Cyber-bullying and Cyber-harassment, how can we prevent technology from turning into a dangerous tool used to control or end someone’s life from behind screens?

Cyberbullying and cyber harassment are manifestations that we have heard about and seen happen without having a clear reaction other than anger and condemnation. The occurrence of such a thing cannot be a reason to hide and be afraid. Every individual who is exposed to cyberbullying and cyber harassment should disclose these crimes and not be afraid of them. With the progress of life and the development that we are witnessing in the world of cybercrime, the penalties for these crimes are found within the law and are applied to the perpetrators. Therefore, failure to seek help can lead the victims of these crimes to anxiety, depression, and in other cases, suicide.

Cyberbullying and Cyber Harassment

Although cyberbullying and cyber harassment usually appear as new phenomena related to devices and social media. However, they are considered an extension of the bullying and harassment that occurs on the roads, parking lots, markets, and others.

UNICEF defines cyberbullying as “Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, and mobile phones. It is repeated behavior, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted.” [1]

Sexual harassment was first mentioned in 1973 by researcher Mary Roy in a report for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since that time, definitions have varied. The definition of Cyber Harassment has become “the use of the Internet or modern means of communication to communicate with a female against her will by using words, insinuations, or images of a sexual nature that may lead to her being exposed to psychological or physical harm” [2, P.6]

Effects of Cyberbullying and Cyber Harassment on Individuals

Research indicates that up to 7 in 10 young people have experienced online abuse at some point, one in three victims of bullying have self-harmed as a result, and 1 in 10 has attempted suicide. [3]
Online violence, cyberbullying, and digital harassment affect over 70 percent of young people globally, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said, calling for concerted action to tackle and prevent this form of violence.[4]

The effects of cyberbullying and cyber harassment cannot be limited to anxiety and fear only. There are many stories around the world of people committing suicide due to cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying can cause much harm to the mental and physical health of victims. Overthinking and worrying can lead to depression and sleep deprivation. This causes physical exhaustion and an inability to perform daily tasks with the same vigor. Bullying can also reduce the victim’s trust in others and keep him away from social contact with his surroundings. In addition, it can cause loss of appetite and neglect of food, which makes the health of the body very poor.

Cyber ​​harassment differs from physical harassment in that there is no obvious physical contact between the offender and the victim. Yet, this does not mean underestimating its harmful effects, which can cause a lot of psychological harm to women. “Cyber harassment” causes great psychological and social harm to the victim, no less than being physically harassed, while the harasser remains – in most cases – unpunished as a result of the coverage provided by his hiding – most of the time – under fake names on the Internet. [5]

Stories and facts

The harmful effects of cyberbullying and cyber harassment cannot be proven until we hear the truth from the victims. There have been many stories on the Internet of victims of these crimes. In order for all to have a place to express their fears, here are some of the common stories:

1. Lamees. S, a Syrian college student, tells the story of her exposure to an attempt of blackmail and cyber harassment from a person who presented himself as a researcher and hacked a research project she was preparing. The student said: “I contacted a page that provides services to college students and helps them with research, to get to know someone who pledged paid assistance.” She adds, “The story started naturally, as he was asking me for information in order to complete the research better. Then he started repeating the request to meet under the pretext of completing the research to the fullest, and here I started to feel that the situation is taking a different turn.” After a while, the person asked the student to open the camera on the pretext of completing the research, which Lamis responded to, only to be surprised that the man appeared with a completely inappropriate view, and spoke to her with indecent words. Lamis says: “I didn’t know how to disconnect, I was very confused, then as soon as I hung up the phone, I received a video recording of the call, in which I seem to accept the situation.” She adds: “the person, who seemed respectful at first, started blackmailing me, and threatening me to publish the recording if I did not respond to his requests, that we enter into a relationship and then demand thousands of dollars. The blackmail continued for “tough” days for the college student, who told her sister and brother to seek help to get out of trouble. Lamees refused to reveal how she got rid of this predicament, which had troubled her life for days and nights because it was not easy, she said. [6]
2. Another story is for Cassie from the UK. “When I was 13 I started talking online to someone who said she was a model,” says Cassie. She started getting to know me and had me send pictures to her without clothes, to convince me to turn into a model like her. She threatened me with pictures if I would not do what she wanted. She asked me to send my address and other information in order to meet her manager. The next day a man came to my house, sexually assaulted me, and took pictures of everything. I didn’t know what to do and didn’t want to tell the police because I thought the police would say I was wasting their time. I started hurting and neglecting myself. Six months later, the police called me after arresting the criminal, as it turned out that he had committed similar crimes. The depression and anxiety persisted throughout my teenage years, and I took two overdoses. I didn’t get counseling until I was twenty-two. That’s when I decided what had happened didn’t have to define me and it really helped that I had a sense that justice had been done. Without that, it would have been more difficult to recover.” [7]

We all know similar stories of people and celebrities who have been bullied by the public and end up lonely, depressed, and sometimes committing suicide.
At Uplifting Syrian Women, we have a place where everyone can express their feelings and problems. We cannot hold the criminal accountable. Yet, we can support and encourage victims to report the crime to those responsible and not be afraid. Here in this place, we have created a safe environment for everyone.

Also read: Violence Against Women.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

References:

[1] UNICEF

[2] Academia

[3] UN Chronicle

[4] UN News

[5] STJ- SY

[6] Syria TV

[7] Globalcitizen