Cork Views: We must make the digital world safe for women

Research from 2020 shows that 50% of women had experienced some form of digital abuse in Ireland.

Moreover, it is estimated that one in 10 women has experienced cyber violence across the world.

The World Health Organisation has acknowledged that there is not a single agreed-upon definition for violence against women.

It entails various forms of abuse, such as physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, including coercive control.

The digital age has only introduced more forms of abuse in the online world, creating the need to introduce more monitoring techniques to protect the online presence of young women and girls around the globe.

Violence against women is nothing short of a global health issue, and spreads like a virus in the online community.

The correlation between the digital age and the rise of violence against women must be acknowledged. New forms of abuse have been created, such as image-based abuse and ‘doxxing’, which involves revealing personal information such as home addresses or phone numbers.

Research from the organisation UN Women shows that approximately 58% of women and girls across the world have faced some form of online harassment.

In the 2010s, image-based abuse became a spotlight issue. This entails the sharing of intimate images and is often used as a form of coercive control or blackmail.

The recent Netflix hit Adolescence has highlighted how online material influences young boys’ opinions of their female peers.

Although this has made people aware of this epidemic, there is still a persistent need to educate the younger generation on the harmful effects of certain content online.

There has been a subsequent rise of misogynistic social media influencers who profit from enforcing their prejudice towards women across their platform to influential young boys and men in every corner of the globe.

Infamous social media star Andrew Tate uses his online presence to promote the idea of male dominance over women, enforcing harmful stereotypes to young boys and men across the world.

While toxic masculinity is a topic that deserves a separate article entirely, it can be recognised as a harmful contribution to the rise of violence against women.

It needs to be made aware in schools and the community that this sort of violence against women is not appropriate behaviour and should not be normalised within the online community.

While many aspects of the Irish legal system are severely flawed in combating violence against women, Ireland and the European Union are making strenuous efforts to hold those committing cybercrime accountable.

Since 2021, it has been illegal to threaten to share, publish, or distribute intimate images of someone without their consent, regardless of whether there is an attempt to cause harm.

‘Coco’s Law’ was created in light of the tragic death of a 21-year-old woman who died by suicide as a result of extreme cyberbullying.

Since its implementation, nearly 100 cases have been prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions in three years.

Unfortunately, however, there are no strict regulations that are liable to prosecute those spreading misogynistic hate speech in digital space.

It is important to highlight, however, that Ireland has implemented a hate speech bill which makes it a criminal offence to spread threatening material. Between 2000 and 2020, only five people were convicted.

‘Coco’s Law’ is a step in the right direction in acknowledging how the digital world can contribute to violence against women.

In 2024, the European Parliament introduced its first form of directive aiming to combat violence against women. This calls on member states to create stronger resistance against this form of violence, as well as better assistance for victims, and to introduce initiatives to gather a wider understanding of the definition of sexual assault.

The relationship between the digital age and violence against women is an epidemic that needs to be eliminated immediately.

Misogyny can be likened to a rotten fungus - it will continue to grow and spread unless something stands in the way to mitigate its presence.

Immediate priority needs to be made to alleviate the dangers of the misogynistic presence of the digital age in schools and the broader community.

The time is now to lessen the misogynistic pressures of the digital age and create a safer space online for women and girls.