(Re)thinking gender in cyber-violence. Insights from awareness-raising campaigns on online violence against women and girls in Italy
From Firenze University Press Journal: Media Education
Chiara Gius, Dipartimento di Scienze politiche e sociali, Università di Bologna
Far from being safe and accessible, online spaces are imbued with hatred and aggressive practices (Bainotti & Semenzin, 2021; Dunn, 2020; Garrido, 2022; Tiroc-chi, Scocco & Crespi, 2022). The proliferation of toxic comments against women and girls, the endless attacks directed towards the members of the LGBTQUIA+ com-munity and other marginalized social groups, the use of explicit sexual remarks, the adoption of rude language, the recurrent exercise of anger and hate, and the circula-tion of menaces and life threats, have all become stand-ard features in online interactions. As a result, in recent years, a large body of empirical knowledge and schol-arly work related to cyber-violence has become available to investigate how online practices sustain processes of exclusion, discrimination, and marginalization of spe-cific social groups from the Internet (i.e. Belluati, 2018; Genta, 2017; Navarro, 2016; Hellsten et al., 2021; Hinduja & Patchin, 2017; Macchioni & Santoni, 2022; Menesini, Nocentini & Palladino, 2017; Tirocchi, 2019; Tirocchi, Scocco & Crespi, 2022). In general, cyberviolence involves acts of aggression and harm perpetrated digitally, with the intent to cause, facilitate, or threaten harm or suffering to individu-als (Council of Europe, 2018). While gender was quikly assumed to play a pivotal role in shaping cyber-violence, for many years it was viewed, both within and outside academic circles, merely as one factor influencing vul-nerability to violence perpetrated online (World Wide Web Foundation, 2014). Although cyber-violence against women and girls (cyber-VAWG) has very concrete reper-cussions on the well-being of those subjected to it (Cit-ron & Franks, 2014; Giungi et al., 2019; Gius, 2022; Saltz et al., 2020; Vakhitova et al., 2021), early observers kept online abuses separated from more traditional forms of violence perpetrated against women. In their opinion, cyber-VAWG lacked the urgency and severity usually ascribed to physical harm, thus viewing it as a distinct issue. Similarly, sexist slurs and speech that glorified or trivialized violence against women were mostly normal-ized in both online and offline commentaries, rarely being labeled as hate speech (Pavan, 2017).As Elena Pavan (2017) points out, the marginaliza-tion of the role played by gender in the discussion of cyber-violence is especially evident in the initial over-looking of the interconnection between the violence experienced by women online and that experienced offline. Gender-based violence is not an isolated phe-nomenon; rather, it arises from and feeds into a frame-work characterized by profound inequalities and sys-tematic discrimination. Feminist researchers frequently describe this interconnected framework as the “contin-uum of violence,” which covers a spectrum going from intimate partner and domestic violence to sexual vio-lence, public harassment, wartime rape, and femicide (Cockburn, 2004; Davies & True, 2015; Garrido, 2022; Wibben, 2019). In this context, cyber-VAWG should be intended as an extension of this “continuum,” as it rep-resents the use of internet-based technologies to perpe-trate violent acts against women within the same sys-tem of oppression (Simonovic, 2018). This reasoning gains further support from the observation that, in the era of digital platforms, the boundaries between online and off line dimensions are increasingly intertwined and blurred (Floridi, 2015). As Lumsden and Morgan (2018, p. 129) indicate “the ‘virtual’ is ‘real’ and has ‘real’ implications for women, ethnic minorities and vulner-able groups who more often than not are the victims of various forms of cyber abuse”.Building on emerging literature, the following con-tribution examines the phenomenon of cyber-violence from a gender perspective. In particular, the paper advocates for a more systematic use of gender analy-sis both in studying online violence and in designing media literacy initiatives (Buckingham, 2017; Cho et al., 2022), aimed at addressing and mitigating the harmful effects of social media. The central idea it explores is the profound and unresolved societal tension highlightened by cyber-VAWG. While access to cyberspace supports an anticipated expectation for gender equality — or near equality (Capecchi, 2021), online interactions still reflect a persistent gendered double standard supporting the status quo of male domination (Bourdieu, 1998). Con-sequently, it becomes crucial to design digital literacy initiatives (Buckingham, 2007) that not only empha-size the skills for efficient internet use, promote internet safety, and impart knowledge about digital rights and responsibilities, but also recognizes cyber-VAWG as a distinct form of gendered online violence, addressing its social component and thus “defining it as a social practice” (Cho et al., 2022, p. 7). Such a perspective is vital to ensure, among other things, that media education efforts do not perpetuate gender stereotypes (Ringrose et al., 2013).After addressing the main challenges posed by cyber-VAWG and the most relevant research conducted in Italy, the paper offers an exploratory analysis of how cyber-violence against women and girls is represented in awareness-raising initiatives aimed at fostering safer experiences for online users in Italy. These campaings provide insights into the current social construction of cyber-VAWG in Italy, prompting a reflection on the necessity to promote gender-sensitive media education initiatives. Such initiatives are essential in supporting not only women and girls but also the broader public in adeptly navigating the increasingly complex digital landscape. Although conclusions must be considered preliminary, the analysis offers a bridge to enhance the overall understanding of the sociocultural construction of cyber-WAVG in the Italian context and provide a valuable platform to discuss directions for future research and media education initiatives.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/me-14896
Read Full Text: https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/med/article/view/14896
