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The Facts about Online Hate and Cyberviolence Against Women and Girls in

Online hate and cyberviolence have emerged as extensions of against women. These issues are rooted in inequality.

While people of all experience cyberviolence, women and girls are at greater risk of experiencing violence online, especially severe types of and sexualized abuse. In 2009, 67% of the victims of police-reported intimidation on the were women and girls.

International data is similar. 73% of women are abused online worldwide, according to the UN Broadband Commission’s 2015 report. More than half (52%) of the women polled disagree with this statement: “The Internet is a safe place to express my opinions”

Frequently Asked Questions about Online Hate and Cyberviolence

1. Why is it urgent to address online hate and cyberviolence targeted at women and girls? 2. What can you do about online hate and cyberviolence? 3. Is there government and legislation to deter online hate and cyberviolence?

1. People in Canada, particularly young people, are spending increasing time on social and the Internet. This means they are exposed to greater risk of harm.

 Malicious content is easy to share widely and rapidly in digital spaces.  Reports of hate crimes have increased in Canada, including online and extremism. companies and government policy makers have not caught up to this reality, and do not yet provide adequate protections against online hate and cyberviolence targeting women and girls. Exposure to hateful speech and attitudes in digital spaces may escalate the risk that people will act on these views through physical violence.  Young women (age 18-24) are most likely to experience the most severe forms of online harassment, including stalking, and physical threats. Women who face multiple forms of , such as racial or cultural discrimination, , and , may be at increased risk of online hate and cyberviolence.

2. There are many ways you can respond to online hate and cyberviolence, whether you experience it personally or observe it happening to someone else.

Parents can consult these tips for talking to your teen about recognizing an unhealthy online relationship.

Teens themselves can consult these tips for recognizing an unhealthy online relationship.

If you are experiencing online hate and/or cyberviolence:

 Talk to someone you trust. It may help to relieve the stress and emotional turmoil that comes with experiencing online harassment. Teens experiencing online abuse can confide in a trusted adult to help them.  Document the abuse. It’s important to keep a permanent record of what happened. If it’s too difficult to read the content, organizations such as HeartMob may be able to help. Friends and/or family members can also support women experiencing online harassment by keeping track of the abuse for them.  Contact the police. If you feel unsafe or the abuse worsens, file a police report and it could lead to a police investigation, as well as possible criminal charges.

If you observe someone experiencing online hate and/or cyberviolence:

 Practice safe online intervention. If you see someone being attacked on social media, send them a private message to ask how they are doing and to find out if they need assistance.  Report online abuse or harmful content. You can report harassment and harmful content about someone to appropriate social media platforms and take steps to block the persons responsible.  Talk about online harassment. Discuss online abuse with everyone you know and share information about it with your online communities.

3. Government legislation and the legal system are still catching up to the Internet,and how to hold perpetrators of online hate and cyberviolence accountable.

Although Canadian addressing domestic abuse, harassment and serious invasion of privacy can be applied to illegal and online crime, there are inadequate legal remedies to respond to them.

Governmental bodies in Canada have made attempts to reduce online hate and cyberviolence against women and girls. In 2015, Bill C-13 came into effect to protect Canadians from online crimes. The Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act prohibits non-consensual distribution of intimate images, empowers courts to tackle this type of online crime, and provides monetary reimbursements to victims. It applies to people of all ages to address , non-consensual disclosure of intimate images and revenge porn.

West Coast LEAF made a submission to the House of Commons to voice their concern regarding Bill C- 13. In the submission, they raised concerns about Bill C-13, saying it is a “limited response to a broad and diverse issue.” Battered Women’s Support Services has said that the bill does not address root causes of cyberviolence against women and girls, and it does not provide appropriate legal responses for victims. They noted the bill is aimed to address cyberbullying, which is different than cyberviolence.

In 2018, Newfoundland and Labrador introduced the Intimate Images Protection Act to tackle revenge porn, joining several other provinces who also enacted similar legislation.

In late 2018, an MP proposed a new judicial body to provide tickets or warnings to individuals that post hate speech online.

In 2019, the Federal Government announced a plan to introduce a new digital charter that will target hate speech, and electoral interference.

More in-depth data could also help understand the scope of online hate in Canada, yet the available data on hate crimes only covers police-reported online . In 2019, Statistics Canada launched a Gender, and Inclusion department to improve data collection on diverse communities to understand the barriers that intersect with gender, race and other social categories. The department will offer service providers and policy makers with relevant data on different topics, taking gender and other identity factors into account.