Ending Digital Violence Takes All of Us

Technology is becoming the foundation for socializing in today’s world, with young people loving the convenience of connecting online and through social media. Instant access to the Internet is transforming school life, too, as kids as young as six are learning and playing online. And while most digital interactions are positive, it’s not always a safe place.

Online violence — or technology-facilitated violence — is becoming increasingly common and complex. In fact, one in three Canadian women and girls aged 15 to 24 experience cyberviolence each year — including harassment, and coercive sexting, “sextortion” (sexual extortion), misogynistic and sexually explicit posts and messages, doxing, and stalking.

Internet language, rhetoric, and algorithms can work in tandem to negative effect, often targeting boys and men with misogynistic thinking and language. When young people talk about, discuss, or glorify sexual violence as entertainment, it’s not “just a joke” or because “boys will be boys.” It is because of an increase in the normalization of the humiliation, entitlement, and objectification of girls.

Safety is about preventing assaults — online and off — and about creating communities where violence against women and gender-diverse people is unthinkable. Talk to the young people in your life and when they encounter digital gender-based violence, encourage them to:

• Not participate – it’s the best way to end an interaction
• Speak up when it’s safe to do so
• Support the victim (compassion and empathy go a long way)
• Report harm to a trusted adult

We are all entitled to dignity, humanity, and safety — in the real world and the digital one. As ways of connecting evolve and technology innovates, it’s important to maintain an open dialogue about digital safety, literacy, and the life-altering consequences to victims and perpetrators.