https://arab.news/y639x
Did you know that around 60 percent of women internet users in Arab states have experienced online violence? That is the highest rate of any region in the world. According to UN Women reports, 44 percent of women in Arab states who experienced online violence have confronted it more than once, with 36 percent being told to ignore it, 23 percent blamed for it, and 12 percent subjected to physical violence by the family because of it. Over one in three men aged 18-24 surveyed in the region admitted they had perpetrated some kind of online violence against women. The main motivations given by the perpetrators — 26 percent said that “it is their right,” while 23 percent said “it was fun” — are chilling.
The rapid expansion of digital spaces across the Arab world has brought undeniable benefits, but also provided an opportunity for a rapidly increasing form of violence that is spreading faster than our legal, social, and cultural responses can keep pace. Digital violence is not a “virtual” problem with virtual consequences because more often the violence moves from online to offline and vice versa. It is a real form of harm that deeply affects women’s safety, dignity, mental health, and participation in public life. According to research, 35 percent of women who experienced online violence reported feeling depressed and afraid, with 12 percent indicating having had suicidal thoughts. I recently came across several disturbing news stories of young women and teenagers — male and female — who have taken or attempted to take their own lives because of harassment and threats online. Treating online violence as a secondary issue only perpetuates silence and impunity.
