As part of the SURF AND SOUND 2.0 project, the B.a.B.e association and the Electronic Media Agency continue to implement a national awareness campaign about online violence against women with the aim of changing attitudes and behavior among the general population - while targeting both perpetrators and victims of gender-based online violence.
Online violence is just as real as offline. Report it on the NEON Platform https://babe.hr/ne-online-nasilju/
Below we are reposting an article from the forum.tm portal titled "You are disgusted by sexual harassment at work, but you don't consider it serious in the virtual world? You are very wrong."
If television is a window to the world, then the internet can be compared to a wide-open door through which even a complete stranger can enter any home. The line between the real and virtual worlds is getting thinner every year, and the boundaries between the two worlds are becoming increasingly blurred, which is rapidly changing the way we communicate.
But, along with its many advantages, such as connecting distant family members and friends, it can also have serious drawbacks. In addition to the fact that through the 'open door' of the internet, anyone can enter your life and peek into your privacy, anyone can also initiate some form of communication with you, which can very easily go off the rails and become toxic, with serious and long-lasting side effects.
In short - harassment is no longer a reality only in the real world, but has also spilled over into the virtual world, flooding Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok... Online sexual harassment encompasses a very wide range of unwanted forms of behavior in which bullies, on various platforms, use digital content, photos, videos, posts, messages, send pornographic images or videos, force unwanted conversations about sex, threaten with revenge pornography... Ending such communication seems easy and quick, because there is a 'life-saving' blocking option, but things are not always so simple and the side effects can be long-lasting, and the response of the rejected bully can be extreme. Because of all this, the victim, who finds herself the target of a predator, feels anxious, insecure, threatened, exploited, humiliated or discriminated against, and most often remains silent about her experience in the virtual world.
According to a 2021 study by the Pew Research Center, about 33 percent of women and 11 percent of men aged 35 and under have been victims of sexual harassment online. While almost everyone condemns sexual harassment in real life, such as at work or in society, in the digital context it is often not considered serious, harmful or problematic. Acceptance of inappropriateness is increasingly entrenched in modern culture, and as a result, reporting rates of this type of harassment are still very low, with only about 16 percent of women and just 5 percent of men reporting sexual harassment.
The B.a.B.e Association, which has opened a specialized, free counseling center for victims of online violence and the online platform NEON – No to Online Violence!, has so far reported more than 150 cases of online violence, the most common forms of which are abuse by sharing or threatening to share footage of sexually explicit content without consent, online stalking and monitoring, harassment through fake profiles and publishing personal information, and online sexual extortion and blackmail.
One in 10 women in the European Union has experienced online harassment, including unwanted and offensive sexually explicit emails or text messages, and offensive and inappropriate content on social media, by the age of 15. The situation is no better in Arab countries, with a regional study showing that 60 percent of women internet users have been exposed to online violence. Almost 50 percent of women in Uganda have also experienced online harassment, and according to a 2016 survey by the Korean National Human Rights Commission, 85 percent of women have experienced hate speech online.
This, in short, means only one thing – in every corner of our planet, where the internet signal has reached, there are people who will abuse it and those who will, overnight, become their victims, because every comment, picture or video can be shared with thousands of people in a second, which can have a very negative emotional effect on an individual. In recent years, the number of reports of online sexual harassment, attacks and electronic abuse has increased, and in addition to adults, children are often also victims.
The only effective solution is education and awareness-raising, and honest and open discussions about harassment, for which the vastness of the internet has become very fertile ground. In addition to institutions, associations and campaigns, the responsibility also lies with technology companies, as well as society as a whole. The only effective 'cure' is a zero-tolerance policy for online sexual harassment, which includes any verbal, non-verbal or physical unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that is intended to or actually constitutes a violation of dignity or causes an intimidating, hostile, humiliating or offensive environment.
For the perpetrators who practice it, most often 'bravely' hidden behind their keyboards and computer screens, fake names and fake profiles, it should be noted that sexual harassment is not a game, but a criminal offense contained in the chapter of the Criminal Code (Article 156) that protects sexual freedom and in which the perpetrator exploits the victim's position of subordination (business sphere) or her vulnerability and dependence on the perpetrator. Behind online sexual harassment, predatory or humiliating communication, can also be colleagues from work, managers, superiors and even clients of the company where you work, and sexual harassment can also occur on company websites, forums and chat rooms.
Compared to other types of social power, influence in the virtual world is easily measurable, so people who have gained popularity on social networks and have 'great capital' in the number of followers, as well as the number of comments, views and clicks, sometimes abuse this influence, which can be very dangerous when it comes to sexual harassment, which is most often directed at people who are on the margins of popular social networks.
"Sexual harassment is a criminal offense that can be committed both in reality and online, and given the fact that it is related to a relationship of subordination and is typically located in the work sphere, in circumstances in which an increasing number of jobs are currently performed online and using information and communication technology, it is expected that in the future a significant number of such crimes will take place in the online sphere. A typical way of acting in the online sphere for this crime would be to send unwanted photos and comments of a sexual nature via online communication channels. Outside of situations provided for by criminal legislation, sexual harassment is also provided for as a misdemeanor under the Anti-Discrimination Act," explains the B.a.B.e association, which, in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate, is implementing the "SURF AND SOUND 2.0" project, funded by the European Union from the CERV program - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (2021-2027), and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
If you experience any form of harassment in the virtual world, do not look for the culprit in yourself, your profile photo, your posts and comments, and do not even think about closing your social media profiles, deleting apps and giving up the benefits of modern technology because of online bullies, because the damage has already been done to you, and such actions do not stigmatize the perpetrator and the abuse remains unpunished.
Instead, learn about your rights and gather as much evidence as possible that you have been harassed online. This could be emails, social media posts, photos, videos, comments, tweets, or direct messages sent to your inbox. It is crucial that you take screenshots as soon as possible that include the harasser's name or alias, email address, phone number, or any other visible information, and store it in a safe place and seek help.
"We have opened a specialized free counseling center for victims of online violence and have created an online platform NEON - No to Online Violence! babe.hr/neon, for reporting violence and accessing support services, and a phone number is also available: 01 4663 666," says the B.a.B.e association.
Thanks to the funding of the SURF and SOUND project by the European Union, specialized free support services for victims of online violence at the B.a.B.e association will be available until 2025, therefore they call on all people facing online violence not to remain silent but to report the violence, in order to receive all the necessary help and support.