[University]
Abstract
This paper aims to answer the question, ‘Why are girls and women the frequent targets of online abuse and harassment?’ In order to address this question, historical perspectives on how society views women are analyzed. The paper provides a literature review of how female gender abuses have been incorporated to the online community as well as the factors that determines such tendency among perpetrators. Social media sites are one of the most common venues of online engagement among women. In order to get a wider picture of why women become easy victims of abuse in these venues, it is also interesting to examine the factors or attributes of social media sites in relation to this issue. The apparent question would be; is the security features of online sites most especially social media sites adequate to discourage abusive tendencies towards women or are they cultivating an environment where abusive behavior towards women can thrive?
Introduction
Through the course of human history, the women have experienced gender abuses. Abuse comes in various forms whether physical, psychological, emotional or sexual. Behind these forms of abuses are notorious niche that are commonly used to perpetrate such atrocities against the female gender. Varying niches of female abuse ranges from domestic, cultural, political, employment, and other notorious environments where cases of female abuse have been documented. In these modern times, environmental niche of female abuses has extended to include the internet community. The technological advancement of the internet has become a breeding ground of gender abuses enabling perpetrators to do almost anything online. Countless pornographic sites have emerged using women and children as sex objects. Online dating is also prevalent and has also become a source of sexual abuse. Stalking has never been much easier with the use of spywares and other software designed to lurk on women’s personal activities. Cyber bullying has also prevalently victimized the female gender in numerous instances as compared to men. These and other online scenarios are just a few examples of how the internet technology has changed the face of female abuse in the modern era. Considering the extent and perennial nature of violence against women, a serious question of why the female gender have been the frequent targets of online abuse and harassment poses a serious concern.
Women as Conspicuous Target
The tendency to abuse women is not a new thing. As observed by Bohan, “In ancient Greece, Aristotle argued that men should have authority over women because in women the rational element in the human soul is easily overruled by the irrational”. Evidently, early human societies have created a culture which stigmatized women as an inferior gender. Women are depicted as easily coerced, emotionally unstable and intellectually inferior compared to men. The stereotyping of women as inferior individuals cultivate an emergent behavior among members of the society that women can be abused without raising any serious moral and ethical objection. Sexism or the tendency to treat people as cultural stereotypes of their sex was cited as one of the main culprits of gender abuse. According to studies, “Sexism is perpetuated by systems of patriarchy, male-dominated social structures leading to the oppression of women”. Since patriarchal societies have dominated the world for centuries, sexism, as the patriarchal by product, will always cling in society’s behavior towards women. Another theory related with gender abuses is the dominating influence or control associated with male gender also known as ‘hegemony masculinity’ theory. Behavioral studies that supports this theory believes that some men exhibits pattern of abusive behavior towards women due to their perceived hierarchical dominance. As observed by Connell and Messerschmidt, “It embodied the currently most honored way of being a man, it required all other men to position themselves in relation to it, and it ideologically legitimated the global subordination of women to men”. In an almost similar term, the critical view of masculinity has become a struggle for some males in which they find ways on how to display their masculinity. Chodorow believe that it is crucial for men to exercise their masculinity that some men are inclined to violence and women abuse to assert their male identity (Chodorow as cited in Gardiner, J.K. 2004). During the 1800’s, a surge of feminist ideas have emerged to challenge the status of women in society. Efforts of famous feminists such as Lucy Stone (1818-93), Alice Paul (1885-1977) and several others have made significant contribution to raise the status of women in society. Governments are also gradually acknowledging the gender gap by stipulating legislations that aims to equalize the women’s status in society. Despite these efforts, the stigma that holds women as an inferior gender is deeply rooted that it is arguable if there will come a time when society would truly recognize women as equal to men. As observed by Bohan, “This ideology of female inferiority and subordination was so deeply ingrained into the values and cultures of (European) societies that most women as well as men accepted it without noticing that it existed”. This observation implies that even though feminist ideas have increased society’s awareness of its discriminative stance towards women, unconsciously, the notion that women are inferior could not be fully eradicated. Apparently, the stigma of inferiority has made women conspicuous targets of abusive behavior. Even in the modern society, issues of violence against women continue to thrive and have found a new venue in the online community. Evidence of abusive behavior towards women in the online community is mounting. According to Baird, “Three out of four who report being harassed and stalked online are women. And, according to Pew Research Centre, 5 per cent of women online said they had been put in a position of "physical danger'' because of an internet activity”. Even successful career women and celebrities are not immune to such abusive behavior. They are in fact among the most conspicuous targets of indecent online activities. Scandalous web images of famous women and celebrities have spanned the web while others have been threatened, blackmailed and subjected to obscene conversations. According to a United Nations (UN) estimate, “95% of aggressive behavior, harassment, abusive language and denigrating images in online spaces are aimed at women”.
Increased Internet Usage among Women
The number of women using the internet has substantially increased which is one of the main reasons why they become conspicuous targets of online abuse. As internet becomes readily available, numerous women are now using the technology for all kinds of purpose. Internet services such as online shopping, social sites, fashion and other services that are readily available online has piqued the interests of women making them increasingly reliant to the internet for varied personal motives. Opportunities such as employment, business and other profitable endeavors available online has also wooed women to engage in online activities. As observed by Bachelet, “ICTs and access to the Internet provide basic infrastructure for the 21st century and a set of tools that, when appropriately used, can offer benefits for women in all spheres of life”. In some cultures, there exists a social stigma of the appropriateness of internet use among women. According to research, “One in five women in India and Egypt believe the
Internet is not “appropriate” for them. Gender-based barriers are real. These women believe engaging online would not be useful for them, and if they did, their families would disapprove”. Even so, the use of internet among women has dramatically increased despite these cultural barriers. This increase can be attributed to the increasing awareness of the opportunities and usefulness of the internet technology in all aspects of women’s lives. The use of social media has also significantly increased internet usage among women. In recent surveys, women were recognized to be the most avid users of social media sites. As observed by Duggan, “Among internet users, women are significantly more likely than men to use Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram”.
Various Forms of Online Abuse against Women and Children
The substantial increase in women’s internet engagement creates a favorable scenario for online abuses that specifically aimed towards the female gender. Online abuses are perpetrated in different ways using coercion and enticement while other victims are just unaware that they are already being abused. Among the most common types of online abuse that victimize women is cyber bullying. Caroline Criado-Perez was among the women who have experienced cyber bullying when she organized an online campaign to have a woman featured in British bank notes. Though her campaign was successful, she was ridiculed and lashed out by anonymous perpetrators; some have even threatened her life. Her case is not isolated. In fact, numerous women have experienced similar scenarios. According to Feinberg and Robey, “As with cyberbullies, victims are as likely to be female as male and are more likely to be older teens than younger children”. Another prevalent type of online abuse experienced by women is ‘sexting’, “a term used to describe emails, text messages and other forms of electronic communication that contain sexual material, such as a suggestive or provocative text, or images of people who are nude, nearly nude or that are sexually explicit”. It is observed that teenagers are the common victims as well as culprits of sexting due to their curious and leisurely usage of the internet technology. Sexting may evolve from normal friendly conversations to sexual enticement. Most of the time, girls are not aware that they are being lured into sexually provocative conversations as conversations seems to be friendly at first. Eventually, perpetrators prime their victims through seduction and sexually suggestive conversations until they become willing participants. Women have always been a sex object and have been depicted as a sex symbol. For the same reason, numerous pornographic sites online features women of all ages and nationalities that voluntarily engage in such activities. Perhaps it can be argued if women who engage voluntary in lewd and pornographic websites can be considered as victims. However, pornographic images of women draw attention to their role as sex objects and may have serious implication as to how society views women generally. Pornographic sites give an impression that women are sexually aggressive individuals. This creates an environment wherein women become more prone to online abuse when they are labeled as such. Furthermore, the use of children as sex objects is a common occurrence in most pornographic sites. As observed by Jewkes, “Online child pornography, the grooming of children in chatrooms by predatory adults, and children who put themselves willingly at risk of exploitation by engaging in sexually provocative online behavior are never far from the top of the news agenda”. In this case, whether these children’s participation is voluntary or not, perpetrators are clearly liable for child abuse.
The Role of Websites in Cultivating an Abusive Environment
The ease of creating a fictitious online identity creates an environment where women abuse can thrive. Social sites like Facebook and Twitter, for example, don’t have rigid security measures as far as identities of individual accounts are concerned. Anyone can join these social sites without divulging their true identification. The only requirement to create an online profile among social sites is a verified email address that can also be easily faked. Email providers such as Google and Yahoo provide free email services that have equally negligible identity verification features. As a result, joining social sites using fake identities does not pose any challenge to those people with malicious intentions. Surely, social media sites are aware of this weak spot in their system which can be exploited and used to abuse women. Since social media sites are notorious venues of sexting and cyber bullying, the leniency of these sites towards identity verification is questionable. Several instances have been documented where the use of fake identity in social sites resulted to abusive behavior. As observed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), “Internet-based social networking sites have created a revolution in social connectivity. However, con artists, criminals, and other dishonest actors are exploiting this capability for nefarious purposes”. Besides targeting women for sexual abuse, online con artists could exploit the vulnerability of social sites to engage in criminal acts such as identity theft and fraud that, most often, takes women as their targets. Scammers also use fake identities to trick women into romantic relationships making them vulnerable to sexual abuse. On the other hand, social sites do not provide any help for legitimate users to identify fake accounts. As one study regarding fake profiles on Facebook suggests, “Our research has furthermore shown that Facebook does not provide enough methods to reliably detect and eliminate fake profiles. As users either provide fake information themselves or interact with fake profiles without even noticing, they are not actively supporting the platform’s need for reliable and correct user data. Even though Facebook clearly states in their legal terms that correct personal data must be provided, they are not able to automatically check the correctness or provide substantial countermeasures against entering fake data”. Being anonymous can have serious behavioral implications. As stated by one Facebook employee, “Psychological research has proven again and again that anonymity increases unethical behavior. Road rage bubbles up in the relative anonymity of one’s car. And in the online world, which can offer total anonymity, the effect is even more pronounced. People — even ordinary, good people — often change their behavior in radical ways. There’s even a term for it: the online disinhibition effect” (Zhuo as cited in Laurie, V. 2010).
Law Enforcement Challenges
Law makers have made numerous legislations that aim to discourage abusive behavior online. However, these laws have no significant meaning when it could not be effectively enforced. As observed by Shinder, “So now we have plenty of laws on the books, but enforcing them is another matter”. Several factors are seen as the main culprits why law enforcement could not be successfully achieved. One of the main factors is the anonymity of the perpetrator. As mentioned earlier, online sites offers a lax security feature as far as identity verification is concerned making it easy for cyber criminals to create fictitious identities. Another factor is the lack of tangible evidence. In order to make perpetrators accountable, there must be evidence that should hold in court. Since abuses are made virtually, it is doubtful if these virtual evidences can hold ground due to the number of ways wherein online communications can be intercepted and altered. Also, the issue of privacy has discouraged law enforcement agencies to conduct extensive operations against cybercrimes and online abuses. Government efforts to increase online surveillance have raised public concern and are commonly viewed as intrusive.
Conclusion
Even before the advent of the internet technology, women have already been a subject of discrimination and abusive behavior. The stereotyped vulnerability and helplessness of women has become one of the main drivers why they are common targets of abuse. It is only reasonable that with the increased engagement of women in online activities, they have become conspicuous targets of online abuse as well. The internet offers a new venue where several types of abuse against women and girls can thrive. Sexting, cyber bullying and pornography are just a few of the many faces of abuses that are aimed against women and children. In particular, social media sites are a common ground of abuses against women. The prevalence of abuses in these online venues can be attributed to the leniency of social sites to enforce identity verification making it possible for people with malicious intent to exploit women in these sites. Social sites does not only provide an opportunity for anonymity, their inability to provide distinguishing features for fake profiles also puts female users at risk for online abuses. Furthermore, even though numerous legislations have been passed to discourage malicious online activities, the fact that these laws could not be imposed properly creates a notion of lawlessness in the internet community. Since law enforcement agencies could not put teeth on its laws, online abuse towards women could not be properly addressed. Summing up, women and girls are the frequent targets of online abuse and harassment because of the cultural, technological and political flaws and lapses of modern society.
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