A flash on the shared screen, and then it was gone. And then it happened again, and again, before the host restored order and removed the perpetrator from the session. But the few seconds of pornographic video appearing on screen were enough to leave the speakers and participants stunned and shaken, as experienced by makchic’s own Kimberly Lee and Liyana Taff, during a forum organised by Persatuan Tadika Sabah to discuss the topic of Keeping Our Children Safe from Abuse earlier this year.
This incident is not unique. In fact, the act of someone “taking part in a video conference, with the intention of interrupting and annoying the people in the meeting” has become increasingly common, that the phrase zoombombing is now added to the Cambridge English Dictionary.
Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence and the harms they cause
Harassing or moral policing of women over dress and behaviour deemed “inappropriate”, women and girls receiving unsolicited lewd messages or pictures, non-consensual sharing of intimate images – we have seen how digital technologies have been used to direct harm and violence against girls and women.
This type of harm is known as technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), which is ”committed or amplified using digital tools or technologies causing physical, sexual, psychological, social, political, or economic harm to women and girls because of their gender.” This could also include restricted access to devices, often seen in survivors of domestic violence to further isolate them from support.
Its digital nature allows the acts to be conducted under the cloak of anonymity and across geographical locations with impunity, often leading to amplification and propagation of these acts towards its victims and the normalisation of violence. In many instances, personal information released online is nearly impossible to remove.
Survivors of TFGBV often struggle with depression, damaged self-esteem, fear and anxiety. In cases where the violence is prolonged, the mental toll has driven some to commit suicide. The “significant health, safety, political and economic consequences” are not limited to these women and girls, but to society as a whole, according to the United Nations Population Fund. “As women and girls self-censor to prevent technology-facilitated gender-based violence, their voices are silenced and democracies suffer.”
A growing online threat against women and girls
In 2021, the Economist Intelligence Unit shared that 85% of women from 51 countries reported witnessing online violence against other women, with 38% of women reporting personal experiences with online violence. Another report shared that this violence is also targeted against young girls and women (between the ages 15 and 25 years), with 58% subjected to online harassment, which starts from as early as 8 years of age.
While this is a common experience for many, TFGBV has particularly impacted women in public life, including journalists, politicians and activists, and women with disabilities, LGBTIQ+, persons of colour, and migrant women.
A survey conducted in Malaysia in 2016 by PeopleACT similarly found that women experienced online harassment at least two times more than men. “Women from all age groups appeared to feel more fearful, threatened or uneasy online compared to their male counterparts.”
And it has only gotten worse for women coming out of the pandemic. While there is insufficient data in Malaysia, organisations such as the Women’s Aid Organisation have seen an increase in the number of cases they have received.
In an interview with makchic, Advocacy Director of Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), Abinaya Dhivya Mohan shared that the number of Hotline calls and TINA (WhatsApp) messages has almost doubled from January to October this year than those received in the same period in 2022. These experiences include distribution of private images, threats to harm, cyber bullying and doxing. “These numbers however are not a crystal clear picture. We anticipate that there are more cases that constitute TFGBV or online gender-based violence (OGBV), but are often part of the experiences of survivors of domestic violence or stalking,” she added.
It continues to evolve
The year 2023 has seen great strides in advancements of technology and the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. We celebrated the human-like responses from text prompts on ChatGPT and Google Bard, and the beautiful images and artworks produced by Midjourney and DALL-E 2. But, alarms have been raised on how generative AI technologies can also cause harm to women and children.
A recent report by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) provided a snapshot into how AI technology has been used to generate child sexual abuse images, which included rape and abuse of young children. 99% of these featured female children, and these images were most likely to feature children between the ages of 7 and 13.
In a small town in Southern Spain, photos taken from social media accounts were manipulated, and AI-generated naked images of more than 20 young girls, between the ages of 11 and 17, were widely circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram apps.
Protection under Malaysian Law
As technological advances continue to outpace the enactment of protective policies, what can be done to protect vulnerable groups from online harm? Malaysia has yet to enact comprehensive protective laws and policies to address the increasing complexities of online crimes against women.
However, several laws and policies can be used to address certain types of online violence and harm:
- Anti-Stalking Law (Section 507(a) of the Penal Code), which states that stalking is “a repeated act of harassment, which is intended or is likely to cause distress, fear, or alarm to any person for their safety” may offer protection for survivors of cyberstalking.
- Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 includes “any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, in any form, whether verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural or physical, directed at a person which is reasonably offensive or humiliating or is a threat to his well-being.” Victims of online sexual harassment, cyberflashing, threats of rape & sexual violence and non-consensual dissemination of intimate images are protected under this Act.
Survivors of other forms of TFGBV may also refer to the other sections of the Penal Code, such as Section 509 (for non-consensual dissemination of intimate images), Section 506 (for those who receive threats to cause grievous hurt, whether online or offline), and Section 383 (for sextortion).
Protection may also be conferred under the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998. Section 233(1) of CMA states that it is “an offence to create or solicit comments or other forms of communication that is obscene, indecent, false, menacing, or offensive to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person.”
However, Abinaya shared WAO’s concerns on the implementation and understanding of gender-based violence by relevant authorities. “OGBV is often assumed to be a less harmful form of violence because its impact is not visible or physical. The most common expectation is for survivors to remove themselves from the digital space which is exclusionary and a violation of their right to equal access to safe online spaces.” Anonymity protects the perpetrators from punishment, and “the onus then falls back on survivors, NGOs and social media companies to monitor and moderate such conversations.”
Helpful resources to help protect women from harm
It is sobering to note that many cases remain unreported, due to feelings of shame and fear. Most victims are also unaware of available options to address the harm.
It is important to understand that TFGBV comes in many forms. The United Nations Population Fund has created the interactive The Virtual is Real to raise awareness and empower survivors.
Closer to home, KRYSS Network has developed a helpful toolkit to help women identify the ever-evolving forms of this violence, the steps they can take to protect themselves from further harm, and useful resources and support they can access.
Posting obscene content is against the guidelines set out by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Making a complaint is possible through their platform.
Everyone has a role to play in keeping women safe from online violence; from technology companies employing the Safety by Design approach when designing new digital products and services, civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) empowering and equipping survivors with the right advice and knowledge, to legislators enacting effective protective laws and policies.
