Blog

Online spaces are amazing avenues for connecting with like-minded individuals and friends, but it’s just as easy to encounter harm. In fact, the internet, social media, and innovations in digital devices are worsening current forms of gender-based violence, while also creating new forms of abuse. You may have heard the terms “capping”, “sextortion” or “deepfakes” come up in the news or conversation and wondered what they were. Most of these acts are broadly referred to as ‘digital violence’ — or technology-facilitated violence — an all-encompassing term that refers to the criminal acts committed, assisted or intensified using technology, the internet, or social media. This unwanted digitally assisted behaviour can happen to anyone, but women, girls, and gender-diverse people are disproportionately targeted and affected by it. With rapidly evolving technology and vocabulary, it’s important to stay aware of the types of digital violence so you can protect your privacy and safety,