Social Media as a Weapon to Harass Women Academics

George Veletsianos and Jaigris Hodson
Inside Higher Ed
Originally published May 29, 2018

Here is an excerpt:

Before beginning our inquiry, we assumed that the people who responded to our interview requests would be women who studied video games or gender issues, as prior literature had suggested they would be more likely to face harassment. But we quickly discovered that women are harassed when writing about a wide range of topics, including but not limited to: feminism, leadership, science, education, history, religion, race, politics, immigration, art, sociology and technology broadly conceived. The literature even identifies choice of research method as a topic that attracts misogynistic commentary.

So who exactly is at risk of harassment? They form a long list: women scholars who challenge the status quo; women who have an opinion that they are willing to express publicly; women who raise concerns about power; women of all body types and shapes. Put succinctly, people may be targeted for a range of reasons, but women in particular are harassed partly because they happen to be women who dare to be public online. Our respondents reported that they are harassed because they are women. Because they are women, they become targets.

At this point, if you are a woman reading this, you might be nodding your head, or you might feel frustrated that we are pointing out something so incredibly obvious. We might as well point out that rain is wet. But unfortunately, for many people who have not experienced the reality of being a woman online, this fact is still not obvious, is minimized, or is otherwise overlooked. To be clear, there is a gendered element to how both higher education institutions and technology companies handle this issue.

The article is here.

What Are The Real Effects Of Cyberbullying?

DNews
Originally published on Oct 31, 2014

Cyberbullying is a serious issue, and the effects it can have on a person can last a lifetime. Join Trace as he discusses the extent of the negative effects.




The three-minute segment is video worth watching.  It includes issues related to kids as well as adults.

Girl’s Suicide Points to Rise in Apps Used by Cyberbullies

By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
The New York Times
Published: September 13, 2013

Here is an excerpt:

In jumping, Rebecca became one of the youngest members of a growing list of children and teenagers apparently driven to suicide, at least in part, after being maligned, threatened and taunted online, mostly through a new collection of texting and photo-sharing cellphone applications. Her suicide raises new questions about the proliferation and popularity of these applications and Web sites among children and the ability of parents to keep up with their children’s online relationships.

For more than a year, Rebecca, pretty and smart, was cyberbullied by a coterie of 15 middle-school children who urged her to kill herself, her mother said.

The entire story is here.

Cyberharassment and Cyberstalking

Bruce E. Mapes, Ph.D., and Samuel Knapp, Ed.D.

                                                           

As the list of potential uses of technology to aid the practice of psychology grows, so does the list of potential misuses by disturbed or angry clients. For example, social network sites and public tax or utility records can provide personal information about a psychologist. A virus or worm may be embedded in or attached to an e-mail. An e-mail sent to a client may be modified. For example, in response to his client’s e-mail, Dr. Smith wrote “I am concerned about your distress and would like you to come to my office this evening.” The client edited the message to read “I am concerned about your wife’s distress and would like her to come to my office this evening”; the e-mail was forwarded to his attorney who was representing him in a custody hearing the following day. More recently, computers have become a means to harass or stalk psychologists.

Cyberstalking (CS) and cyberharassment (CH) are relatively new problems. Although they share many characteristics, the primary difference is CS most likely involves the risk of offline contact and physical harm, while CH involves the intent to attack character or reputation. Both may be driven by revenge, mental illness, jealousy, or anger, but CH may also be driven by the desire to intimidate or embarrass the victim. The anonymity of the Internet often empowers the individual to send multiple e-mails or text messages to the victim or to the victim’s significant others. Or the individual may hack into the victim’s computer; sign up the victim for spam or porn sites; send offensive e-mails in the name of the victim; or post on Web sites and include fabricated, misrepresented, or embellished information about the victim.

Although Canada has passed laws for both CH and CS, the United States has been slower in passing legislation, especially for CH. Some of the reasons for the lack of legislation include: (1) issues of legal jurisdiction since the Internet is an international medium; (2) limited resources to collect and authenticate evidence; and (3) the double-edged sword of free speech. Typically, CS is handled through the criminal courts and CH is handled through the civil courts. If CH is related to a custody matter, it may be possible to pursue criminal charges under laws related to intimidation or harassment of a court official or witness. Victims may try to file a complaint with the harasser’s ISP to have the account canceled or the Web site shut down. This is rarely successful since the ISP is not a publisher, but rather a means to access the Internet and therefore can rarely be held accountable for the “free speech” of the harasser.

When stalkers attempt to meet the victim offline, immediate consultation should be sought from law enforcement because this may pose a serious threat to the victim’s safety and welfare. Pursuing civil action in the case of CH can be more difficult. Harassers typically represent themselves which can result in a very lengthy process (years) and excessive attorney fees for victims. Even if victims are able to win damages and attorney fees, they may not actually collect any money, and it is unlikely the civil court will issue an order to shut the site down.

In the case of CH, the victim should keep a file of all offensive messages and posts, but should not provide intermittent reinforcers by responding. Typically, the harasser needs to be in control and wants to debate. Any response usually results in exchanges which escalate and can quickly get out of control (flaming wars). Harassers want to be recognized and will continue to make postings that are likely to become more outlandish and/or unbelievable, and ultimately discredit themselves. Most harassers discontinue when after a while they fail to elicit a response from the victim.

Harassment and stalking are stressful. Psychologists who are victims may experience a variety of symptoms, including but not limited to anger, demoralization, withdrawing, hypervigilance, avoidance of the computer, excessive self-consciousness, sleep disturbance, nightmares, impairment in concentration and memory, hypersensitivity to the comments or actions of colleagues and clients, and other symptoms common to prolonged stress. Psychologists who are victims should continue regular personal and professional routines, and remain active in recreational activities, family activities, and other activities that will help to reduce the preoccupation with and the harm from the CH. As in other situations, if the “symptoms” begin to impact one’s daily functioning, the psychologist should consult with a colleague or contact PPA’s colleague assistance resources.

For additional information on CS, CH, topics such as cyber-bullying, ways to protect yourself, and other resources, the reader is referred to the Stalking Resource Center, a program of the National Center for Victims of Crime (www.ncvc.org), and Cyber911 Emergency at www.wiredsafety.org. Occasionally google your own name to see in what contexts it may be used on the Internet.