Understanding Online Gender-based Violence

A stranger sent you a dick picture on your Instagram private message.

Your partner shared your nude photo with his friends in a Telegram group chat.

You received rape threat after posting your transition story as a trans woman on your private Twitter page.

These are some of the examples of online gender-based violence (OGBV) and it is a “risk” or “routine occurrence” that women, girls, gender non-conforming persons in all diversity have to take on for being who they are. The experience, intensity and severity of harm varies from person to person depending on your social identities and your ability to access support and resources.

Despite how prevalent OGBV is, there is little to no recognition of harm and redress for those affected by OGBV. The lack of awareness and redress mechanisms around OGBV is partly due to the false duality between a tangible “real-world” (offline) where everyone exists, and an elusive “cyber” world (online) where everything is not quite “real enough”. Yet, emotional or mental forms of violence can manifest physically for the victim.

At this juncture, there is no universal definition for OGBV. The most frequently cited definition is the one by United National Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women:

The definition of [online gender-based violence] therefore extends to any act of gender-based violence against women that is committed, assisted, or aggravated in part or fully by the use of ICT, such as mobile phones and smartphones, the Internet, social media platforms or email, against a woman because she is a woman, or affects women disproportionately

Let’s break down the definition.

..any act of gender-based violence against women….

OGBV is not new or caused by the emergence of new technology or new social media platforms. In fact, a report from the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Best Practice Forum on online abuse and gender-based violence notes “these acts are often an extension of existing gender-based violence, such as domestic violence, stalking and sexual harassment, or target the victim on the basis of her gender or sexuality.”

For example, Women’s Aid Organisation has reported that in some of their cases of domestic violence, SMS and Direct Messages platform i.e. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have been used to blackmail or coerce a partner to stay in an abusive relationship. These tools are increasingly prominent in their use to pressure a battered wife to stay in an abusive relationship.

Another example is how women and girls are often sexually harassed by strangers when they posted their pictures on social media. Sounds like women being catcalled on public street?

Or how men see it fits to send unsolicited dick picture to women on their private messenger. This is mere dick flashing manifesting itself digitally.

..in part or fully by the use of ICT…

Yet, the technology dimension adds elements of persistence, replicability and scalability, all of which can escalate and exacerbate the harm and facilitates new ways in which gender-based violence can be manifested. For instance, zoom-bombing was increasingly a popular tactic during the Covid-19 pandemic when people had to stay home. Aggressors would hijack a video-conferencing call by the insertion of sexist, misogyny, homophobic and racist materials.

The network and connection we built on digital platforms can also facilitate the spread of violence i.e. non-consensual sexually explicit photos or misogynist materials to a wider group of people in multiple platforms. The harm is two-fold: firstly, the primary perpetrator who initiated the violation and made it visible and accessible online; secondly, the secondary perpetrators who disseminate the violation or participate in vile attacks (whether witting or unwitting) or contribute to signal boosting of the violence by liking, retweeting, forwarding or download the material and repost them in a different platform. Some secondary perpetrators may commit further hostile and violent acts against the victim by directly communicating with the victim or persons associated with them.

..because she is a woman, or affects women disproportionately.

Everyone can be a victim of online harassment and a nude photo of a man may be disseminated without his consent too. It is true and they do happen too.

However, the violence both men, women, girls, and LGBTQ persons receive differs greatly in substance and quantity. While men and boys receive abuse on account of the things they said, the attacks women and LGBTQ persons receive often target their gender identity or sexual orientation whether it is their role, body, or simply for being who they are.

Even then, it is important to recognise that women as a category are not all the same. Online gender-based violence cannot be fully understood without examining the intersectionality of diverse identities and power relations. We cannot assume that women only have a single identity and one singular experience with violence, and some have better access to justice, economic power, and resources than the others. A Malay Muslim woman who works as a lawyer in Kuala Lumpur is more likely able to get support and help as compared to an undocumented refugee woman when faced with the same form of violence.