«With the advent of new technologies and social media, gender-based cyber violence is a constantly growing threat with impacts on an individual, social and economic level, on women and girls and on society in general. The actions taken so far have been inadequate and the cross-border nature of gender-based cyber violence has yet to be adequately addressed ”. Also because in these times of the coronavirus pandemic the situation has potentially worsened, because people’s social lives have changed and are much more online than before.
This assessment is the result of a study published today and conducted by the European Added Value Unit (Eava) of the European Parliament’s Research Service led by the Italian Lauro Panella, which supplements the legislative initiative report of the European Parliament on the fight against violence. gender informatics.
The study notes that gender-based cyber violence, an inconceivable phenomenon 30 years ago, sadly affects more and more women and girls who experience harassment, stalking and other types of threats while online. With the ever increasing use of social media, the threats women and girls experience online have an effect on how they use the internet. Although there are many examples of women reporting harassment or other forms of cyber violence, not much data or evidence has been collected on the phenomenon. Meanwhile, EU member states react and act differently when it comes to this issue. It is known that there is often a connection between virtual gender violence and that in real life, online and offline in many cases the violence is intertwined.
The study estimates that 4 to 7 per cent of women in the 27 EU countries have experienced online harassment in the past 12 months, while between 1 and 3 per cent have experienced virtual stalking. The prevalence of gender-based cyber violence is likely to continue to rise in the coming years, the study predicts, especially among teens. Cyber violence has a direct impact on victims, primarily in terms of mental health, with a higher incidence of depression and anxiety disorders. An impact that is also social and economic: from the withdrawal from the public debate to the costs incurred for legal research and health care, from the impact on the labor market in terms of less presence at work, to the risk of job loss or lower productivity and reduced quality of life due to poor mental health. Some of these impacts exacerbate other forms of discrimination faced by women, such as the gender pay gap in the labor market. Furthermore, they have an intersectional dimension and must be observed in conjunction with other forms of discrimination and hate speech against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer, i.e. who question their sexuality (LGBTIQ).
There is currently no common definition or effective policy approach to combat gender-based cyber violence either at European or national level. According to the study, the actions taken so far have been inadequate, also due to the cross-border nature of gender-based cyber violence. Furthermore, the costs of this violence to individuals and society are high, estimated at as low as € 49 billion to over € 89 billion. Among the proposed solutions, a combination of ‘legal and non-legal’ policy actions estimated to ‘generate the greatest European added value, promote the fundamental rights of victims, reduce costs imposed on individuals and society and support law enforcement. and the people who work with the victims ”. In fact, prevention actions, consultation of regulations and support for initiatives already underway to ensure respect for human rights prevail.
As already emerged from the report of the online hate working group set up in Italy by decree a year ago, anyone who comes up with the solution in their pocket and a magic recipe to counter the consequences of online hatred does not adequately take into account the complexity and delicacy of the phenomenon.
The EU Parliament study on gender-based cyber violence
Italian report on how hate is fought online