5/30/2023 0 Comments New world twitter![]() ![]() Interviews with mental health experts also detailed the negative psychological implications of online violence and abuse on women. Women who spoke to Amnesty International during the course of this investigation told us about increased anxiety, a loss of self-confidence, trouble sleeping, and an overall feeling of disempowerment after experiencing violence and abuse on Twitter. A study by UNESCO on ‘ Building Digital Safety for Journalists’ also acknowledges that, “ Despite a lack of aggregated data and specific studies on the issue, experts say there is enough evidence to suggest that the online harassment of journalists, including threats of violence, has a serious psychological impact that may result in self-censorship.” Although little research exists about the psychological impact of violence and abuse online, Amnesty International’s qualitative and quantitative research demonstrates that violence and abuse against women on Twitter risks causing psychological harm and suffering to women. ![]() It is important to remember that the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women….whether occurring in public or in private life”. The Toll of Violence and Abuse against Women Online There needs to be an understanding of the seriousness of what this is – rather than the kind of frivolous ‘Oh they only said it on Twitter so it doesn’t matter’. “Just because you say something on a keyboard and not to someone’s face, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. UK politician Ruth Davidson stressed to Amnesty, In fact, in both countries, more than 3 times as many women polled disagree (63% and 61%) than agree (19% in both countries) that online abuse and harassment can be stopped by just ignoring it. The online equals the offline and the offline equals the online.”Ī majority of women in the UK and USA agree that abuse that takes place online can have an impact on women’s lives more widely. “The conversation that the online and offline worlds are different is a key piece of the problem. The idea that we don’t need online platforms to survive is false.” ![]() But the online world is real and our offline lives are absolutely integrated with the online space. There is an attitude that it’s just name calling and the online world is not real and one’s feelings getting hurt online is not a real problem. “The distinction between our online and offline lives is a false distinction. US reproductive rights activist and blogger Erin Matson explains, In particular, women highlighted the interlinkages between their online and offline identities and stressed how violence and abuse online impacts their lives offline. Some people may believe that when the violence and abuse women face is online, it can simply be ignored or shrugged off – but almost every woman who spoke to Amnesty International emphasized that this simply is not the case. ![]()
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