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The United Nations marked the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence from November 25 to December 10, 2021. We at Cape {town} Etc will be using our platform to raise awareness over this period.

“Gender-based violence and femicide is not a secondary priority. It is not a women’s issue. Gender-based violence is overwhelmingly and unequivocally a human rights issue.” – President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Should you wish to contribute, share your story, advise or educate, kindly send us an email at [email protected].

Day 12: All about online gender-based violence

In a conversation with two friends over the weekend, I caught myself in the very same trap that I openly am opposed to – that of not speaking out.  I realised in the midst of my epiphany that I am bold, fearless and fiery when it comes to calling out rape culture and sexual harassment injustices when it comes to others, but saw myself as afraid and small, and guilty of sugarcoating the severity of events when it came to me, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt. A large reason for my by-passing something that wasn’t okay, was because I told myself the same lie that a lot of us try to believe – it happened online so it’s not that bad. It happened on WhatsApp so it ‘doesn’t count.’ It took the look of shock on my friend’s faces when recounting a story that made me realise in actual fact, it was still bad. It was still wrong, and still harassment, even though it happened on a screen.

I realised that a lot of us might let things slide and turn the other cheek on accountability when sexual harassment and other forms of abuse targeted at our gender happen in the world of social media. Maybe it’s to do with the fact that we are told we can just ‘block someone,’ or ‘not respond.’ Anyone who has experienced sexual harassment online, however, will know that it isn’t quite so simple. Multiple accounts can pop up. If someone has made a fake account posting photoshopped naked photographs of you (like the OnlyFans troll accounts have done to many women across the world) it actually takes a village to get taken down. And even if it is taken down, the digital world isn’t easy on forgetting. People can delete messages of violent threats, cyber and sexual bullying and claim that they never even contacted you. Tracking software that stalkers use to trace their victims and intimidate them are often so sly that we are unaware that it is happening at all. You might be able to block someone, but you can’t unsee what was sent to you – and that takes away your consent.

Spoiler alert and a note to myself and all of us: you can, and should still hold this type of harassment accountable, even if it seems unworthy because it’s packaged as ‘just a DM.’ If someone were stalking you in real life, threatening you face to face, or saying grotesquely vulgar things in person, you’d likely take action. However, when it comes to our digital worlds, we recoil, when this shouldn’t be the case.

Upon doing some research, I discovered that there is actually a name for all of the things that we as girls in the 21st-century experience – the things that sexualise us abusively, troll, bully, threaten our safety and privacy, cause massive psychological upheavals and attack us as women. They’re classed under a term known as ‘online gender-based violence.

Upon doing some research, I discovered that there is actually a name for all of the things that we, as girls in the 21st century, have experienced, and its various ugly faces fall under the term online gender-based violence.

What is online gender-based violence?

As the Global Citizen explains, “when the internet opened the door for communities and individuals to connect, discrimination, hate speech, and virtual human rights violations became the uninvited guests.” This included the door for sexual harassment and violence against women to not only be opened but reveal an entire another world of assault and psychological attacks that law enforcement facilities and the governments around the world, quite simply were not prepared for.

In short, online gender-based violence is a form of gender injustice and discrimination that takes place in online spaces. This type of GBV can include stalking, harassment, bullying, and unsolicited pornography, among other actions. It falls part of online violence, which is an umbrella term used to describe all sorts of illegal or harmful behaviours against women in the online space. They can be linked to experiences of violence in real life, or be limited to the online environment only. They can include illegal threats, stalking or incitement to violence, unwanted, offensive or sexually explicit emails or messages, sharing of private images or videos without consent, or inappropriate advances on social networking sites according to the European Commission.

“There are different categories of online GBV,” says Garnette Achieng, a data and digital rights researcher and an expert in online GBV.

“It could be in the form of insults, trolling, misinformation, and a lot of other things. The most recent type is deepfakes (AI-generated fake photos) and like all the other forms, it is used to silence and shame women.”

Here are some common forms of online GBV to know about : 

  • Cyberbullying — bullying with the use of digital technologies.
  • Doxxing — revealing or publishing private information about a person online.
  • Cyberstalking — the use of the internet to stalk or harass another person.
  • Non-consensual pornography — distribution of sexually graphic images without consent.
  • Trolling — deliberately upsetting other people by posting inflammatory content

Why online GBV is dangerously tricky 

Online GBV is especially dangerous because a lot of online spaces do not have enough rules and regulations to protect women from this type of violence, leading to perpetrators often not facing consequences for their harmful actions. On top of this, here are some other reasons why it’s a tricky area of abuse to seek legal action and help:

  • Victims are less likely to come forward because of how this kind of harassment is often ‘sugarcoated’ or undermined – meaning perpetrators are not held accountable.
  • Because of the nature of the online world, these attacks do not just happen in one country but can harass you from all around the world with no flight fare.
  • There are few legal procedures in place for this kind of abuse because of its new, fast-paced changing and international breachings.
  • As photoshop and AI come into the mix, pornographic photoshops used to exploit or humiliate a victim are reputation damaging.
  • ‘Blackmail pornography’ which is often used as an abusive tool in relationships, or relationships that have ended whereby a party’s intimate photos are used in threat, have very loose protection by the law.
  • The psychological impacts of online sexual harassment and abuse are not as well understood by society as they are new.

How many women are impacted by online GBV?

In 2020, humanitarian organisation Plan International carried out surveys based on online experiences from around the world, hearing from 14,000 young women from across 31 countries. The results saw that 58% had experienced online harassment, with half saying they faced more harassment online than in the street. “While the report highlights that girls are being targeted online just for being young and female, it adds that it gets worse for women and girls who are politically outspoken, disabled, Black, or identify as LGBTQ+” adds Global Citizen.

3 Key Facts to Know About Online Gender-Based Violence

  • 51% of girls online have reportedly experienced some form of online GBV personally.
  • Of these, 85% said they have experienced multiple forms of harassment.
  • 39% of girls across major cities in Africa are very concerned about their safety online.

What can you do? 

You can still get help if you’ve been a victim of online gender-based violence. Depending on the severity of the situation, you can still contact the police. You can also still get legal advice, especially in defamation of character events. As the South African Constitution reflects: “The right does not extend to propaganda for war; incitement of imminent violence; or advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm”. Additionally, don’t forget the power of social media. Take screenshots, use your platform, no matter how small it may be, and call out perpetrators. You could be helping someone else out in the process too. Most importantly, try not to feel ashamed because someone has targeted you. Don’t feel like your story shouldn’t be heard because it was online. Chances are, there is someone else who has experienced the same and also kept quiet. When we express our stories, we free others to do the same, and in turn, accountability will surface, one way or another.

Important numbers to save if you are a victim of GBV or domestic violence:

Also Read: 

Day 11: Can I lose my child/children if I report abuse? And other FAQs

Picture: oneclub.org

 

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