to women in this way. For example, in April 2015 the sharing of private sexual photographs and videos without the subject’s consent was made a criminal offense, this lead to over 200 individuals being held accountable for this form of online abuse.[8]More recently the UK government in April 2019 published its Online Harms White Paper (OHWP) concerning the online safety of UK citizens. [9]A statutory duty of care is imposed in its 2020 proposals intended to place greater responsibility on companies to ensure the safety of the users. Hence it is a positive step in guarding the safety of women while interacting online.
The Grim Reality
Whilst the government has tried to create prevention-based mechanisms, a number of high-profile incidents demonstrate how women continue to suffer from online abuse in the United Kingdom. For instance, female politicians are subject to a huge amount of abuse online. In 2017, British MP Diane Abbott received a number of death threats in the run up to the election. In fact, a study which tracked abuse of female MPs on twitter found that around 45.14% of these abusive tweets were aimed at her.[10]Such forms of online harassment have a serious effect on the lives of women and have been known to impact their family ties, dignity and reputation. Dianne has displayed great resilience in dealing with such online abuse and said she coped with it by “putting one foot in front of the other”. [11]As a result, she urged the social media companies to hold such perpetrators accountable by keeping track of account holder details in order to prevent abuse from anonymous individuals. [12]Online abuse is unquestionably a gross violation of human rights too.[13]
In order to empower women, the #METOO movement led by Tarana Burke emerged on social media, to spread awareness about the harm and violence that women experience around the globe. It was a way of elevating women’s unheard voices. They needed a platform to come forward with their side of the story and fight against injustice. However, that too received backlash and a spike in online harassment of women, leading to greater uncertainty.[14]
Challenges for Social Media Companies
The dynamic nature of online activity makes it more difficult to deal with. One may question that social media companies often come under pressure for promoting misleading content however fail to take action when dealing with misogynistic content on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. However, a step in the right direction was taken by Facebook when it announced that “protecting” its community is “more important than maximizing profits”.[15]New measures have been introduced by social media giants to counter online abuse, especially targeting celebrities, journalists, and politicians. As an example, Twitter introduced features to hide offensive content recently and Instagram enables users to restrict their visibility along with a warning when harmful content is uploaded.[16]
However, digital media platforms have further work to do, they need to acknowledge how their spaces are being used as a tool of abuse. They need to accept greater responsibility for the content that is shared and that breaches individual privacy. A balance must be struck between the need for freedom of expression and harmful content being addressed immediately to prevent online harm from escalating into real-life harm. Such issues can only be addressed with appropriate qualitative and quantitative research that takes into account the victims narrative.[17]
Conclusion
The issue of online violence against women is undoubtedly a complex issue and while there is no silver bullet for resolving this, a multifaceted response is needed in order to bring about real change. In light of the pertinent issues discussed above, The United Nation’s 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development takes into account the use of technology to tackle violence against women. This is addressed specifically through Goal 5 on gender equality and goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies.[18]
The internet, if used in the right manner, can undoubtedly play a significantly positive role in achieving gender equality and combating cyber violence, as has been highlighted through global development agendas over the years, for example the Orange Day initiative.[19].Therefore, the international community needs to address this issue by taking measures to reduce the power of ‘internet giants’ through greater regulations. In order to achieve workable solutions to address online abuse, individuals in the power of position must accept their responsibility and play their part in ensuring the safety of women.
Enacting women-friendly laws is not a difficult task but establishing a women-friendly online environment in a patriarchal society is a tough call. Hence the idea of an inclusive space whereby women can interact safely without being harassed will remain a pipedream if those responsible aren’t held accountable for their actions.
[1] Amnesty International survey on women’s experiences of abuse and harassment on social media (2017) Accessed 4 July 2022
[2] United Nations (UN) report “Cyber Violence Against Women and Girls: A Worldwide Wake-Up Call” Accessed 4 July 2022
[3] HC Deb 29 October 2013 c236-7WA; Culture Media and Sport Committee, Online Safety: Responses to Committee’s Sixth Report of Session 2013-14, 3 July 2014, HC 517 2014-15, page 11; PQ 224106 and PQ 224105, both answered 23 February 2015 Accessed 4 July 2022
[4] https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/social-media-guidelines-prosecuting-cases-involving-communications-sent-social-media Accessed 4 July 2022
[5] Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime Accessed 1 July 2022
[6] Bocij, Griffiths & McFarlane, 2002 Accessed 6 July 2022
[7] Salter & Bryden, 2009 Accessed 5 July 2022
[8] Crown Prosecution Service (2016) Violence against women and girls: Crime report 2015-16, p. 11. Available at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/cps_vawg_re- port_2016.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2022
[9] Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the Home Office, ‘Online Harms White Paper’ (2019) CP 57 Accessed 4 July 2022
[10] Azmina, Unsocial Media: Tracking Twitter Abuse against Women MPs, Sept 2017,Medium.com Accessed 4 July 2022
[11] : Simon Murphy, ‘Diane Abbott Speaks Out On Online Abuse As Female Mps Step Down’ (the Guardian, 2022) <https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/31/diane-abbott-speaks-out-on-online-abuse-as-female-mps-step-down> accessed 17 July 2022.
[12] Ibid
[13] Article 5, Human Rights Act 1998 Accessed 4 July 2022
[14] https://www.vox.com/2019/8/27/20833421/me-too-sexual-misconduct-al-franken-kaiman Accessed 5 July 2022
[15] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/us-senator-calls-for-probe-into-facebook-whistleblowers-allegations/articleshow/86785878.cms?from=mdr Accessed 4 July 2022
[16] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-019-09516-z Accessed 4 July 2022
[17] European institute for Gender Equality Accessed 4 July 2022
[18] https://sdgs.un.org/goals Accessed 4 July 2022
[19] https://www.un.org/en/observances/ending-violence-against-women-day Accessed 4 July 2022
Photo Credit:”Conférence : ‘Standing up against online harassement of women journalist’” by UNESCO Headquarters Paris is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.ND 2.0.
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