tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/harassment-19780/articlesHarassment – The Conversation2024-02-07T13:13:44Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2207672024-02-07T13:13:44Z2024-02-07T13:13:44ZAbout a third of employees have faced bullying at work – here’s how to recognize and deal with it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573464/original/file-20240205-19-di6nqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C44%2C5541%2C3925&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bullying at work often includes a power imbalance.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/boss-unsatisfied-from-his-employee-royalty-free-image/1257003156?adppopup=true">Vladimir Vladimirov/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The phenomenon of bullying, harassment and sexual abuse in workplaces throughout North America is widespread and harmful to both individuals and organizations. In fact, bullying at work <a href="https://canadasafetycouncil.org/working-bully/">affects up to 30% of workers</a> <a href="https://workplacebullying.org/2021-wbi-survey/">over time</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=XfvKveEAAAAJ">As practitioners</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=E_FnvlkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">and researchers</a> who study workplace violence, including bullying, harassment and sexual abuse, we define workplace bullying as <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/workplace-bullying-and-mobbing-in-the-united-states-2-volumes-9781440850233/">harmful acts of mistreatment between people</a> that go beyond incivility and cross the line to intentionally causing harm.</p>
<p>Bullying behaviors range from verbally insulting or socially excluding someone to sabotaging the victim’s work, inflicting psychological terror and engaging in sexual abuse or physical aggression. Manipulation and provocation also play a role in bullying dynamics, and cyberbullying has emerged as a new form of workplace harassment. Research suggests the impacts of workplace bullying <a href="https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v15i4.1733">affect employee health and safety</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.17-0111-OP">and the workplace overall</a>.</p>
<p>In a grocery store line, if someone invades your space, shoves you aside or threatens physical harm, the police may intervene, potentially resulting in an arrest. However, in the workplace, incidents involving bullying, assault, sexual abuse or other forms of violence are typically addressed through internal investigations. Our research suggests that treating workplace bullying as a matter of <a href="https://theconversation.com/workplace-bullying-should-be-treated-as-a-public-health-issue-190330">public health rather than employment law</a> is necessary to protect those being targeted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man in reflective vest sits on pallet with boxes with his head leaning on his hand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573467/original/file-20240205-29-9sbcqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Targeted workers can experience mental and physical health problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/depressed-worker-feel-tried-after-overwork-and-royalty-free-image/1352460014">warodom changyencham/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Workplace bullying results in real harms</h2>
<p>Targets of workplace bullying often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0935-9_8">experience serious repercussions</a>, including stress and burnout, along with other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2022.2164536">diagnosed mental health issues</a> and, in extreme cases, suicide.</p>
<p>Bullying can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0935-9_6">affect physical health</a>, with symptoms including sleep disturbances, cardiovascular diseases, body aches and pain, loss of appetite and headaches. Targets often describe an <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15051035">inability to concentrate</a>; since they’re spending time worrying about what is going to happen to them next, job performance suffers. The negative impacts can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0935-9_8">spill over to a target’s personal life</a> and affect their relationships with family and friends.</p>
<p>It’s not unusual for targeted workers to feel uncomfortable coming forward and talking about their experiences. But suffering in silence can lead to an even more <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2294">toxic climate</a> at work that can undermine your victims’ sense of security, with long-term consequences for their well-being.</p>
<h2>Personality traits of bullies and their targets</h2>
<p>Workplace bullies often target those who possess <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/beyond-cultural-competence/202306/workplace-bullies-target-self-directed-coworkers-most">qualities highly valued by employers</a>: self-sufficiency, cautiousness and innovativeness. Those targeted typically are motivated, have a kind perspective and prefer to avoid getting involved in office politics or engaging in competitive behavior. They take charge of their work and responsibilities.</p>
<p>Bullying often involves an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-10-2019-0125">imbalance of power</a>, where the perpetrator acts to obtain power and control over the target.</p>
<p>Researchers find that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2017/mar/28/the-psychology-of-a-workplace-bully">bullies tend to have</a> low self-esteem, problems with anger management and even personality disorders. Bullies often target people based on their appearance, behavior, race, religion, educational background, LGBTQ+ identity or because of perceived threats to their own career. </p>
<p>There’s no hard-and-fast profile, but males tend to exhibit more of the traits associated with bullying. Those who possess tendencies toward what psychologists call <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/dark-triad">dark triad traits</a> – <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Machiavellianism">Machiavellianism</a>, subclinical <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/psychopathy">psychopathy</a> and subclinical <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-little-bit-of-narcissism-is-normal-and-healthy-heres-how-to-tell-when-it-becomes-pathological-199069">narcissism</a> – <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-to-do-when-you-encounter-people-with-dark-personality-traits-at-work-192316">often gravitate toward jobs</a> that offer high levels of freedom and hierarchical structures.</p>
<h2>Are you being bullied?</h2>
<p>Have you noticed a <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/chapter/305680">decline in your emotional or physical health</a>? Is your job performance being affected? Feeling constantly stressed, anxious or demoralized are signs that something isn’t right.</p>
<p>Think about whether you feel singled out. Do you sense that you’re being isolated because of how others treat you?</p>
<p>If you do conclude you’re being bullied, your <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-wealth/202211/how-to-stop-workplace-bullying">first priority is keeping yourself safe</a>. Defending yourself against workplace bullying takes courage, but there are steps you can take to diffuse, distance and document what is happening to you.</p>
<p>In the moment when bullying is occurring, focus on trying to keep your emotions in check and avoid being reactive. For example, try to <a href="https://positivepsychology.com/psychological-distancing/">gain some psychological distance</a> in an emotionally charged situation – politely walk away, don’t engage, give yourself time to settle your emotions. Taking space by stepping away can disrupt the immediate intensity of the situation. It helps you stay in control rather than allowing a bully to force you to respond impulsively in the moment, which can lead you to say or do something you’ll regret.</p>
<p>Try your best to de-escalate the situation. Some tips for how to stop an interaction from spiraling include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Using polite, firm language to ask the bully to stop the conversation.</li>
<li>Asking the bully to leave.</li>
<li>Removing yourself from the situation if the bully won’t go.</li>
<li>Informing your supervisor immediately.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you feel threatened, calmly and politely stop the interaction by <a href="https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/violence/violence_negative.html">removing yourself in a nonthreatening way</a>. As challenging as it can be, the key here is to stay composed and remain respectful.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="worker in foreground aware of two in background of warehouse scene, watching" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573468/original/file-20240205-29-9nmg1v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can prepare yourself by thinking ahead about how to respond.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/an-industrial-warehouse-worker-being-the-target-of-royalty-free-image/1028928790">Fertnig/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to respond to an ongoing situation</h2>
<p>It may be helpful to engage in some advanced planning with a friend or colleague. Rehearse a bullying situation and practice how you would respond to help you get comfortable <a href="https://doi.org/10.14309/ajg.0000000000002090">using emotional distancing and de-escalation</a>. Advance practice can help you handle an emotionally charged encounter.</p>
<p>Seek the support and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-wealth/202211/how-to-stop-workplace-bullying">safety of your peers</a>. They can talk things through with you and become your allies if they are asked to describe or even testify about a bullying incident they witnessed.</p>
<p>Strive for an attitude of strength and confidence in yourself. Workplace bullies often choose to attack people they peg as easy targets. Present a strong front, trust in yourself and have confidence in your work – these attributes may make you less <a href="https://dailynurse.com/nurses-and-bullying-how-to-protect-yourself-and-your-co-workers/">likely to be targeted</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://healthyworkforceinstitute.com/5-strategies-to-protect-yourself-from-retaliation-when-you-confront-a-bully/">Document your experiences</a> when you perceive there is a problem. Be objective: Note the time and date, what happened, who was present, what was said and how it made you feel. Keeping a record helps quantify what is happening. Your organization should have <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9780429462528-19/managing-workplace-bullying-charlotte-rayner-duncan-lewis">policies and procedures</a> to support you if you believe you are being bullied at work. </p>
<p>A caveat, though: Keep in mind, human resources departments are often ill-equipped to manage these issues, and complaints may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040143">mishandled</a>, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Bullying-and-Harassment-in-the-Workplace-Theory-Research-and-Practice/Einarsen-Hoel-Zapf-Cooper/p/book/9781138615991">improperly dismissed</a> or simply ignored. Sometimes, if you’re able, it is better to look for a new job.</p>
<p>In order to effectively tackle the problem of workplace bullying and harassment, it is important for both employees and organizations to acknowledge and actively address these concerns. By establishing policies against bullying and fostering open lines of communication, workplaces can create safer spaces that enhance the well-being and productivity of their employees.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You’d call the police if a stranger in public did what many bullies at work get away with. 2 researchers who study workplace violence describe the widespread phenomenon.Jason Walker, Program Director & Associate Professor of Industrial-Organizational and Applied Psychology, Adler UniversityDeborah Circo, Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2214002024-01-19T00:43:22Z2024-01-19T00:43:22ZGolriz Ghahraman’s exit from politics shows the toll of online bullying on female MPs<p>The high-stress nature of working in politics is increasingly <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/494224/parlimentary-workplace-culture-improved-significantly-since-damning-2019-review-report">taking a toll on staff and politicians</a>. But an additional threat to the personal wellbeing and safety of politicians resides outside Parliament, and the threat is ubiquitous: online violence against women MPs. </p>
<p>Since her election in 2017, Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman has been subject to <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/01/16/ghahraman-faced-continuous-sexual-physical-threats-shaw/">persistent online violence</a>. </p>
<p>Ghahraman’s <a href="https://www.greens.org.nz/statement_from_golriz_ghahraman">resignation</a> following allegations of shoplifting exposes the toll sustained online violence can have on a person’s mental health. In an <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/zm9gn8/biography-as-a-battleground-what-it-means-to-be-new-zealands-first-refugee-mp">interview with Vice</a> in 2018, Ghahraman expressed how the online abuse was overwhelming and questioned how long she would continue in Parliament. </p>
<p>Resigning in 2024, Ghahraman said <a href="https://www.greens.org.nz/statement_from_golriz_ghahraman">in a statement</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>it is clear to me that my mental health is being badly affected by the stresses relating to my work</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the best thing for my mental health is to resign as a Member of Parliament. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ghahraman is not alone in receiving torrents of online abuse. Many other women MPs have also been targeted, including former Prime Minister <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2023/01/24/data-shines-a-light-on-the-online-hatred-for-jacinda-ardern.html">Jacinda Ardern</a>, Green Party co-leader <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/361341/green-party-co-leader-receives-rape-and-death-threats-on-social-media">Marama Davidson</a>, National MP <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/lately/audio/2018836535/female-politicians-face-sexist-abuse-online">Nicola Willis</a> and Te Pāti Māori co-leader <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/lately/audio/2018836535/female-politicians-face-sexist-abuse-online">Debbie Ngarewa-Packer</a>.</p>
<p>Words can not only hurt, but they can seriously endanger a person’s wellbeing.</p>
<p>Online violence against women MPs, particularly against women of colour, is a concerning global trend. In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13218719.2022.2142975">an Australian study</a>, women MPs were found to be disproportionately targeted by public threats, particularly facing higher rates of online threats involving sexual violence and racist remarks. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealand-newsrooms-saw-the-rise-of-mob-censorship-in-2023-as-journalists-faced-a-barrage-of-abuse-219583">New Zealand newsrooms saw the rise of 'mob censorship' in 2023, as journalists faced a barrage of abuse</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Similar online threats face women MPs in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/17/how-female-mps-cope-with-misogynistic-abuse">United Kingdom</a>. Studies show that women of colour receive <a href="https://www.amnesty.org.uk/online-violence-women-mps">more intense abuse</a>.</p>
<p>Male politicians are also subject to online violence. But when directed at women the violence frequently exhibits <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2023.2181136">a misogynistic character</a>, encompassing derogatory gender-specific language and menacing sexualised threats, constituting <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/faqs/tech-facilitated-gender-based-violence">gender-based violence</a>. </p>
<h2>Our legal framework is not enough</h2>
<p>New Zealand’s current legal framework is not well equipped to respond to the kind of online violence experienced by women MPs like Ghahraman. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2015/0063/latest/whole.html">Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015</a> is designed to address online harassment by a single known perpetrator. But the most distressing kind of abuse comes from the sheer number of violent commentators, most of whom are unknown to the victim or <a href="https://www.compassioninpolitics.com/three_quarters_of_those_experiencing_online_abuse_say_it_comes_from_anonymous_accounts">intentionally anonymous</a>. This includes “<a href="https://rm.coe.int/the-relevance-of-the-ic-and-the-budapest-convention-on-cybercrime-in-a/1680a5eba3">mob style</a>” attacks, where large numbers of perpetrators coordinate efforts to harass, threaten, or intimidate their target.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/analysis-shows-horrifying-extent-of-abuse-sent-to-women-mps-via-twitter-126166">Analysis shows horrifying extent of abuse sent to women MPs via Twitter</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Without legal recourse, women MPs have two options – tolerate the torrent of abuse, or resign. Both of these options <a href="https://www.cigionline.org/articles/when-women-are-silenced-online-democracy-suffers/">endanger</a> representative democracy. </p>
<p>Putting up with abuse may mean serious impacts on mental health and personal safety. It may also have a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/18/vile-online-abuse-against-women-mps-needs-to-be-challenged-now">chilling effect</a> on what topics women MPs choose to speak about publicly. Resigning means losing important representation of diverse perspectives, especially from minorities.</p>
<p>Having to tolerate the abuse is a breach of the right <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general-recommendation-no-35-2017-gender-based">to be free from gender-based violence</a>. Being forced to resign because of it also breaches women’s rights to <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-elimination-all-forms-discrimination-against-women">participate in politics</a>. Therefore, the government has duties under international human rights law to prevent, respond and redress online violence against women. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1745702227761664002"}"></div></p>
<h2>Steps the government can take</h2>
<p>United Nations human rights bodies provide <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general-recommendation-no-35-2017-gender-based">some guidance</a> for measures the government could implement to fulfil their obligations and safeguard women’s human rights online. </p>
<p>As one of the drivers of online violence against women MPs is prevailing patriarchal attitudes, the government’s first step should be to correctly label the behaviour: gender-based violence. </p>
<p>Calling online harassment “trolling” or “cyberbullying” downplays the harm and risks normalising the behaviour. “Gender-based violence” reflects the systemic nature of the abuse.</p>
<p>Secondly, the government should urgently review the Harmful Digital Communication Act. The legislation is now nine years old and should be updated to reflect the harmful online behaviour of the 2020s, such as targeted mob-style attacks. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-misogyny-narcissism-and-a-desperate-need-for-power-make-men-abuse-women-online-95054">How misogyny, narcissism and a desperate need for power make men abuse women online</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>New Zealand is also now out of step with other countries. <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/osa2021154/">Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/enacted">the UK</a> and the <a href="https://www.eu-digital-services-act.com/">European Union</a> have all recently strengthened their laws to tackle harmful online content. </p>
<p>These new laws focus on holding big tech companies accountable and encourage cooperation between the government, online platforms and civil society. Greater collaboration, alongside enforcement mechanisms, <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2022/08/intensification-of-efforts-to-eliminate-all-forms-of-violence-against-women-report-of-the-secretary-general-2022#:%7E:text=Pursuant%20to%20UN%20General%20Assembly,as%20on%20broader%20efforts%20to">is essential</a> to address systemic issues like gender-based violence. </p>
<p>Thirdly, given the <a href="https://newsroom.co.nz/2022/07/12/digital-harm-soaring-year-on-year">increasing scale</a> of online violence, the government should ensure adequate resourcing for police to investigate serious incidents. Resources should also be made available for social media moderation among all MPs and training in online safety. </p>
<p>More than ever, words have the power to break people <a href="https://theconversation.com/disinformation-campaigns-are-undermining-democracy-heres-how-we-can-fight-back-217539">and democracies</a>. It is now the urgent task of the government to fulfil its legal obligations toward women MPs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cassandra Mudgway does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Representative democracy is under threat as females – particularly from minority groups – leave or choose not to enter politics. Many say the mental toll of online abuse has become overwhelming.Cassandra Mudgway, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1923112022-10-27T16:42:16Z2022-10-27T16:42:16Z#MeToo turns 5: Taking stock of gender-based violence in Canadian politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491794/original/file-20221026-25-lwyx09.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6501%2C3707&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Québec Liberal Marwah Rizqy speaks at a news conference while Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, left, looks on, in August 2022 in St-Agapit, Que. Rizqy received repeated death threats, resulting in a man's arrest. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jacques Boissinot</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/metoo-turns-five--taking-stock-of-gender-based-violence-in-canadian-politics" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Five years ago, women around the world began publicly disclosing their experiences of sexual assault and harassment on social media using the hashtag #MeToo. </p>
<p>This milestone provides us with an opportunity to reflect on how Canada has dealt with its own supposed #<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/world/canada/metoo-sexual-harassment.html">MeToo reckoning</a> and misogyny in Canadian politics more specifically.</p>
<p>The events of 2017 came 11 years after <a href="https://metoomvmt.org/get-to-know-us/tarana-burke-founder/">Tarana Burke</a> founded the #MeToo movement to raise awareness about the violence Black women and girls experience in the United States. The #MeToo hashtag went viral in October 2017 after sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html">became public</a>. </p>
<p>Five years later, what lessons have we learned about gender-based violence in Canadian politics?</p>
<p>The first is that violence and harassment have not abated; if anything, they’ve escalated in the Canadian political sphere.</p>
<p>In response to rising threats and safety concerns for parliamentarians, Canada’s <a href="https://hillnotes.ca/2022/09/15/violence-against-politicians-in-canada-and-internationally/">public safety minister announced</a> in June 2022 that all MPs would receive “panic buttons” to increase their personal security. </p>
<p>During the 2021 federal election, analyses of tweets received by incumbent candidates and party leaders conducted by the <a href="https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.229/z3f.d62.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SAMBOT-2021-Federal-Election-Snapshot-1.pdf">Samara Centre for Democracy</a> show that 19 per cent were likely toxic, meaning they were uncivil, insulting, hostile, threatening or profane.</p>
<p>While public officials from all backgrounds are being targeted, women, Indigenous, Black, racialized and queer politicians are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mps-staff-online-hate-security-measures-1.5347221">bearing the brunt</a> of current attacks on Canada’s democracy.</p>
<h2>Freeland accosted</h2>
<p>In August 2022, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9094638/rcmp-investigation-freeland-verbal-attack/">a man cornered Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland</a> and her all-women staff entourage in a city hall elevator in Grande Prairie, Alta. and hurled abuse and profanities at her.</p>
<p>The incident prompted other women politicians to speak out about their own experiences of harassment. </p>
<p>Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek shared <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9094546/calgary-mayor-jyoti-gondek-harassment-fears/">her experiences</a> of harassment on Twitter, while Québec Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy went public with recent <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/man-arrested-for-making-threats-against-liberal-mna-marwah-rizqy">harassment and threats</a> made against her. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1563992273180049409"}"></div></p>
<p>Rizqy has received death threats, including from a man who allegedly <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/death-threats-break-in-candidates-say-they-ve-been-targeted-during-quebec-election-campaign-1.6050302?cache=rsdredfkiqo%3FcontactForm%3Dtrue%3FautoPlay%3Dtrue">called the police to tell them where they could locate her murdered body</a>. She was pregnant at the time. </p>
<p>A few weeks later, an online harassment campaign directed at <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/women-journalists-targeted-in-co-ordinated-campaign-of-hate-canadian-association-of-journalists-1.6045856">women journalists</a> — several of whom are racialized — was underway.</p>
<h2>Threaten violence</h2>
<p>In all of these instances, the harassers invoked violent, misogynistic, racist language, imagery or props as a way to demean, intimidate and threaten their targets.</p>
<p>We’ve also learned that some political leaders seem willing to use the vitriol seeded in our political culture for partisan gain. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491795/original/file-20221026-13-5gbu7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man with dark hair and glasses speaks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491795/original/file-20221026-13-5gbu7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491795/original/file-20221026-13-5gbu7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491795/original/file-20221026-13-5gbu7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491795/original/file-20221026-13-5gbu7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491795/original/file-20221026-13-5gbu7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491795/original/file-20221026-13-5gbu7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491795/original/file-20221026-13-5gbu7p.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period in the House of Commons in October 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In October 2022, Global News reported that a <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9178531/pierre-poilievres-youtube-channel-included-hidden-misogynistic-tag-to-promote-videos/">hidden misogynistic tag</a> was placed on 50 of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s most recent YouTube videos. </p>
<p>The hashtag, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/aug/26/men-going-their-own-way-the-toxic-male-separatist-movement-that-is-now-mainstream">“MGTOW” (men going their own way)</a>, refers to an online anti-feminist movement that advocates for male supremacy. </p>
<p>When pressed on the subject, Poilievre <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-pierre-poilievre-under-fire-for-reported-misogynistic-tags-on-youtube/">condemned all forms of misogyny</a> but did not apologize.</p>
<h2>Silence and exclusion</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/violence-against-women-in-politics/">Academic research</a> shows that when harassment is directed at female politicians, staffers, activists and journalists because they are women, it poses a threat to democracy. </p>
<p>Rutgers University political scientist Mona Lena Krook <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/news/violence-against-women-politics-growing-problem">has argued</a> that the goal of violence against women in politics is to silence and exclude them from public life.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/another-barrier-for-women-in-politics-violence-113637">my research</a> with the University of Windsor’s Cheryl Collier indicates, violence and harassment in politics are barriers to women in Canadian politics and undermine democratic values like equal representation and participation. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/another-barrier-for-women-in-politics-violence-113637">Another barrier for women in politics: Violence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>After the 2021 federal election, women held 30.5 per cent of House of Commons seats. Today, Canada <a href="https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=9&year=2022">ranks 61st</a> out of 190 countries in women’s political representation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of women and one man stand for a photo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491786/original/file-20221025-18353-9jvwx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2960%2C1617&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491786/original/file-20221025-18353-9jvwx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491786/original/file-20221025-18353-9jvwx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491786/original/file-20221025-18353-9jvwx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491786/original/file-20221025-18353-9jvwx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491786/original/file-20221025-18353-9jvwx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491786/original/file-20221025-18353-9jvwx8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women foreign affairs ministers, including Chrystia Freeland, who was Canada’s foreign affairs minister at the time, pose for a photo at a conference in Montréal in 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Positive developments</h2>
<p>Thankfully, not all of #MeToo’s lessons have been negative, and some positive strides for Canadian women have been made.</p>
<p>In 2018, the federal Liberal government passed a new law, <a href="https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/42-1/c-65?view=progress">Bill C-65</a>, that updates and strengthens existing legislation to prevent and address harassment and violence across all federally regulated workplaces. That includes Parliament.</p>
<p>In response to Bill C-65, the House of Commons and the Senate updated their policies in 2021 to prevent and address violence and harassment. </p>
<p>Since #MeToo, many provincial and territorial legislatures have also adopted either codes of conduct or policies to deal with sexual harassment. </p>
<p>Although these codes and policies are insufficient and additional measures are needed, the media and the public’s attention on workplace harassment and violence since #MeToo have spurred changes within these legislatures.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large crowd gathers, many wearing pink hats. A sign in the middle reads The Future is Female." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491789/original/file-20221026-11-h5s605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1985&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491789/original/file-20221026-11-h5s605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491789/original/file-20221026-11-h5s605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491789/original/file-20221026-11-h5s605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491789/original/file-20221026-11-h5s605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491789/original/file-20221026-11-h5s605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491789/original/file-20221026-11-h5s605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A large crowd gathers at Nathan Phillips Square for the start of the Toronto Women’s March in January 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But more must be done. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in harassment and violence cases need to be prohibited in all organizations and workplaces, including legislatures. Banning NDAs won’t be enough to stop unethical behaviour, however. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxy024">my research</a> with Collier shows, political institutions — which remain mainly white, cis-gendered and male-dominated — need to do more to uproot their sexist, exclusionary cultures. </p>
<p>Lawmakers must adopt strategies to disrupt the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-04-2019-0117">networks of complicity</a>” that protect powerful perpetrators and enable abusive behaviour. Fully impartial, transparent processes that address all forms of violence and impose serious sanctions on those who commit violence or harassment would help.</p>
<h2>Attack on democracy</h2>
<p>The harassment of journalists, political candidates, staff and elected officials by a small faction of the public must also be addressed. </p>
<p>An attack on any political official must be viewed as an attack on Canadian democracy, and should not be tolerated in a free and democratic society.</p>
<p>Finally, political parties must do better at recruiting and electing diverse people to public office. </p>
<p>When the 10-year anniversary of the #MeToo movement arrives in 2027, Canadian democracy will hopefully be strengthened by the steps we take today to end violence and harassment in politics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192311/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracey Raney receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>When harassment is directed at women politicians, staffers, activists and journalists because they are women, it poses a threat to democracy.Tracey Raney, Professor of Politics and Public Administration, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1903302022-09-27T19:02:51Z2022-09-27T19:02:51ZWorkplace bullying should be treated as a public health issue<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485418/original/file-20220919-12904-64tzb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5447%2C3404&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Despite numerous high-profile cases of workplace bullying in recent years, bullying and harassment remain widespread.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/workplace-bullying-should-be-treated-as-a-public-health-issue" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>No one should have to be subjected to violence or harassment in the workplace. But workplace harassment is surprisingly widespread in Canada. In 2018, Statistics Canada found that <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2018001/article/54982-eng.htm">19 per cent of women and 13 per cent of men experienced harassment</a> in their workplaces.</p>
<p>Bullying goes beyond <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1976">workplace incivility</a>. While incivility can be addressed through education on workplace etiquette, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/emotional-intelligence">emotional intelligence</a> and discipline, <a href="https://www.abc-clio.com/products/a5184c/">bullying is intentional interpersonal mistreatment</a> that involves offensive, hostile and assaulting conduct directed at someone for a minimum period of six months.</p>
<p>Multiple high profile incidents of workplace bullying have been in the media over the past few years, from the alleged toxic workplace culture created by <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/julie-payette-governor-general-harassment-allegations-1.5657397">former Gov. Gen. Julie Payette</a> and the <a href="https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/workplace-harassment-a-factor-in-suicide-death-of-winnipeg-reservist-canadian-armed-forces-1.4221474">suicide of a Canadian Armed Forces reservist</a> linked to constant harassment by co-workers, to the alleged toxic work culture at Bell Media and backlash against the firing of <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2022/08/26/investigations-probed-toxic-workplace-allegations-at-bell-media-prior-to-ouster-of-lisa-laflamme.html">CTV News anchor Lisa LaFlamme</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A blue snow-covered sign that says Rideau Hall in gold lettering" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485417/original/file-20220919-6421-3rgne6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485417/original/file-20220919-6421-3rgne6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485417/original/file-20220919-6421-3rgne6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485417/original/file-20220919-6421-3rgne6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485417/original/file-20220919-6421-3rgne6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485417/original/file-20220919-6421-3rgne6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485417/original/file-20220919-6421-3rgne6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Julie Payette resigned as Governor General in 2021 amid allegations of workplace harassment and bullying from current and former staffers at Rideau Hall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite these high-profile cases, not much has changed aside from empty statements from <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6488391/rcmp-bullying-harassment/">leadership condemning bullying</a>, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/executive-to-take-leave-amid-fallout-from-lisa-laflamme-s-departure-from-bell-media-1.6044655">periods of reflection</a> and referral to <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/bullying-and-harassment-still-major-problems-within-rcmp-says-watchdog/">third-party investigators</a>. </p>
<p>We need to move beyond awareness campaigns, legislation, high-profile media attention and court action to protect people from workplace bullying. The solution might lie in viewing workplace bullying not as a workplace issue, but as a public health issue. </p>
<h2>Bullying has impacts on health</h2>
<p>Like other health issues, the impact of workplace bullying has measurable diagnostic implications and the clustering of adverse physical and psychological symptoms of bullying victims is definable. Multiple studies have shown that it can negatively impact <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0935-9_5">a person’s mental health</a> and can even lead to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.28933/ijprr-2020-01-1205">long-term psychological trauma</a> </p>
<p>In addition, bullying has been linked to various <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2010.06.007">health conditions</a> including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehy683">cardiovascular disease</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2011.00932.x">musculoskeletal complaints</a>, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43999191">sleep issues</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.5964%2Fejop.v15i4.1733">generalized physical pain.</a> </p>
<p>All too often, we see the worst life-altering impact of bullying: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0935-9_8">death by suicide</a>. For those who are already struggling with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts, <a href="https://www.suicideinfo.ca/local_resource/workplace-suicide-prevention/">workplace bullying can increase the risk of suicide</a>.</p>
<p>In 2018, the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board paid compensation to a woman <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4012406/saskatchewan-widow-wcb-compensation-husbands-suicide-linked-workplace-bullying/">after her husband’s suicide was linked to workplace bullying</a>. The man’s workplace was the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/docproject/the-grader-operator-s-widow-1.4647084/her-husband-took-his-own-life-after-he-was-bullied-on-the-job-1.4647320">target of several allegations of workplace bullying</a>. It is clear workplace culture has to change.</p>
<h2>Bullying impacts businesses as well</h2>
<p>Workplace bullying also significantly impacts the organizations that victims work for. It is well-documented that <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Bullying-and-Harassment-in-the-Workplace-Theory-Research-and-Practice/Einarsen-Hoel-Zapf-Cooper/p/book/9781138615991">bullying can negatively affect a person’s perception of their performance and self-worth</a>. This negative perception of a victim’s identity can impact their work productivity.</p>
<p>Around <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-3937-1.ch025">10 to 52 per cent of a victim’s time at work is deemed unproductive</a> because of the amount of time they spend defending themselves, seeking support, experiencing poor job satisfaction and higher depression and anxiety levels.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man with his head down in his hands is surrounded by pointing fingers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484970/original/file-20220915-37506-vx0wjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C29%2C6602%2C4384&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484970/original/file-20220915-37506-vx0wjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484970/original/file-20220915-37506-vx0wjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484970/original/file-20220915-37506-vx0wjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484970/original/file-20220915-37506-vx0wjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484970/original/file-20220915-37506-vx0wjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484970/original/file-20220915-37506-vx0wjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bullying doesn’t just impact a victim’s personal life — it can also significantly impact their productivity at work and the firm they work for.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the last 20 years, the field of research on bullying has shifted. Due to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16111945">increasing number of studies</a> linking this issue to mental health issues, researchers developed effective interventions, like <a href="https://www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/hazards-exposures/bullying-harassment/resource-tool-kit">workplace bullying tool kits</a> and <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/workplace-health-safety/harassment-violence-prevention/sample-policy.html">policy templates</a> that can help workers. </p>
<p>Some of these interventions include developing strategies to <a href="https://www.crisisprevention.com/en-CA/Blog/Strategies-to-Stop-Workplace-Bullying">prevent bullying</a> and educate abusive managers about the negative effects of their behaviour. In addition, governments have <a href="https://www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/hazards-exposures/bullying-harassment">passed legislation</a> to dissuade bullying at work, holding organizations more accountable. But bullying still persists.</p>
<h2>Bullying is a public health issue</h2>
<p>It’s clear the current workplace health and safety framework isn’t working — people keep getting hurt. Human resource departments are key actors in addressing workplace bullying. But more often than not, field complaints are often <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11040143">mishandled</a>, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Bullying-and-Harassment-in-the-Workplace-Theory-Research-and-Practice/Einarsen-Hoel-Zapf-Cooper/p/book/9781138615991">improperly dismissed</a> or simply ignored.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cpha.ca/what-public-health">Public health</a> is a broad term that refers to the way society prevents illness and injury. It involves a variety of programs and policies that promote the well-being of all Canadians. Workplace bullying is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/violence/default.html">a type of preventable violence</a> that, by its very definition, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpubh.2021.812979">meets the criteria</a> of a public health issue. The health hazards of workplace bullying result in long-term, cumulative exposures and poorer <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101508">population health outcomes</a>. </p>
<p>It is time to champion change through a public health lens. Under the auspices of the <em><a href="https://lois-laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-29.5/">Public Health Act</a></em> and related provincial authorities, directing appropriate financial and legal resources necessary for preventing, intervening and addressing workplace bullying could finally realize substantive change.</p>
<p>A public health mandate with a universal <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/about/publichealthapproach.html">prevention focus</a>, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/eis/field-epi-manual/chapters/Interventions.html">intensive intervention</a> treatment and ongoing <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/training/publichealth101/surveillance.html">public health surveillance</a>, with the regulatory authority to intervene, would make a significant difference in decreasing the prevalence of workplace bullying.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Walker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s clear the current workplace health and safety framework isn’t stopping people from getting bullied. It’s time to treat bullying as a public health issue and address the problem more effectively.Jason Walker, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University Canada WestLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1886272022-08-21T13:09:23Z2022-08-21T13:09:23ZA professor in India lost her job over a bikini photo on Instagram. What does this say about misogyny?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479676/original/file-20220817-17-mq73hb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C3095%2C2055&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The insidiousness of misogyny lies in not allowing women ownership of their bodies. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Solen Feyissa/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/a-professor-in-india-lost-her-job-over-a-bikini-photo-on-instagram--what-does-this-say-about-misogyny" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>News recently broke that last year, an assistant professor in Kolkata — one of the more liberal cities in India — was allegedly forced to resign after <a href="https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/kolkata-professor-sacked-over-swimsuit-pics-alleges-witch-hunt-576946.html">posting a photo in a bathing suit</a> on her social media. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/edit-page/invoking-the-divine-female-principle/articleshow/1773234.cms">the divine feminine</a> is often revered in India, the way <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/talk/misogyny-is-the-oldest-indian-tradition/article9800756.ece">men continue to treat women in the country</a> speaks volumes to a culture of misogyny. </p>
<p>Philosophers like Iris Young, Sandra Bartky and Susan Bordo have argued that women’s bodies are made <a href="https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A57816042/AONE?u=googlescholar&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=4d7bb712">“docile” and are “disciplined” through diet, make-up and dress</a>. In South Asian cultures, social norms are designed for women to carry the weight of their families’ honour, and in some cases, the reputation of their employers.</p>
<p>As a researcher studying gender-based violence and social inequity, I argue that women who upset the social setup and choose not to conform to the cultural and social expectations of femininity are seen as the “<a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/living-a-feminist-life">trouble-makers</a>” and are therefore punished.</p>
<h2>What actually happened</h2>
<p>The assistant professor’s photo <a href="https://thewire.in/education/kolkata-st-xaviers-university-professor-instagram">generated a variety of reactions</a> and revealed how in Indian society, women are compelled to bear the weight of modesty. </p>
<p>The professors <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/st-xavier-assistant-professor-slutshamed-insta-picture-8094631/">recently revealed</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Not only was I morally policed and harassed for over an hour over images which I had privately shared with a select group of people, but I was also forced to tender my resignation.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1557387609638182912"}"></div></p>
<p>The father of an 18-year-old student complained his son was looking at “vulgar” photos of the assistant professor. He wrote to the university expressing his “concern” about his son being exposed to the photo. </p>
<p>Many criticized the university’s action as a witch hunt when it was revealed that the vice chancellor and people in the university’s higher administration allegedly forced the assistant professor to resign based on the pictures from her personal Instagram.</p>
<h2>Structural violence against women</h2>
<p>The insidiousness of misogyny lies in not allowing women ownership of their bodies — in many cases, women’s bodies become <a href="https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1532&context=jiws">the “marker of honour</a>.”</p>
<p>Women who break away from society’s gendered expectations create subjective selves that challenge the very functioning of the patriarchy. When women decide to not abide by the moral code and exist in their bodies — it is an act of resistance. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561688/">Structural violence</a> is a combination of personal, situational and interpersonal factors that harm women in many ways. The incident at St. Xavier’s University proves how gendered expectations and culture create the conditions for disciplining and punishing women. </p>
<p>Feminist researcher <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/26776497.pdf">Kalpana Wilson</a> argues that women’s bodies become sites of surveillance and are morally and socially policed based on their location. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5774688/">Gender stereotypes around femininity</a> are used as harmful social tropes and enforced in educational spaces through dress and moral code of conduct. </p>
<h2>Dress code this, dress code that</h2>
<p>In a study, consulting firm <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace">McKinsey and Company</a> found that professionally, women tend to perform and provide organizational support more than men in similar positions. Yet, women tend to be undervalued. </p>
<p>This illustrates how women who are “trouble-makers” can face dramatically increased challenges at work. Women have to meet unrealistic expectations and regularly have their credibility questioned. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women sit at a table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479693/original/file-20220817-11701-m7scnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479693/original/file-20220817-11701-m7scnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479693/original/file-20220817-11701-m7scnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479693/original/file-20220817-11701-m7scnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479693/original/file-20220817-11701-m7scnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479693/original/file-20220817-11701-m7scnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479693/original/file-20220817-11701-m7scnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women tend to be undervalued compared to men in the workplace.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Christina WOCinTechChat/Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Keith Plummer and Sarah Saska of <a href="https://www.feminuity.org/post/professionalism-belonging-workplace-bias-culture-unprofessional-stigma-expression-human">Feminuity</a> — a Toronto-based feminist diversity and inclusion consulting firm — argue that strict professional codes of conduct harm women, queer folks and those with diverse identities in the labour market. They say that professionalism enforces a mechanical identity where any deviation is treated with skepticism and stigma. </p>
<p>Critiquing professionalism, Plummer and Saska note that it denies opportunities to people and dismisses diverse perspectives. Dress codes not only impose gendered expectations but also make women more vulnerable to institutional scrutiny. </p>
<p>The incident at the university amounts to gendered harassment. </p>
<p>The women working to break away from systemic misogyny and ideas that are rooted in heteronormative and gendered stereotypes also make space for resistance to social oppression. The <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11g9836">community of “killjoy women</a>” who live in their bodies work to upset the patriarchy by becoming the tool that challenges its very function.</p>
<p>As British writer and author of the blog feminist killjoys <a href="https://feministkilljoys.com/">Sara Ahmed</a> says, protest is a form of self-care. Women’s voices and actions are feminist tools of protest and reclaiming bodily autonomy. </p>
<p>Women who participate in killjoy moments like existing in their bodies create room for others to demand equal treatment in cultures that dehumanize their existence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deeplina Banerjee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The incident at St. Xavier’s University in Kolkata amounts to gendered harassment.Deeplina Banerjee, PhD Candidate, Gender, Sexuality and Women Studies, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1837172022-06-01T23:54:09Z2022-06-01T23:54:09ZCatcalls, homophobia and racism: we studied why people (and especially men) engage in street harassment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466158/original/file-20220531-12-mb0mpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3600%2C2387&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>“Hey sexy.”</em></p>
<p><em>“Smile!”</em></p>
<p><em>“Hey ladies, can I watch?”</em></p>
<p><em>“Can I have your number?”</em></p>
<p>A growing body of <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Everyday_sexism_TAIMarch2015_0.pdf">research</a> shows public harassment is among the most prevalent forms of sexual and gender-based violence. Street harassment <a href="https://stopstreetharassment.org/our-work/nationalstudy/">can include</a> homophobic, transphobic, racist and ableist actions, as well as overtly hostile and aggressive behaviour. </p>
<p>Yet, we know very little about who harasses and why they do it. Typically, harassment is perpetrated by strangers, is often fleeting, and can include behaviours welcome in other contexts, such as asking for someone’s number.</p>
<p>In our recent <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/bjc/azac029/6596757?redirectedFrom=fulltext">work</a>, we asked participants about why they think people (mostly men) harass others in public space. This <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/publications/insights-sexual-assault-perpetration">centres the expertise and knowledge</a> of those targeted for harassment. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-consent-for-sex-and-no-it-doesnt-have-to-spoil-the-mood-172139">How to get consent for sex (and no, it doesn’t have to spoil the mood)</a>
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<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466168/original/file-20220531-20-rsewoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466168/original/file-20220531-20-rsewoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466168/original/file-20220531-20-rsewoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466168/original/file-20220531-20-rsewoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466168/original/file-20220531-20-rsewoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466168/original/file-20220531-20-rsewoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466168/original/file-20220531-20-rsewoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466168/original/file-20220531-20-rsewoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Street and public harassment are among the most prevalent forms of sexual and gender-based violence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who does it?</h2>
<p>Unsurprisingly, participants said they were either solely or disproportionately harassed by men, reflecting what we know about gender-based violence broadly.</p>
<p>However, a few participants discussed experiencing harassment from women. This was typically in relation to non-sexualised harassment, for example racist, homophobic and transphobic abuse. </p>
<p>There was less agreement on which “types” of men harass. For example, some people said they were most commonly harassed by younger men, older men, men by themselves and men in groups. </p>
<p>Some participants mentioned factors such as age, race and class in describing harassers. “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/68084568/woman-goes-to-police-over-tradie-wolf-whistling">Tradies</a>” were commonly identified; one participant told us “it’s always tradies”, while another described her experiences as the “classic tradies yelling at school girls sort of stuff”.</p>
<p>Some thought men from particular cultural or racial backgrounds were more likely to harass, though others stressed most harassment they experienced was from white Australian men. </p>
<p>However, the focus on particular “types” of men in some responses – such as “tradies”, “bogans”, “creepy old men” and men of colour – also provides insights into who is <em>viewed</em> as more likely to engage in harassment. </p>
<p>Participants often inadvertently perpetuated power inequalities such as classism and racism in the ways they described harassers.</p>
<p>It is important to recognise these are not “neutral” accounts. Perceptions of harassment are shaped by our internalisation of stereotypes and our lived experiences. This is particularly so when what “counts” as harassment can be highly <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-010-9070-1">subjective and context-dependent</a>.</p>
<p>So, why did participants think men harass others in public spaces?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466169/original/file-20220531-14-an8sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466169/original/file-20220531-14-an8sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466169/original/file-20220531-14-an8sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466169/original/file-20220531-14-an8sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466169/original/file-20220531-14-an8sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466169/original/file-20220531-14-an8sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466169/original/file-20220531-14-an8sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466169/original/file-20220531-14-an8sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perceptions of harassment are shaped by our internalisation of stereotypes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Because they’re ‘stupid, sleazy, losers’</h2>
<p>Participants offered a range of explanations for why men harass. At an individual-level, men who harass were often depicted as “other” or “deficient” in some way. </p>
<p>Terms such as “stupid”, “creepy”, and “losers” were commonly used to describe men who harass. One participant said “men are just creeps and that’s what they do”, while another thought “that’s their escape from their crappy lives”.</p>
<p>Younger men were more likely to be described as “bored” or doing it for a laugh:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Often it’s like the younger guys that are in groups that are just being silly and have the done up cars and completely attention seeking. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>As white, cisgender, heterosexual men typically do not experience harassment to the extent women and LGBTQ+ people do, and are not generally socialised to be <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10612-005-2390-z">fearful for their safety</a> in public, participants felt men were unable to understand why their actions might be threatening to women in public spaces.</p>
<p>These explanations tended to “other” certain types of men as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963947012444217?journalCode=lala">deviant “monsters”</a>, or implied harassment occurs as a result of individual character flaws. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466170/original/file-20220531-16-6odv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466170/original/file-20220531-16-6odv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466170/original/file-20220531-16-6odv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466170/original/file-20220531-16-6odv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466170/original/file-20220531-16-6odv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466170/original/file-20220531-16-6odv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466170/original/file-20220531-16-6odv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466170/original/file-20220531-16-6odv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some participants challenged the idea men didn’t know what they were doing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Because they’re blokes</h2>
<p>Participants viewed harassment as a way for men to “perform” their masculinity, and as an expression of gendered power, alongside other forms of power relating to whiteness and heteronormativity. As one (male) participant put it: “So why did he do it? Because he’s a fucking bloke”. </p>
<p>In other words, harassment provided men with an avenue to express power over women and other men (particularly men who were not seen to be doing their masculinity “appropriately”):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it’s just men sort of showing themselves as the superior gender by…dehumanising the female gender […] we can degrade you and you just have to accept it. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Harassment was also a way for men to bond with other men, something referred to as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/si.2007.30.2.221">“homosociality”</a>. Reflecting on his own experiences of participating in harassment as a teenager, one male participant said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s hey look at me, I can shout out to that lass, and it’s alright, and that makes me a fella, that makes me a bloke, and that makes me a bigger bloke than you lads.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Because they can: the normalisation of street harassment</h2>
<p>Many participants thought men harass because there were no consequences for their behaviour: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Because it’s such a socially acceptable thing at this point for people to harass women and think it’s like a compliment […] I think a lot of men actually don’t realise that what they’re doing is harassment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Others felt harassment was excused as a form of “locker room banter” and as a case of “boys will be boys”. These responses illustrate the ways street harassment is culturally sanctioned and able to flourish. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466159/original/file-20220531-18-ynanyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466159/original/file-20220531-18-ynanyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466159/original/file-20220531-18-ynanyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466159/original/file-20220531-18-ynanyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466159/original/file-20220531-18-ynanyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466159/original/file-20220531-18-ynanyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466159/original/file-20220531-18-ynanyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466159/original/file-20220531-18-ynanyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many participants thought men harass because there were no consequences for their behaviour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why do they do it? It’s complicated</h2>
<p>Our participants’ explanations of why men harass paint a complex and multifaceted picture. While harassment is firmly situated in the spectrum of violence against women, a more holistic approach is needed addressing homophobic, transphobic, racist and ableist harassment. </p>
<p>It’s clear street harassment <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-want-men-to-stop-honking-their-horn-at-women-because-they-respect-them-not-for-fear-of-punishment-57337">requires interventions</a> targeting individual, cultural and structural drivers. </p>
<p>The normalisation of street harassment requires urgent attention, so this behaviour is no longer excused. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lgbtq-people-are-being-ignored-in-the-national-discussion-on-family-and-sexual-violence-167634">LGBTQ+ people are being ignored in the national discussion on family and sexual violence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bianca Fileborn receives funding from the Australian Research Council to undertake research on street and public harassment (DE190100404)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie Hindes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We asked participants about why they think people (mostly men) harass others in public space. Their answers were revealing.Bianca Fileborn, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, The University of MelbourneSophie Hindes, PhD Candidate, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1761872022-02-21T15:32:02Z2022-02-21T15:32:02ZHow tech is driving new forms of domestic abuse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447257/original/file-20220218-43851-ne7qik.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Spyware and covert monitoring devices can be exploited to abusive ends. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smart-technologies-your-smartphone-collection-analysis-1516856447">Trismegist san | Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Perpetrators of domestic abuse are <a href="https://www.refuge.org.uk/our-work/our-services/tech-abuse-empowerment-service/">increasingly</a> exploiting <a href="https://post.parliament.uk/technology-and-domestic-abuse/">digital tools</a> to coerce and control their victims. Where there is abuse in a relationship, technology will also feature in how that abuse is conducted. Police forces now expect as much, when responding to cases of domestic abuse.</p>
<p>Such <a href="https://post.parliament.uk/technology-and-domestic-abuse/">technological abuse</a> features everyday tools, from smart devices to online platforms and mobile phone apps. And the information on where to find them and how to use them is easily accessible online, often using a simple Google search. </p>
<p>To understand the extent of this problem, we <a href="https://pure.port.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/50080933/Home_office_FINAL_report.pdf">conducted</a> a wide-ranging study for the UK government. We reviewed 146 domestic abuse cases reported in British and international media, and conducted in-depth interviews with support charity workers and frontline police officers in England. </p>
<p>We found that abusers often have <a href="https://nixdell.com/papers/a046-freed.pdf">physical access</a> to their partners’ devices and use them to monitor, harass and humiliate. Abusers can force their victims to disclose passwords, PIN codes or swipe patterns to get into their devices so they can install sypware – all without sophisticated tech knowledge. </p>
<p>Geolocation software and other surveillance spyware <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447341?journalCode=rfms20">provide</a> new possibilities for abusers to monitor and track victims’ movements. In our study, we found hundreds of tools online that could be used for these purposes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Someone holds up a smart phone next to a model of a home." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447266/original/file-20220218-3064-15tefi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447266/original/file-20220218-3064-15tefi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447266/original/file-20220218-3064-15tefi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447266/original/file-20220218-3064-15tefi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447266/original/file-20220218-3064-15tefi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447266/original/file-20220218-3064-15tefi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447266/original/file-20220218-3064-15tefi2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smart tech and apps designed for legitimate purposes can be misused.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/internet-things-iot-smart-home-network-526662046">Zapp2Photo | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Surveillance</h2>
<p>Some apps are <strong><a href="https://digitalcommons.law.uidaho.edu/idaho-law-review/vol51/iss3/5/">hint at the possibility of</a></strong> allowing hidden surveillance. One survey found <a href="https://press.avast.com/use-of-stalkerware-and-spyware-apps-increase-by-93-since-lockdown-began-in-the-uk">a 93% increase</a> in the use of spyware and “stalkerware” apps since the beginning of the pandemic. </p>
<p>We also found that there are tracking apps which are designed for legitimate purposes, such as child or anti-theft protection, and which are widely available on equally legitimate sites and app stores. Research shows these <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3173574.3174241">have</a> been <a href="https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/new-forms-of-gendered-surveillance-intersections-of-technology-an">exploited</a> to spy on or reportedly to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/aemeae/meet-flexispy-the-company-getting-rich-selling-stalkerware-to-jealous-lovers">stalk</a> a partner (or ex-partner). Studies now <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8418618">refer</a> to them as dual-use apps.</p>
<p>Similar concerns have been voiced about covert monitoring devices and smart tech such as Apple’s AirTags. These small bluetooth devices are designed to be paired with tracking apps for finding lost belongings, such as car keys. But stalkers have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/20/apple-airtags-stalking-complaints-technology">reportedly</a> exploited them too.</p>
<p>It’s not just <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/steapp/sites/steapp/files/giot-report.pdf">smart devices</a> that are being used to access personal information. Smart locks, thermostats, networked TV and sound systems, as well as security monitoring equipment are also being exploited to control and terrify victims – to monitor their movements and any visits they get.</p>
<p>Further, where an abuser has access to cloud-based voice services, they will be able to access past conversations, order information and other data that might give them insights into the plans of a victim, potentially even if they are planning to leave. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman with long black hair holds a phone in one hand and her other hand cover her eyes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447255/original/file-20220218-44444-1lh2v8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447255/original/file-20220218-44444-1lh2v8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447255/original/file-20220218-44444-1lh2v8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447255/original/file-20220218-44444-1lh2v8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447255/original/file-20220218-44444-1lh2v8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447255/original/file-20220218-44444-1lh2v8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447255/original/file-20220218-44444-1lh2v8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Abusers are setting up fake accounts in their victims’ names in order to harass and humiliate them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/women-who-have-smart-phone-suffering-1931340914">kei907 | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Harassment</h2>
<p>We found that fake accounts on online platforms and social media are often set up with abusive intent. They can be used to present the victim in a derogatory manner. A man in Liverpool <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/dumped-boyfriend-created-fake-swinger-19591442">was jailed</a> after he listed his ex-girlfriend’s workplace in accounts set up in her name on swinger and dating platforms. </p>
<p>Legally, this is a grey area. Hacking a person’s account is a clear criminal offence, while impersonating someone to create a fake account is not. In some but not all instances, it can be argued that doing so constitutes <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264365163_IH8U_Confronting_Cyberbullying_and_Exploring_the_Use_of_Cybertools_in_Teen_Dating_Relationships">cyber-harassment</a>. </p>
<p>A case in point is the man who, in 2018, <strong>reportedly</strong> set up a fraudulent Facebook profile of his ex-wife in which he falsely claimed she fantasised about <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6889072/husband-fake-facebook-profile-encouraged-rape-wife-revenge-plot/">being raped</a>. Because he included contact details in the profile, a random stranger turned up at her workplace to meet her.</p>
<p>Similarly, in 2017, another man <strong>allegedly</strong> <a href="http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2017/04/man-sues-grindr-after-1100-men-show-up-at-home-thanks-to-exs-revenge-scheme/">set up fake Grindr accounts</a> in the name of his ex-boyfriend. Over 1,000 men turned up at the victim’s house and workplace, looking for sex. </p>
<p>Elsewhere, perpetrators are engaging in <a href="https://inherentlyhuman.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/not-revenge-porn-but-abuse-lets-call-it-image-based-sexual-abuse/">image-based sexual abuse</a>. People might <a href="https://theconversation.com/revenge-porn-is-sexual-violence-not-millennial-negligence-126233">threaten</a> to release intimate pictures or videos to retain control over their victim. </p>
<p>In other instances we noted that perpetrators, in setting up fake social media profiles of their victims, have used these to disseminate intimate images of their victims. Other means of distributing these materials have been to send them directly to friends, family, and employers, as well as publishing them publicly online. </p>
<p>The term <a href="https://theconversation.com/revenge-porn-is-sexual-violence-not-millennial-negligence-126233">“revenge porn”</a> is widely understood as the sharing or distribution of nude or sexual images by jilted ex-lovers whose primary motivations are revenge or retribution. It <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-watch-pam-and-tommy-the-series-turns-someones-trauma-into-entertainment-176844">does not</a>, however, capture the full range of motivations under which perpetrators might be operating, from blackmail and extortion to control, sexual gratification, voyeurism, social-status building and monetary gain. It also focuses attention on the content of the image, rather than on the abusive actions of perpetrators who misuse nude or sexual images.</p>
<p>Technological abuse does not require IT proficiency. Perpetrators are using everyday, affordable, accessible tech. What we need is a better, more accurate definition of what constitutes domestic abuse and support services that are equipped to deal with it. As one charity worker we spoke to put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We know that domestic violence takes place online as well, but our service provisions tend to be very much shelters, workers, keyworkers, support officers, social workers who deal with the physical act and taking people out of a situation. But when you talk about a phone and other digital devices, I don’t think we’re there yet.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>If you or anyone you know has been a victim of any of the aspects we discussed above, there is help available. Please reach out to Refuge Freephone 24-Hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
or visit www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk (access live chat Mon-Fri 3-10pm)</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176187/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Sugiura receives funding from The UK Home Office
Acknowledgements go to:
Professor Mark Button, Dr Jacki Tapley, Dr Rahime Belen-Saglam, Dr Brian Frederick, Dr Chloe Hawkins, and Mr Dean Blackbourn, for their invaluable contributions working on this research.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason R.C. Nurse receives funding from The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the UK Home Office. </span></em></p>Abusers are exploiting all manner of smart tech and software to extend their capacity for coercive control.Lisa Sugiura, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Cybercrime, University of PortsmouthJason R.C. Nurse, Associate Professor in Cyber Security, University of KentLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1752022022-01-18T19:28:53Z2022-01-18T19:28:53ZMicrosoft purchase of Activision Blizzard won’t clean up gamer culture overnight: 5 essential reads about sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech<p>Microsoft announced on Jan. 18, 2022, its <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/2022/01/18/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/">intention to purchase</a> video game giant Activision Blizzard. The company, publisher of top-selling video games Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush, has been the subject of a series of sexual discrimination and harassment complaints. A day before Microsoft’s announcement, Activision Blizzard announced that it has <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/activision-says-it-fired-dozens-over-harassment-allegations-3377285">fired “nearly 40 employees”</a> since July following an investigation into hundreds of reports from employees of misconduct.</p>
<p>California <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/22/1019293032/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-unequal-pay-sexual-harassment-video-games">sued Activision Blizzard</a> in July 2021, alleging a “pervasive ‘frat boy’ culture” at the company and discrimination against women in pay and promotion. The suit prompted a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/activision-blizzard-workers-walk-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-rcna1525">walkout by company employees</a> who demanded that the company address the problem.</p>
<p>The turmoil is an echo of the infamous <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/15/opinion/what-is-gamergate.html">Gamergate</a> episode of 2014 that featured an organized online campaign of harassment against female gamers, game developers and gaming journalists. The allegations are also of a piece with a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/02/19/women-built-tech-industry-then-they-were-pushed-out/">decadeslong history of gender discrimination</a> in the technology field.</p>
<p>It’s unclear whether or how quickly Microsoft will address Activision Blizzard’s discriminatory culture. Regardless of what happens within the company, the problem of sexual harassment in gamer culture involves the industry as a whole, as well as players and fans.</p>
<p>We’ve been covering sexual harassment and gender discrimination in gaming – and technology generally – and picked five articles from our archive to help you understand the news.</p>
<h2>1. Gaming culture is toxic – but community norms can change it</h2>
<p>Things have not been getting steadily better. The shift to online activities caused by the pandemic was accompanied by an increase in online harassment and a decrease in the number of women and girls playing video games.</p>
<p>More than a third of female gamers have experienced harassment, and female players have <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-itll-take-to-clean-up-esports-toxic-culture-143520">developed coping strategies</a> like hiding their gender, playing only with friends and shutting down harassers by outplaying them, according to University of Oregon professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7IEXEiwAAAAJ&hl=en">Amanda Cote</a>. These strategies take time and energy, and they avoid rather than challenge the harassment. Challenging harassment is also fraught, because it typically sparks a backlash and puts the burden on the victim.</p>
<p>Shutting down harassment comes down to creating and supporting community norms that reject rather than allow or encourage harassment. Gaming companies can adopt practices beyond banning harassers that discourage the behavior before it happens, including reducing opportunities for conflict outside of gameplay, adding in-game recognition of good behavior, and responding quickly to complaints.</p>
<p>“If esports continue to expand without game companies addressing the toxic environments in their games, abusive and exclusionary behaviors are likely to become entrenched,” she writes. “To avoid this, players, coaches, teams, leagues, game companies and live-streaming services should invest in better community management efforts.” </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-itll-take-to-clean-up-esports-toxic-culture-143520">Here's what it'll take to clean up esports' toxic culture</a>
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<h2>2. It’s not just players – fans are part of the problem</h2>
<p>Go to any sports stadium and you’ll see that the atmosphere that energizes players and fans alike comes from the fans. For esports the venues are streaming services, where fan reaction comes not from cheers and chants but in the form of online chat.</p>
<p>University of South Florida professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ay9uGpcAAAAJ&hl=en">Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia</a> and colleagues analyzed chats on Twitch, one of the largest streaming services that carries live esports. They found <a href="https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/14885">a sharp distinction</a> in the language fans use when commenting on players, called streamers, depending on gender.</p>
<p>“When watching a man stream, viewers typically talk about the game and try to engage with the streamer; game jargon (words like ‘points,’ ‘winner’ and ‘star’) and user nicknames are among the most important terms,” he writes. “But when watching a woman stream, <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-online-gaming-ditch-its-sexist-ways-74493">the tone changes</a>: Game jargon drops, and objectification language increases (words like ‘cute,’ ‘fat’ and ‘boobs’). The difference is particularly striking when the streamer is popular, and less so when looking at comments on less-popular streamers’ activity.”</p>
<p>As with the games themselves, combating harassment and discrimination on streaming services comes down to community standards, he writes. The streaming services “need to examine their cultural norms to drive out toxic standards that effectively silence entire groups.”</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-online-gaming-ditch-its-sexist-ways-74493">Can online gaming ditch its sexist ways?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Collegiate esports leagues don’t reflect the population of video game players</h2>
<p>Esports is becoming a big business, with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/esports-business-esports-growth-idUSFLM4K2cJ7">over $1 billion in revenues</a>, and collegiate leagues are an important component of the field. Just over 8% of college esports players and 4% of coaches are female. The low rates of participation are not a reflection of interest: <a href="https://www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/gaming-gender-how-inclusive-are-esports/">57% of women ages 18-29</a> play video games that are in the esports category.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young woman wearing a face mask stares intently at a large computer screen while a man wearing a face mask stands behind her looking over her shoulder" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boise State esports coach Doc Haskell watches scholarship graduate student Artie ‘N3rdybird’ Rainn compete in a match.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/EsportsScholarshipInequality/226671c6c6fb412a985dbad4cfe71eed/photo">AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Female players <a href="https://theconversation.com/at-colleges-nationwide-esports-teams-dominated-by-men-154793">face overt hostility and harassment</a>, which discourages participation, according to SUNY Cortland professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dYfhb9sAAAAJ&hl=en">Lindsey Darvin</a>. College teams often engage in tokenism by bringing on a single female player, and the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/esports-gender-inequality-scholarships-men-1823321276db40fea37dc8d9e5410643">vast majority of scholarships go to male players</a>. </p>
<p>Professional esports organizations are <a href="https://www.teamliquid.com/news/2021/01/13/aerial-powers-joins-team-liquid-as-streamer-and-diversity-ambassador">beginning to address the gender gap</a>. Colleges and universities need to follow suit.</p>
<p>“Colleges and universities that receive U.S. federal aid have an obligation to improve opportunity and access to participation based on Title IX policy, which prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance,” she writes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-colleges-nationwide-esports-teams-dominated-by-men-154793">At colleges nationwide, esports teams dominated by men</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>4. Lessons from the tech field: Diversity and equity require women with power</h2>
<p>The roots of esports’ toxic culture lie in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-tech-field-failed-a-25-year-challenge-to-achieve-gender-equality-by-2020-culture-change-is-key-to-getting-on-track-144779">decades of gender discrimination</a> in the technology field as a whole. That discrimination has proved stubborn.</p>
<p>“In 1995, pioneering computer scientist Anita Borg challenged the tech community to a moonshot: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nImg8vPUe4">equal representation of women in tech by 2020</a>,” writes Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HzqQ2wYAAAAJ&hl=en">Francine Berman</a>. “Twenty-five years later, we’re still far from that goal. In 2018, fewer than 30% of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/11/17225574/facebook-tech-diversity-women">employees in tech’s biggest companies</a> and 20% of <a href="https://research.swe.org/2016/08/tenure-tenure-track-faculty-levels/">faculty in university computer science departments</a> were women.”</p>
<p>Reversing discrimination is a matter of changing cultures within organizations. “Diverse leadership is a critical part of creating diverse cultures,” she writes. “Women are more likely to thrive in environments where they have not only stature, but responsibility, resources, influence, opportunity and power.”</p>
<p>“Culture change is a marathon, not a sprint, requiring constant vigilance, many small decisions, and often changes in who holds power,” she writes. “My experience as supercomputer center head, and with the Research Data Alliance, the Sloan Foundation and other groups has shown me that organizations can create positive and more diverse environments.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-tech-field-failed-a-25-year-challenge-to-achieve-gender-equality-by-2020-culture-change-is-key-to-getting-on-track-144779">The tech field failed a 25-year challenge to achieve gender equality by 2020 – culture change is key to getting on track</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. The myth of meritocracy is an impediment to equality</h2>
<p>The myth of meritocracy is a large part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-tech-suffer-because-of-american-myth-of-meritocracy-94269">longevity of gender discrimination</a> in the tech field. That myth says that success is a result of skill and effort, and that women’s representation is a reflection of their abilities.</p>
<p>In the U.S., <a href="https://www.nawbo.org/resources/women-business-owner-statistics">women own 39%</a> of all privately owned businesses but receive only around 4% of venture capital funding, according to Brown University professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Vj4crUIAAAAJ&hl=en">Banu Ozkazanc-Pan</a>. </p>
<p>“Yet the meritocracy myth, which <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2982414">my research shows</a> has a stronghold in the world of entrepreneurship, means that women are constantly told that all they have to do to get more of that <a href="https://nvca.org/pressreleases/total-venture-capital-dollars-invested-2017-track-reach-decade-high/">$22 billion or so in venture capital funding</a> is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258717728028">make better pitches</a> or be more assertive,” she writes.</p>
<p>What the tech field calls meritocracy is in fact gender-biased and results in mostly white men gaining access to resources and funding. “By continuing to believe in meritocracy and maintaining practices associated with it, gender equality will remain a distant goal,” she writes. </p>
<p>Adopting <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/metoo-sexual-harassment-what-experts-say/">gender-aware approaches</a>, including setting concrete goals for gender balance, is key to correcting the imbalances caused by the meritocracy myth.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-tech-suffer-because-of-american-myth-of-meritocracy-94269">Women in tech suffer because of American myth of meritocracy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives. This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-activision-blizzard-lawsuit-shows-gamer-culture-still-has-a-long-way-to-go-5-essential-reads-about-sexual-harassment-and-discrimination-in-gaming-and-tech-165293">article</a> originally published on July 30, 2021. It has been updated to include Microsoft’s intention to purchase Activision Blizzard.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175202/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech are not inevitable or permanent, write experts in the field. The solutions are positive community standards and women in power.Eric Smalley, Science + Technology EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1713742021-11-17T15:33:31Z2021-11-17T15:33:31ZOnline anonymity: study found ‘stable pseudonyms’ created a more civil environment than real user names <figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430598/original/file-20211106-757-1w7ad09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The ability to remain anonymous when commenting online is a double-edged sword. It is valuable because it enables people to speak without fear of social and legal discrimination. But this is also what makes it dangerous. Someone from a repressive religious community can use anonymity to talk about their sexuality, for example. But someone else can use anonymity to hurl abuse at them with impunity. </p>
<p>Many people focus on the dangers of online anonymity. Back in 2011, Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Mark and (then) marketing director of Facebook, said that for safety’s sake, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/randi-zuckerberg-anonymity-online_n_910892">“anonymity on the internet has to go away”</a>. Such calls appear <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/11/labour-mp-jess-phillips-calls-for-end-to-online-anonymity-after-600-threats">again</a> and <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/ending-anonymity-is-not-easy-for-uk-ministers/">again</a>. Behind them is a common intuition: that debate would be more civil and constructive if people used their real names.</p>
<p>But my research with colleagues suggests that anonymity – under certain conditions – can actually make for more civil and productive online discussion. This surprising result came out of a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jopp.12149">study</a> looking at the deliberative quality of comments on online news articles under a range of different identity rules. </p>
<p>We built a data set of 45 million comments on news articles on the Huffington Post website between January 2013 and February 2015. During this period, the site moved from a regime of easy anonymity to registered pseudonyms and finally to outsourcing their comments to Facebook. This created three distinct phases. </p>
<p>In the initial phase users could easily set up multiple accounts. The comment space was, at that time, a troll’s paradise. People could read an article, quickly create a username, and post whatever they wanted. If moderators blocked that username for abusive behaviour, the person (or even bot) behind it could just make another, and then another, and so on. This led to a space that was unpleasant for users. So the website <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-is-huffpost-ending-an_b_3817979?guccounter=1">began to make changes</a>.</p>
<p>In the second phase, users had to authenticate their accounts, but did not have to use their real name with their comments. That meant they could be anonymous to other users but could be identified by the platform. If they behaved badly and were blocked, they couldn’t just make a new account and carry on – at least, not without creating a new authenticating account on Facebook. This made personas on this commenting space less disposable. They became “stable pseudonyms”. </p>
<p>In the third phase, the commenting system was outsourced to Facebook. Huffington Post usernames were replaced with user’s Facebook names and avatars. Depending on settings, comments might appear on users’ Facebook feeds. While not everyone has their own face on their profile picture, and not everyone even uses their real name on their account, many users do. This third phase therefore roughly approximates a real-name environment. </p>
<h2>Keeping it friendly</h2>
<p>We looked initially at the use of swear words and offensive terms – a crude measure of civility. We found that after the first change the use of these words dropped significantly. This was not just because some of the worst offenders left the site. Among those who stayed, language was cleaner after the change than before. We describe this as a sort of “broken-windows” effect, after the famous theory that cleaning up a neighbourhood can help reduce crime. Here, a cleaner environment <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2786451.2786459">improves everyone’s behaviour</a>.</p>
<p>We then looked across all three phases at other features of individual comments, including the length of words, causation words (for example, “because”), words indicating tentative conclusions (for example, “perhaps”), and more. We were able to automate this analysis and use it to construct a measure of the “cognitive complexity” of comments. This method has been tested on the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/spsr.12179">deliberations of the Swiss parliament</a> and shown to be a good proxy for deliberative quality. We could not, of course, see the context and meaning of each individual comment, but using this method at least allowed us to do the analysis at a very large scale. </p>
<p>Our results suggest that the quality of comments was highest in the middle phase. There was a great improvement after the shift from easy or disposable anonymity to what we call “durable pseudonyms”. But instead of improving further after the shift to the real-name phase, the quality of comments actually got worse – not as bad as in the first phase, but still worse <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0032321719891385">by our measure</a>.</p>
<h2>A surprise finding</h2>
<p>This complicates the common assumption that people behave better with their real names on display. We don’t know exactly what explains our results, but one possibility is that under durable pseudonyms the users orient their comments primarily at their fellow commentators as an audience. They then perhaps develop a concern for their own reputation within that forum, as has been <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1430-9134.2001.00173.x">suggested elsewhere</a>. It’s possible that a real-name environment shifts the dynamic. When you make comments that can be seen not only by other Huffington Post readers but also by your Facebook friends, it seems plausible that you might speak differently.</p>
<p>What matters, it seems, is not so much whether you are commenting anonymously, but whether you are invested in your persona and accountable for its behaviour in that particular forum. There seems to be <a href="https://demos.co.uk/project/whats-in-a-name/">value</a> in enabling people to speak on forums without their comments being connected, via their real names, to other contexts. The online comment management company Disqus, in a similar vein, found that comments made under conditions of durable pseudonymity were rated by other users as having the <a href="https://disqus.com/research/pseudonyms/">highest quality</a>. </p>
<p>There is obviously more to online discussion spaces than just their identity rules. But we can at least say that calls to end anonymity online by forcing people to reveal their real identities might not have the effects people expect – even if it appears to be the most obvious answer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171374/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alfred Moore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A higher quality discussion emerged among commenters allowed to use personas instead of their real names.Alfred Moore, Lecturer in Political Theory, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1700782021-10-16T14:14:14Z2021-10-16T14:14:14ZDavid Amess killing: threats of violence and harassment have become commonplace for politicians<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2021/oct/15/david-amess-conservative-mp-stabbed-latest-updates">killing of British Conservative MP David Amess</a>, who was stabbed to death in his constituency on October 15, is a deeply tragic moment for democracy. What makes it even more devastating is that such a catastrophic failure is not without precedent or predictability. Labour MP Jo Cox was shot at her constituency surgery in 2016. Before her, another Labour MP, Stephen Timms, survived a stabbing in 2010. And Andrew Pennington, a Gloucestershire county councillor, died in a frenzied attack in 2001 while trying to protect local Liberal Democrat MP Nigel Jones.</p>
<p>This is to say nothing of the 2018 attack on the Palace of Westminster that left police officer <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2021/march/commons-pc-keith-palmer-anniversary/">Keith Palmer</a> dead and MPs in a state of shock.</p>
<p>Beyond these critical junctures in the public debate about politicians’ safety, elected representatives must live with an increasingly insidious level of popular cynicism that threatens violence on an almost daily basis.</p>
<p>Between the divisive politics of Brexit and the growing polarisation of British party politics, MPs currently work in a low-trust, high-blame environment. Even before the existential angst and subsequent politicking of the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent Hansard Society <a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/rdwvqctnt75b/7iQEHtrkIbLcrUkduGmo9b/cb429a657e97cad61e61853c05c8c4d1/Hansard-Society__Audit-of-Political-Engagement-16__2019-report.pdf">audit of political engagement</a> concluded that “opinions of the systems of governing are at their lowest point in the 15-year Audit series – worse now than in the aftermath of the MPs’ expenses scandal”.</p>
<p>The ramifications of governing in such an age of distrust are significant for the mental health and wellbeing of politicians. With colleagues, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pa/article/73/2/253/5262273">I’ve argued</a> that such visceral and endemic distrust is a key stressor in political life. People are not simply wary or sceptical of politicians, they now routinely criticise their personalities and dismiss their good intentions. At its most severe, this “distrust stressor” manifests in the growing threat of physical violence faced by politicians.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the distrust stressor is commonplace in the febrile climate of post-millennial UK politics. Serious cases of stalking and harassment have become a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14789949.2015.1124908">“common experience”</a> for MPs. In the UK general election of 2017, for example, 56% of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/intimidation-in-public-life-a-review-by-the-committee-on-standards-in-public-life">surveyed parliamentary candidates</a> expressed concern about the levels of abuse and intimidation they had received and 31% said they had felt “fearful” during the campaign. Misuse of anonymous social media accounts has intensified these problems and created a toxic environment for elected politicians that regularly exposes them to online <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1113492/everywoman/9781786090065.html">rape and murder threats</a>.</p>
<h2>Governing under threat</h2>
<p>As part of an ongoing study of trust and governance in five democracies around the world, I recently carried out more than 50 in-depth interviews with junior and senior politicians in national legislatures, including questions on the stresses and strains of political life.</p>
<p>Reflecting on the ramifications of simply doing their job, one Conservative MP commented:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There have been votes that have been controversial, and you can then get a lot of abuse as a result of picking a side. My office has been vandalised, I’ve had stuff sent to me in the post, I’ve received death threats. And you do build up a very thick skin doing this job, there’s no shadow of a doubt. Because one week in it, if you’re not able to roll with the punches, you won’t see through a whole term.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Almost 40% of interviewees were able to cite more than one instance of serious abuse or threats of physical violence. Not only are these experiences felt across both sides of the political aisle in the UK, but they also appear to be growing more common in other democratic contexts where the climate of politics has been presumed to be both calmer and more volatile. As one MP in New Zealand told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve had some pretty horrible death threats and I’ve had a lot of abuse, particularly through social media. But also, funnily enough, in writing and phone calls. Unfortunately it’s becoming more part of our political life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another, this time in South Africa, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What [this group of constituents] were saying is that if the water supply was not fixed by a certain time, they were going to kill me. And what they did is they took a tyre and said that this tyre was going to go around my neck and they’re going to light it and that was going to be my demise. Listen, when you see your life flash before your eyes… you start to question whether it’s worth it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the UK, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-923X.13070">analysis</a> of data from the <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FL016508%2F1">Representative Audit of Britain</a> (a survey of all parliamentary candidates who stood in general elections between 2015 and 2019) suggests that the harassment, abuse and intimidation of elected and aspiring politicians is also highly gendered. Women politicians, and black and minority ethnic women in particular, experience a disproportionate share of sexualised abuse online. They also receive more aggressive and sexualised threats offline.</p>
<p>It is relatively easy to understand why all this would be detrimental to politicians’ professional competence and their sense of personal worth and wellbeing, but it is harder to find solutions to this crisis.</p>
<p>Home Secretary Priti Patel has called for increased security measures in the wake of Amess’s death. This is welcome but it’s an instrumental response which might not be easy to implement. Political contact between politicians and the public is at the very heart of effective democratic representation – and it is unlikely that most MPs will agree to suspend constituency surgeries or fill their offices with armed guards at a time when governor-governed relations are already so strained.</p>
<h2>Compassion and education</h2>
<p>While specific issues around MPs’ security and training are grappled with, we also need a call for conscious restraint and compassion in political discourse. When some politicians themselves resort to dog-whistle populism, verbal abuse and infighting, it broadcasts an image of politics as an arena for incivility. At the same time, it perpetuates a binary worldview that crowds out the possibility of empathy and compromise.</p>
<p>Alongside this, we need to overhaul the media coverage of politics. Increasingly intent on personalising the political and politicising the personal, a 24-hour news media too often drip feeds blunt stereotypes about politicians’ personalities and motives. In contrast to much news coverage of politicians, <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/who-enters-politics-and-why/">my own research</a> with hundreds of elected MPs and councillors has shown that the majority enter politics with an extraordinary dedication to improving the lives of others that is rarely perceived or appreciated by those they govern.</p>
<p>Equally important, nations around the world must commit to fully funded and well-resourced programmes of democratic education. Politics is messy and full of contingencies, and a deficit in democratic education leads to inflated public expectations about what is possible or desirable. In turn, this breeds disappointment and lowered self-efficacy, which together disrupt the positive potential of deliberative participation.</p>
<p>Ultimately, there is no place for political violence, harassment or intimidation in a functioning democracy. At the very least, politicians are ordinary humans attempting to undertake an extraordinary job on behalf of everybody else. Whatever their political views, nobody who has the courage to “step into the arena”, to paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt, deserves to fear for their life in the pursuit of public service. To say that we need to rediscover civility and respect in our politics is once again an understatement of a devastating truth.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Weinberg receives funding from The Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p>Politics has become a low-trust, high-blame environment that has left public servants under near constant threat of attack.James Weinberg, Lecturer in Political Behaviour, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1652932021-07-30T12:20:53Z2021-07-30T12:20:53ZThe Activision Blizzard lawsuit shows gamer culture still has a long way to go: 5 essential reads about sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413846/original/file-20210729-17-16buhii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C5184%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's nothing inherently male about playing video games. Videogame culture, on the other hand, is decidedly anti-female.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/gamers-play-the-video-game-call-of-duty-wwii-developed-by-news-photo/868750534">Chesnot/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>An updated version of this article was published on Jan. 18, 2022. <a href="https://theconversation.com/microsoft-purchase-of-activision-blizzard-wont-clean-up-gamer-culture-overnight-5-essential-reads-about-sexual-harassment-and-discrimination-in-gaming-and-tech-175202">Read it here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Sexual harassment in gamer culture burst back into the spotlight on July 21, 2021, with news of California’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/22/1019293032/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-unequal-pay-sexual-harassment-video-games">lawsuit against Activision Blizzard</a>, publisher of top-selling video games Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush, and a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/activision-blizzard-workers-walk-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-rcna1525">walkout by company employees</a>. The lawsuit alleges a “pervasive ‘frat boy’ culture” at the company and discrimination against women in pay and promotion.</p>
<p>The turmoil is an echo of the infamous <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/15/opinion/what-is-gamergate.html">Gamergate</a> episode of 2014 that featured an organized online campaign of harassment against female gamers, game developers and gaming journalists. The allegations are also of a piece with a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/02/19/women-built-tech-industry-then-they-were-pushed-out/">decadeslong history of gender discrimination</a> in the technology field.</p>
<p>We’ve been covering sexual harassment and gender discrimination in gaming – and technology generally – and picked five articles from our archive to help you understand the news.</p>
<h2>1. Gaming culture is toxic – but community norms can change it</h2>
<p>Things have not been getting steadily better. The shift to online activities caused by the pandemic was accompanied by an increase in online harassment and a decrease in the number of women and girls playing video games.</p>
<p>More than a third of female gamers have experienced harassment, and female players have developed coping strategies like hiding their gender, playing only with friends and shutting down harassers by outplaying them, according to University of Oregon professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7IEXEiwAAAAJ&hl=en">Amanda Cote</a>. These strategies take time and energy, and they avoid rather than challenge the harassment. Challenging harassment is also fraught, because it typically sparks a backlash and puts the burden on the victim.</p>
<p>Shutting down harassment comes down to creating and supporting community norms that reject rather than allow or encourage harassment. Gaming companies can adopt practices beyond banning harassers that discourage the behavior before it happens, including reducing opportunities for conflict outside of gameplay, adding in-game recognition of good behavior, and responding quickly to complaints.</p>
<p>“If esports continue to expand without game companies addressing the toxic environments in their games, abusive and exclusionary behaviors are likely to become entrenched,” she writes. “To avoid this, players, coaches, teams, leagues, game companies and live-streaming services should invest in better community management efforts.” </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-itll-take-to-clean-up-esports-toxic-culture-143520">Here's what it'll take to clean up esports' toxic culture</a>
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<h2>2. It’s not just players – fans are part of the problem</h2>
<p>Go to any sports stadium and you’ll see that the atmosphere that energizes players and fans alike comes from the fans. For esports the venues are streaming services, where fan reaction comes not from cheers and chants but in the form of online chat.</p>
<p>University of South Florida professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ay9uGpcAAAAJ&hl=en">Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia</a> and colleagues analyzed chats on Twitch, one of the largest streaming services that carries live esports. They found <a href="https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/14885">a sharp distinction</a> in the language fans use when commenting on players, called streamers, depending on gender.</p>
<p>“When watching a man stream, viewers typically talk about the game and try to engage with the streamer; game jargon (words like ‘points,’ ‘winner’ and ‘star’) and user nicknames are among the most important terms,” he writes. “But when watching a woman stream, the tone changes: Game jargon drops, and objectification language increases (words like ‘cute,’ ‘fat’ and ‘boobs’). The difference is particularly striking when the streamer is popular, and less so when looking at comments on less-popular streamers’ activity.”</p>
<p>As with the games themselves, combating harassment and discrimination on streaming services comes down to community standards, he writes. The streaming services “need to examine their cultural norms to drive out toxic standards that effectively silence entire groups.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-online-gaming-ditch-its-sexist-ways-74493">Can online gaming ditch its sexist ways?</a>
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<h2>3. Collegiate esports leagues don’t reflect the population of videogame players</h2>
<p>Esports is becoming a big business, with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/esports-business-esports-growth-idUSFLM4K2cJ7">over $1 billion in revenues</a>, and collegiate leagues are an important component of the field. Just over 8% of college esports players and 4% of coaches are female. The low rates of participation are not a reflection of interest: <a href="https://www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/gaming-gender-how-inclusive-are-esports/">57% of women ages 18-29</a> play video games that are in the esports category.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young woman wearing a face mask stares intently at a large computer screen while a man wearing a face mask stands behind her looking over her shoulder" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413860/original/file-20210729-25-1kf5al0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Boise State esports coach Doc Haskell watches scholarship graduate student Artie ‘N3rdybird’ Rainn compete in a match.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/EsportsScholarshipInequality/226671c6c6fb412a985dbad4cfe71eed/photo">AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger</a></span>
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<p>Female players face overt hostility and harassment, which discourages participation, according to SUNY Cortland professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dYfhb9sAAAAJ&hl=en">Lindsey Darvin</a>. College teams often engage in tokenism by bringing on a single female player, and the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/esports-gender-inequality-scholarships-men-1823321276db40fea37dc8d9e5410643">vast majority of scholarships go to male players</a>. </p>
<p>Professional esports organizations are <a href="https://www.teamliquid.com/news/2021/01/13/aerial-powers-joins-team-liquid-as-streamer-and-diversity-ambassador">beginning to address the gender gap</a>. Colleges and universities need to follow suit.</p>
<p>“Colleges and universities that receive U.S. federal aid have an obligation to improve opportunity and access to participation based on Title IX policy, which prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance,” she writes.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-colleges-nationwide-esports-teams-dominated-by-men-154793">At colleges nationwide, esports teams dominated by men</a>
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<hr>
<h2>4. Lessons from the tech field: Diversity and equity require women with power</h2>
<p>The roots of esports’ toxic culture lie in decades of gender discrimination in the technology field as a whole. That discrimination has proved stubborn.</p>
<p>“In 1995, pioneering computer scientist Anita Borg challenged the tech community to a moonshot: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nImg8vPUe4">equal representation of women in tech by 2020</a>,” writes Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HzqQ2wYAAAAJ&hl=en">Francine Berman</a>. “Twenty-five years later, we’re still far from that goal. In 2018, fewer than 30% of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/11/17225574/facebook-tech-diversity-women">employees in tech’s biggest companies</a> and 20% of <a href="https://research.swe.org/2016/08/tenure-tenure-track-faculty-levels/">faculty in university computer science departments</a> were women.”</p>
<p>Reversing discrimination is a matter of changing cultures within organizations. “Diverse leadership is a critical part of creating diverse cultures,” she writes. “Women are more likely to thrive in environments where they have not only stature, but responsibility, resources, influence, opportunity and power.”</p>
<p>“Culture change is a marathon, not a sprint, requiring constant vigilance, many small decisions, and often changes in who holds power,” she writes. “My experience as supercomputer center head, and with the Research Data Alliance, the Sloan Foundation and other groups has shown me that organizations can create positive and more diverse environments.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-tech-field-failed-a-25-year-challenge-to-achieve-gender-equality-by-2020-culture-change-is-key-to-getting-on-track-144779">The tech field failed a 25-year challenge to achieve gender equality by 2020 – culture change is key to getting on track</a>
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<h2>5. The myth of meritocracy is an impediment to equality</h2>
<p>The myth of meritocracy is a large part of the longevity of gender discrimination in the tech field. That myth says that success is a result of skill and effort, and that women’s representation is a reflection of their abilities.</p>
<p>In the U.S., <a href="https://www.nawbo.org/resources/women-business-owner-statistics">women own 39%</a> of all privately owned businesses but receive only around 4% of venture capital funding, according to Brown University professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Vj4crUIAAAAJ&hl=en">Banu Ozkazanc-Pan</a>. </p>
<p>“Yet the meritocracy myth, which <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2982414">my research shows</a> has a stronghold in the world of entrepreneurship, means that women are constantly told that all they have to do to get more of that <a href="https://nvca.org/pressreleases/total-venture-capital-dollars-invested-2017-track-reach-decade-high/">$22 billion or so in venture capital funding</a> is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258717728028">make better pitches</a> or be more assertive,” she writes.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>What the tech field calls meritocracy is in fact gender-biased and results in mostly white men gaining access to resources and funding. “By continuing to believe in meritocracy and maintaining practices associated with it, gender equality will remain a distant goal,” she writes. </p>
<p>Adopting <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/metoo-sexual-harassment-what-experts-say/">gender-aware approaches</a>, including setting concrete goals for gender balance, is key to correcting the imbalances caused by the meritocracy myth.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-tech-suffer-because-of-american-myth-of-meritocracy-94269">Women in tech suffer because of American myth of meritocracy</a>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165293/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech is not inevitable or permanent, write experts in the field. The solutions are positive community standards and women in power.Eric Smalley, Science + Technology EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1579482021-04-06T12:28:28Z2021-04-06T12:28:28ZSports remain hostile territory for LGBTQ Americans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393400/original/file-20210405-15-1w2eiuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C2995%2C1989&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While professional sports franchises have become more socially conscious, LGBTQ fans and players aren't exactly embraced with open arms.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/fans-celebrate-pride-night-before-a-game-between-the-boston-news-photo/694315198?adppopup=true">Adam Glanzman/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393405/original/file-20210405-15-mueaju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393405/original/file-20210405-15-mueaju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393405/original/file-20210405-15-mueaju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393405/original/file-20210405-15-mueaju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393405/original/file-20210405-15-mueaju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393405/original/file-20210405-15-mueaju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393405/original/file-20210405-15-mueaju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>For all of the <a href="https://www.hrc.org/news/defining-a-decade-hrc-celebrates-progress-toward-lgbtq-equality">gains</a> LGBTQ people have made over the past few decades, sports remain a <a href="https://time.com/3852611/sports-homophobia-study/">highly visible reminder that homophobia</a> and <a href="https://www.athleteally.org/model-policy-transgender-inclusion/">transphobia persist</a>.</p>
<p>In recent years, more professional athletes, from U.S. women’s soccer team player Tierna Davidson to Olympic gymnast Danell Leyva, <a href="https://www.insider.com/professional-athletes-who-are-lgbtq">have come out of the closet</a>. However, locker rooms remain <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-gay-athletes-stay-in-closet-spt-0626-20160624-story.html">less inclusive of LGBTQ people</a> than places like schools or workplaces. And though many sports teams and figures have publicly campaigned against <a href="https://www.youcanplayproject.org/">homophobia</a> and <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/03/10/ncaa-petition-anti-trans-legislation">transphobia</a>, half of LGBTQ respondents <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2021.1895009">in our recent study</a> said that they’d experienced discrimination, insults, bullying or abuse while playing, watching or talking about sports.</p>
<h2>Mistreatment doesn’t discriminate by age</h2>
<p>For the study, we surveyed <a href="https://nsass.org/">4,000 U.S. adults</a> and asked them whether they’d been mistreated in various sports-related contexts. We also asked them whether they believed LGBT athletes were unwelcome in sports.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2021.1895009">We found</a> that this sort of personal mistreatment – whether it’s bullying or insults – is a relatively common experience in sports: 36% of U.S. adults said they’d experienced some form of it. But LGBTQ adults were particularly likely to have fallen into this camp, with half of adults who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or another nonheterosexual identity responding that they were personally mistreated. About 60% of nonbinary adults in the survey said that they’d experienced sports-related mistreatment. </p>
<p>We also found that perceptions of homophobia and transphobia are common, and LGBTQ adults seem more attuned to them. While 30% of heterosexuals somewhat or strongly agreed that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes are not welcomed in sports, 45% of adults who identified as a sexual minority did so. About 42% of nonbinary adults felt that these athletes aren’t welcomed in sports.</p>
<p>Given all of the recent cultural and political advancements for LGBTQ people, you might think younger LGBTQ adults would be less likely to disclose that they’d been insulted or abused while playing or watching sports.</p>
<p>But that wasn’t the case. In fact, we didn’t find any generational differences in sports-related mistreatment among LGBTQ adults, which suggests that LGBTQ barriers and backlash in the world of sports have endured.</p>
<h2>Turning a blind eye to homophobia takes a toll</h2>
<p>An ongoing task for researchers is to understand why mistreatment remains so prevalent. </p>
<p>We have a few theories.</p>
<p>For one, sports continue to play an important role in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/ctx.2003.2.4.13">development and communication of a masculine identity</a>, and ideas of “what it means to be a man” are still intertwined with heterosexuality. So the sort of mistreatment and abuse that can be experienced by LGBTQ people on the playing fields and in the stands could be part of a conscious or subconscious effort by others to police gender and sexual boundaries.</p>
<p>Furthermore, while <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.12.003">homophobic beliefs may have declined</a>, many athletes, coaches and fans tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479512467327">presume one another’s heterosexuality</a>. At best, this can create awkward and uncomfortable situations for LGBTQ people. At worst, these assumptions may make athletes, coaches and fans more comfortable openly maligning LGBTQ people.</p>
<p>Practices like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038517702600">homophobic chanting in the stands</a> and <a href="https://www.si.com/nhl/2016/04/21/nhl-players-homophobic-gay-slurs-andrew-shaw-hockey-culture">homophobic trash talk on the field, ice or court</a> went on for years with little pushback. The language then became unremarkable and more difficult to peg as problematic or harmful. </p>
<p>Yet being exposed to persistent mistreatment – subtle or overt – has real consequences. Aside from evoking shame or anger, it can cultivate a strong dislike of sports, causing many LGBTQ people to <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/106381/3/106381_Final.pdf">avoid or withdraw from sports altogether</a>. </p>
<p>Still, <a href="https://thesocietypages.org/engagingsports/2021/02/24/are-you-a-sports-fan-your-gender-and-sexuality-may-have-something-to-do-with-it/">over one-third of lesbian and gay adults</a> are devoted sports fans. Some leagues, like the WNBA, see legions of untapped customers <a href="https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/2020/6/21/21293983/wnba-pride-lgbtq-gender-sexuality-race-black-lives-matter-activism-brittney-griner-layshia-clarendon">and have successfully worked to attract more LGBTQ fans</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, playing and following sports are a huge part of American culture, and <a href="https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/youth-sports-facts/benefits">participating is an important aspect of human development</a>.</p>
<p>With LGBTQ Americans who play sports reporting <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/08/31/research-brief-the-well-being-of-lgbtq-youth-athletes/">better mental and physical health</a> than those who don’t, the more welcoming playing fields and stadiums can be, the better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The National Sports and Society Survey was supported by the Sports and Society Initiative, The College of Arts and Sciences, and the Center for Human Resource Research at The Ohio State University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Allison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Half of LGBTQ participants in a recent study experienced discrimination, insults, bullying or abuse while playing, watching or talking about sports.Rachel Allison, Associate Professor of Sociology, Mississippi State UniversityChris Knoester, Associate Professor of Sociology, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1580112021-03-30T12:13:08Z2021-03-30T12:13:08ZAsian Americans top target for threats and harassment during pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392330/original/file-20210329-17-8uq2ad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C2991%2C1953&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lisa Nhan puts on a musical performance with crystal bowls in Los Angeles on Feb. 20 as part of an event to call attention to anti-Asian violence and racist attitudes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Anti-AsianViolenceAwareness/36ea1e0724ad49278fbbc5f96a69a94b/photo">AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the very beginning of the pandemic, hate crimes toward Asians and Asian Americans have gotten increased media attention. Our data, from the <a href="https://covid19pulse.usc.edu/">Understanding Coronavirus in America Study</a>, confirms that these events are happening more often – and are not just appearing more common because of press coverage or public awareness. Asian Americans experienced more threats and harassment than any other racial or ethnic group in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>From June 2020 through February 2021 – with particular spikes in late July and the month of November – Asian Americans reported being targeted by threats and harassment more frequently than members of other groups did. During this period, Asian Americans were accosted both physically and verbally even more than African Americans and Latinos, who are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/01/12/one-in-four-black-hispanic-workers-have-faced-workplace-discrimination-in-past-year-poll-suggests">generally the ethnic</a> <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/black-woman-says-she-was-racially-harassed-years-police-acted-n1244220">groups most</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3518332/">subjected to racial bias</a> in the U.S.</p>
<p>We got this data from a nationally representative online panel of more than 7,000 adults who answer survey questions every two weeks about how the pandemic affects their attitudes, lives and behaviors. Among other questions, the survey asked people if and how often they were threatened or harassed in their day-to-day life in the previous two weeks. </p>
<p>Our most recent data, from a poll taken in late February, shows that in the previous two weeks, 11% of Asian Americans experienced threats or harassment – compared with 8% of African Americans, 6% of Latino Americans and 5% of white Americans. Asian Americans are also twice as likely as whites to have experienced repeated abuse.</p>
<p>We also asked about other, perhaps less severe encounters, such as being treated with less courtesy or respect than others, receiving poorer service at restaurants and stores, and being treated as if they were not smart or as if people were afraid of them. Asians did not report meaningfully different numbers of these lesser encounters from other nonwhite groups, though all nonwhite groups reported more of this lesser discrimination than whites did.</p>
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<h2>A pandemic connection?</h2>
<p>Our analysis found that the coronavirus pandemic may be connected to the targeting of Asian Americans. </p>
<p>Our survey also asked the respondents if other people “thinking they might have the coronavirus” behaved in discriminatory ways, including acting as if afraid of them, threatening or harassing them, treating them with less courtesy and respect, or giving them poorer service at restaurants or stores.</p>
<p>Early in the pandemic, survey participants of all races <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/3249/covid-related-discrimination-impacts-racial-minorities/">reported experiencing this coronavirus-related discriminatory behavior</a> because someone thought they might have the coronavirus. <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/3249/covid-related-discrimination-impacts-racial-minorities/">People of Asian descent were most often affected</a>, followed by people of Black and Latino heritage, and then white people – who still did experience this type of discrimination, but less often than members of the other races.</p>
<p>Our more recent analysis has found that people who had previously been discriminated against because of perceived infection of the coronavirus – true or not – were five times more likely to be threatened or harassed later, for any reason, than those who had not experienced prior COVID-19-related discrimination. Again, this was true of all races, but particularly so for people of Asian heritage.</p>
<h2>Still more to learn</h2>
<p>We do not yet fully understand to what extent coronavirus-related discrimination has transformed into broader racial bias against people of Asian descent in situations where fear of disease is not a factor. After the pandemic ends, we hope that our research will be able to discover whether this level of threats and harassment of Asian Americans remains, or diminishes as fears of the disease ebb.</p>
<p>We also plan to explore how the discrimination, threats and harassment affected the health of the Asian Americans who were subjected to it. Prior research, including our own, has shown that <a href="https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/health-equity/racism-and-health">being discriminated against can harm people’s health</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.06.007">and well-being</a>. We hope to find out what, if any, short- and long-term effects may result from these experiences during the pandemic.</p>
<p>[<em>Get our best science, health and technology stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-best">Sign up for The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Understanding Coronavirus in America Study is supported in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p>Since the beginning of the pandemic, hate crimes targeting Asian Americans have gotten increased media and public attention. New data shows these events are in fact happening more often.Ying Liu, Research Scientist, Center for Economic and Social Research, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1499112020-11-12T04:55:15Z2020-11-12T04:55:15ZFrom COVID anxiety to harassment, more needs to be done on safety in taxis and rideshare services<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368971/original/file-20201112-23-15sngf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The introduction of ridesharing services has transformed the way many of us travel. Alongside traditional taxis, app-based ridesharing services have made it easier than ever to travel privately for those who can afford it. </p>
<p>But how safe are taxi and rideshare services? Anecdotally, experiences of harassment and violence appear to be common for passengers. </p>
<p>Last year, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-20/women-in-melbourne-targeted-by-fake-rideshare-drivers/11528180">media reports</a> drew attention to attempts by individuals posing as Uber drivers to lure women into their vehicles in Melbourne. Incidents of <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/cabbies-prey-on-women-20130913-2tqfh.html">drivers sexually assaulting passengers</a> periodically occur. Perhaps the most notorious is the case of the UK’s “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/17/john-worboys-jailed-for-life-over-attacks-on-four-more-victims">Black Cab Rapist</a>”, John Worboys, who drugged and raped at least 90 women. </p>
<p>Although concerns about safety and harassment have been well documented in relation to <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JCRPP-08-2016-0016/full/html">public transport</a>, limited data are available on experiences of harassment among both drivers and passengers of taxi and rideshare services.</p>
<p>In 2019, rideshare service Uber <a href="https://www.uber.com/us/en/about/reports/us-safety-report/">released a safety report</a> for the first time. It revealed the company had received more than 3,000 reports of sexual assault perpetrated by drivers or other passengers in the United States between 2017 and 2018. </p>
<p>While there is no evidence harassment and assault occur more frequently in taxis and rideshares compared to the wider community, the specific contexts of these services are important to investigate. For instance, passengers can be isolated while using these services, and some use them to travel after consuming drugs and alcohol – factors that can increase the risk of harm.</p>
<p>Our research – which is <a href="https://melbourneuni.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3Wbqz9brYjtZXVP">currently under way</a> – aims to shed light on these issues by exploring Victorians’ perceptions and experiences of safety and harassment when using taxi and rideshare services.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-same-but-different-what-passengers-like-about-uber-101676">The same but different: what passengers like about Uber</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Perceptions of safety pre- and post-COVID</h2>
<p>As we began our research, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, fundamentally changing <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-17/coronavirus-brings-once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity-for-cycling/12247870">how</a>, where and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/ridesharing-limited-in-melbourne-as-uber-and-didi-turn-to-delivery-20200803-p55i46.html">when</a> people travelled.</p>
<p>Lockdown and working from home led to reduced use of taxi and rideshare services for some. For others, anxiety about COVID transmission on public transport likely made taxi and rideshare services a more appealing option. </p>
<p>As Melbourne and the rest of the country come out of lockdown, people are going out again and having to consider how they travel. There might be a dilemma for some people in terms of whether they feel safe using taxi and rideshare services due to the perceived risk of COVID transmission. </p>
<p>Early findings from our survey of 94 Victorians suggest participants felt safer using rideshare services compared to taxi services before COVID-19. While participants reported factors that potentially reduced feelings of safety when using taxis – such as travelling alone or being intoxicated – they tended to report factors that promoted feelings of safety when using rideshare services. For example, the ability to track drivers and send tracking on to friends or loved ones, the rating system, automatic payment, and information about drivers, passengers and the ride being held by the app were all reported to improve perceptions of safety. </p>
<p>Since the pandemic, about half of participants report they feel equally safe using taxi and rideshare services compared to before the pandemic. Small numbers report feeling safer. However, many of our participants report feeling less safe about using taxi (38%) and rideshare (43%) services.</p>
<p>Based on written comments from participants, it appears that, in addition to physical safety concerns, people are experiencing concerns about health safety. These concerns include being in an enclosed space with the driver or other passengers, whether the car has been cleaned between each passenger, and the risk of acquiring COVID-19 from the driver or previous passengers. </p>
<p>Although rideshare services have <a href="https://www.uber.com/en-AU/newsroom/masksinmelbourne/">introduced a range of measures</a> to prevent COVID-19 transmission, drivers have similarly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/06/melbourne-uber-drivers-fear-for-their-health-as-they-transport-passengers-to-covid-19-tests">reported concerns</a> about their health.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368985/original/file-20201112-13-16qffql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368985/original/file-20201112-13-16qffql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368985/original/file-20201112-13-16qffql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368985/original/file-20201112-13-16qffql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368985/original/file-20201112-13-16qffql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368985/original/file-20201112-13-16qffql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368985/original/file-20201112-13-16qffql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Health safety concerns have risen since the COVID-19 pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Experiences of harassment in taxis and rideshares</h2>
<p>We also asked participants about experiences of harassment when using taxi and rideshare services. </p>
<p>Uber’s <a href="https://www.uber-assets.com/image/upload/v1575580686/Documents/Safety/UberUSSafetyReport_201718_FullReport.pdf?uclick_id=e3210995-2ecb-4a62-a80d-49e994411d53">2019 safety report</a> indicated 99.9% of rides in the United States in 2017-18 had been completed without incident. </p>
<p>Similarly, our preliminary findings suggest experiences of harassment are not common. Nonetheless, a minority of participants have reported verbal harassment relating to gender (35.6%), sexuality (19.8%), race (10%) and disability (13.5%). </p>
<p>Sexual harassment is by far the most common form of harassment experienced by participants so far. Half of survey respondents had experienced unwanted flirting, while 46% experienced unwanted comments about their physical appearance. Participants have described their experiences of harassment as including: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>several experiences where taxi drivers have either tried to flirt, made aggressively sexual statements, or touched me, and one specific one where the driver made several comments about knowing where I lived and how he’d date me.</p>
<p>Honestly there are too many to recount. In one instance, a taxi driver […] kept telling me how lonely he was and parked far away from home and would not let me leave the cab, forcing kisses on me and unwanted groping […] I was terrified. It wasn’t the first time I’ve been terrified of cab drivers either.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Participants also discussed feeling unsafe because of factors related to race, sexuality and disability. One participant with a disability, for example, shared experiences of being:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>left in scary situations by drivers not wanting to pick up my guide dog.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Harassment occurred more commonly in taxis, with drivers responsible for these behaviours in the vast majority (84%) of incidents. However, there is no evidence drivers are more likely to perpetrate harassment and violence than other members of society.</p>
<p>Drivers are themselves often subject to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/palgrave.sj.8340080">high levels of abuse</a>, harassment and violence. </p>
<p>It is also difficult to know if harassment is actually more common in taxis, or if this finding reflects the fact taxi services have been in use longer than rideshare services. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-are-ridesharing-services-like-uber-no-safer-than-hitchhiking-45878">FactCheck: are ridesharing services like Uber no safer than hitchhiking?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The impacts of these experiences have been varied, including emotional distress, anxiety, anger, embarrassment and fear for personal safety. While some participants have reported no impacts, others have said they now avoid using taxis or rideshare services, or are hypervigilant when using them. </p>
<p>They also report safety strategies such as minimising alcohol consumption, not using a taxi or rideshare alone, giving the driver a fake address, and sharing registration or journey details with a friend. A small number of women said they only used women-only ridesharing services such as <a href="https://www.shebah.com.au/">Shebah</a>.</p>
<h2>Getting there safely</h2>
<p>Experiences of harassment do not only occur in taxi and rideshare contexts. However, the harassment that does occur in these contexts requires a tailored response working alongside broader prevention efforts.</p>
<p>Our participants valued app-based features such as GPS tracking and the ability to rate drivers. Taxi companies could consider introducing similar measures to improve perceptions of safety. </p>
<p>Although rideshare services have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/uber-safety-feature-pin-number-2020-2">introduced several features</a> that can promote feelings of safety among drivers and riders, further measures are needed. These would include greater transparency from taxi and rideshare companies about reports of harassment by drivers and riders, and how they are responding to these reports. </p>
<p>Our emerging findings make it clear much more work is required to prevent and better respond to reports of harassment.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>We are still recruiting people to take part in our study. We are interested in a wide range of experiences of harassment – including sexist/sexual, gender-based, racist, ableist, homophobic and transphobic harassment – without any particular legal definition in mind. You do not need to have used a taxi or rideshare service during COVID-19 to take part. You can participate in the anonymous <a href="https://melbourneuni.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3Wbqz9brYjtZXVP">online survey here</a> or you can also contact Elena at elena.cama@unimelb.edu.au if you would prefer to participate in a confidential interview.</em></p>
<p><em>For help with any of the issues mentioned in this piece, contact the National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149911/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows while most taxi and rideshare journeys are completed safely, there is still an unacceptable level of harassment and intimidation.Bianca Fileborn, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, The University of MelbourneAlison Young, Francine V. McNiff Professor of Criminology, The University of MelbourneElena Cama, PhD Candidate, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1484072020-11-01T13:03:26Z2020-11-01T13:03:26ZNew allegations of abuse have grounded Canada’s artistic swimming team<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366017/original/file-20201028-17-tc0xoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C33%2C3208%2C2222&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Two members of Canada's Olympic synchronized swim team perform during the 2016 Summer Olympics. The sport is coming under scrutiny for its culture of abuse and body-shaming.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recently, the Montréal training site for the senior Canadian artistic swimming team (previously referred to as synchronized swimming) <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/canada-artistic-swimming-allegation-abuse-harassment-1.5745905">closed following reports of abuse and harassment</a>.</p>
<p>Radio-Canada Sports obtained a recording of Julie Healy, Canada Artistic Swimming’s chief sport officer, responding to athletes’ allegations of psychological abuse and discriminatory comments: “We can’t continue to operate in an environment where athletes don’t feel safe, where coaches do not feel they can work without being accused of being hostile, harassing, abusive.”</p>
<p>Although Healy claims that the alleged abuses have only occurred since 2019, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/swimmers-break-silence-artistic-swimming-canada-allegations-1.5768537">artistic swimmers have expressed concerns about abusive training environments for years</a>, as shown by recent social media posts by former national team artistic swimmers. And a recent statement by the Ontario Artistic Swimming organization indicates that it’s more of a sports-wide issue.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1321924487357648896"}"></div></p>
<h2>Controlling environments</h2>
<p>Our research has found that female athletes from esthetic sports — those requiring physical capacity alongside skill and artistry, such as artistic swimming — report repeated experiences of psychological abuse, including body-shaming practices. Artistic swimming requires a lean, long, sleek physique and that all athletes on the team look similar. To meet these expectations, many coaches have engaged in practices such as regular weigh-ins, making derogatory statements about the athletes’ bodies and recommending unhealthy eating practices. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366009/original/file-20201028-13-zy1aat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A competitive swimmer flips through the air" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366009/original/file-20201028-13-zy1aat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366009/original/file-20201028-13-zy1aat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366009/original/file-20201028-13-zy1aat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366009/original/file-20201028-13-zy1aat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366009/original/file-20201028-13-zy1aat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366009/original/file-20201028-13-zy1aat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366009/original/file-20201028-13-zy1aat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A member of Canada’s artistic swimming team performs during the World Swimming Championships in South Korea on July 14, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Baker)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given the very real repercussions of speaking out about these concerns, including being removed from the team, athletes have learned to be compliant, and have often resorted to compromising their health if they choose to remain on the team. Some end up leaving the sport entirely.</p>
<h2>Coaching concerns</h2>
<p>Curiously, Healy refers to concerns about coaches feeling they cannot do their job without fears of being accused of being hostile, harassing or abusive. One has to wonder what these coaching practices are that raise fears of being abusive? </p>
<p>As professionals with oversight over the health and development of adolescents and emerging adults, how are they being perceived as abusive or harassing? </p>
<p>Research indicates that a culture of control persists in the elite sport world, one in which <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9050068">derogatory and humiliating comments</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2014.872747">body shaming are normalized practices</a>. In these environments, athletes quickly learn that in order to pursue their talents and passion for sport, they are expected to tolerate these practices; in fact, many athletes are socialized into these environments in such a way as to accept these practices as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2014.872747">normal and required for optimal performance</a>. </p>
<p>Regrettably, however, the normalized practices that characterize many elite athletes’ experiences are harmful to athletes’ long-term health and well-being. The complaints about Canada Artistic Swimming are another reminder that archaic coaching practices must be replaced with evidence-based methods grounded in learning and development, and an environment in which athletes have agency over their experiences and the decisions that affect them. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WF5JbKZBv10?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A 2018 CBC documentary about the Canadian synchronized swimming Olympic team.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New oversight</h2>
<p>Fortunately, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-canadas-artistic-swim-team-halts-training-undergoing-conduct-review/">an independent body has been engaged to investigate the concerns and climate</a> within which these Canada Artistic Swimming athletes and coaches work. This is a significant step forward. </p>
<p>To date, athletes’ recourse for raising concerns has been to address them with the sport’s governing body — the same body that hires coaches, makes decisions about Olympic team membership and funding, and sets the overall climate for the entire organization. Given these inherent conflicts of interest, it’s no wonder that athletes have been reluctant to report their concerns, <a href="https://athletescan.com/sites/default/files/images/prevalence_of_maltreatment_reporteng.pdf">or have seen their concerns ignored</a>.</p>
<p>Over the past few years, many researchers, athletes and others in the Canadian sport system have advocated for an independent mechanism outside of the sport organizations to receive and investigate complaints of athlete maltreatment. Currently, McLaren Global Sport Solutions — a Toronto-based consulting group — has been charged with recommending structures and processes to ensure such an independent mechanism. <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1096372/mclaren-canada-safe-sport-appointment">A final report is expected shortly</a>. </p>
<p>The allegations within Canada Artistic Swimming again reinforce the need for an independent body where athletes can raise their concerns without fear of reprisal.</p>
<p>The situation with Canada Artistic Swimming is another reminder that the time has come for competitive sport to normalize practices that are aligned with the expectations and standards Canadians have of the treatment of young people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148407/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Allegations of abuse and harassment are not uncommon in Canadian sport. The closure of the Montréal site for Canada’s artistic swimming team is in part due to a lack of oversight for young athletes.Gretchen Kerr, Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of TorontoErin Willson, PhD Candidate, Kinesiology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1479092020-10-13T05:21:40Z2020-10-13T05:21:40ZTinder fails to protect women from abuse. But when we brush off ‘dick pics’ as a laugh, so do we<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363107/original/file-20201013-21-favnv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=359%2C454%2C4529%2C2799&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>An ABC investigation has highlighted the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/tinder-dating-app-helps-sexual-predators-hide-four-corners/12722732?nw=0">shocking threats of sexual assault</a> women in Australia face <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/131121/2/Rosalie_Gillett_Thesis.pdf">when “matching” with people on Tinder</a>. </p>
<p>A notable case is that of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-10/tinder-rapist-glenn-hartland-sentenced/11101416">rapist Glenn Hartland</a>. One victim who met him through the app, Paula, took her own life. Her parents are now <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-13/tinder-rapist-glenn-hartland-used-fake-profiles-to-lure-women/12742670">calling</a> on Tinder to take a stand to prevent similar future cases. </p>
<p>The ABC spoke to Tinder users who tried to report abuse to the company and received no response, or received an unhelpful one. Despite the <a href="https://www.pathologyjournal.rcpa.edu.au/article/S0031-3025(20)30104-5/abstract">immense harm dating apps can facilitate</a>, Tinder has done little to improve user safety.</p>
<h2>Way too slow to respond</h2>
<p>While we don’t have much data for Australia, one <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/06/young-women-often-face-sexual-harassment-online-including-on-dating-sites-and-apps/">US–based study</a> found 57% of female online dating users had received a sexually explicit image or image they didn’t ask for. </p>
<p>It also showed women under 35 were twice as likely than male counterparts to be called an offensive name, or physically threatened, by someone they met on a dating app or website.</p>
<p>Tinder’s <a href="https://www.gotinder.com/community-guidelines">Community Guidelines state</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>your offline behaviour can lead to termination of your Tinder account.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-07/dating-app-sexual-assault-predator-was-using-dating-profiles/11931586">several</a> <a href="https://thenextweb.com/tech/2020/01/31/tinder-and-bumble-under-investigation-over-underage-use-sex-offenders-and-data-handling/">reports</a> over the years have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/tinder-says-registered-sex-offenders-use-app-match-group-2019-12?r=US&IR=T">indicated</a>, the reality seems to be perpetrators of abuse face <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/tinder-dating-app-helps-sexual-predators-hide-four-corners/12722732?nw=0">little challenge from Tinder</a> (with <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/krishrach/a-man-has-been-permanently-banned-from-tinder-after-a-woman">few exceptions</a>). </p>
<p>Earlier this year, the platform unveiled a suite of new safety features in a bid to protect users online and offline. These include photo verification and a “<a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/tinder-panic-button-anti-catfishing-features">panic button</a>” which alerts law enforcement when a user is in need of emergency assistance.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tinders-new-safety-features-wont-prevent-all-types-of-abuse-131375">Tinder's new safety features won't prevent all types of abuse</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, most of these features are still only available in the US — while Tinder operates in more than 190 countries. This isn’t good enough.</p>
<p>Also, it seems while Tinder happily <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN1VPNHXmms">takes responsibility</a> for successful relationships formed through the service, it distances itself from users’ bad behaviour.</p>
<h2>No simple fix</h2>
<p>Currently in Australia, there are no substantial policy efforts to curb the prevalence of technology-facilitated abuse against women. The government recently closed consultations for a new <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/have-your-say/consultation-new-online-safety-act">Online Safety Act</a>, but only future updates will reveal how beneficial this will be.</p>
<p>Historically, platforms like Tinder have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-13/tinder-rapist-glenn-hartland-used-fake-profiles-to-lure-women/12742670">avoided legal responsibility</a> for the harms their systems facilitate. Criminal and civil laws generally focus on individual perpetrators. Platforms usually <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/116142/">aren’t required to actively prevent offline harm</a>. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, some lawyers are bringing cases to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/aug/13/lawyer-carrie-goldberg-online-harassment-revenge-porn">extend legal liability</a> to dating apps and other platforms. </p>
<p>The UK is looking at introducing a more general <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/online-harms-white-paper/online-harms-white-paper">duty of care</a> that might require platforms to do more to prevent harm. But such laws are <a href="https://www.article19.org/resources/online-harms-duty-of-care-would-restrict-free-speech-in-the-uk/">controversial</a> and still under development.</p>
<p>The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women has also drawn attention to harms facilitated through digital tech, urging platforms to <a href="https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/HRC/38/47">take a stronger stance</a> in addressing harms they’re involved with. While such rules aren’t legally binding, they do point to mounting <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/121223/">pressures</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363108/original/file-20201013-15-72vcud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of distressed woman at computer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363108/original/file-20201013-15-72vcud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363108/original/file-20201013-15-72vcud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363108/original/file-20201013-15-72vcud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363108/original/file-20201013-15-72vcud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363108/original/file-20201013-15-72vcud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363108/original/file-20201013-15-72vcud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363108/original/file-20201013-15-72vcud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online abusers on Tinder have been reported blocking victims, thereby deleting all the conversation history and removing proof of the abuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>However, it’s not always clear what we should expect platforms to do when they receive complaints. </p>
<p>Should a dating app immediately cancel someone’s account if they receive a complaint? Should they display a “warning” about that person to other users? Or should they act silently, down-ranking and refusing to match potentially violent users with other dates? </p>
<p>It’s hard to say whether such measures would be effective, or if they would comply with Australian defamation law, anti-discrimination law, or international human rights standards. </p>
<h2>Ineffective design impacts people’s lives</h2>
<p>Tinder’s app design <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/116016/">directly influences how easily users can</a> abuse and harass others. There are changes it (and many other platforms) should have made long ago to make their services safer, and make it clear abuse isn’t tolerated. </p>
<p>Some design challenges relate to user privacy. While Tinder itself doesn’t, many location-aware apps such as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/happn-dating-app-romance-and-stalking-2015-2">Happn</a>, Snapchat and Instagram have settings that make it easy for users to stalk other users.</p>
<p>Some Tinder features are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/tinder-dating-app-helps-sexual-predators-hide-four-corners/12722732?nw=0">poorly thought out</a>, too. For example, the ability to completely block someone is good for privacy and safety, but also deletes the entire conversation history — removing any trace (and proof) of abusive behaviour. </p>
<p>We’ve also seen cases where the very systems designed to reduce harm are used against the people they’re meant to protect. Abusive actors on Tinder and similar platforms can exploit “flagging” and “reporting” features to <a href="https://onlinecensorship.org/news-and-analysis/blunt-policies-and-secretive-enforcement-mechanisms-lgbtq-and-sexual-health-on-the-corporate-web">silence minorities</a>.</p>
<p>In the past, content moderation policies have been applied in ways that <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/199785/">discriminate against women</a> and <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/119319/">LGBTQI+ communities</a>. One example is users flagging certain LGBTQ+ content as “adult” and to be removed, when similar heterosexual content isn’t.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/looking-for-love-on-a-dating-app-you-might-be-falling-for-a-ghost-128626">Looking for love on a dating app? You might be falling for a ghost</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Tackling the normalisation of abuse</h2>
<p>Women frequently report unwanted sexual advances, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277539518300384">unsolicited “dick pics”</a>, threats and other types of <a href="https://ipvtechbib.randhome.io/pdf/harris2020.pdf">abuse</a> across <a href="https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/misogyny-online/book245572">all major digital platforms</a>.</p>
<p>One of the most worrying aspects of toxic/abusive online interactions is that many women may — even though they may feel uncomfortable, uneasy, or unsafe — ultimately <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/131121/">dismiss them</a>. For the most part, poor behaviour is now a “cliche” posted on popular social media pages as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tindernightmares/?hl=en">entertainment</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CFfmtC8FW5T","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>It could be such dismissals happen because the threat doesn’t seem imminently “serious”, or the woman doesn’t want to be viewed as “overreacting”. However, this ultimately trivialises and downplays the abuse.</p>
<p>Messages such as unwanted penis photos are not a laughing matter. Accepting ordinary acts of abuse and harassment <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Surviving+Sexual+Violence-p-9780745667430">reinforces</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277539517305101">a culture that supports violence against women</a> more broadly. </p>
<p>Thus, Tinder isn’t alone in failing to protect women — our attitudes matter a lot as well. </p>
<p>All the major digital platforms have their work cut out to address the online harassment of women that has now become commonplace. Where they fail, we should all work to keep the pressure on them.</p>
<p><em>If you or someone you know needs help, call <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">Lifeline</a> on 13 11 14.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosalie Gillett receives funding from the Australian Research Council for Discovery-Project "The Platform Governance Project: Rethinking Internet Regulation as Media Policy" (DP190100222) and is the recipient of Facebook Content Governance grant.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolas Suzor receives funding from the Australian Research Council for research on the governance of digital platforms (DP190100222), and is a Chief Investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. Nic is also a member of the Oversight Board, an independent organisation that hears appeals and makes binding decisions about what content Facebook and Instagram should allow or remove, based on international human rights norms. He is the author of Lawless: the secret rules that govern our digital lives (Cambridge, 2019).</span></em></p>Tinder and similar apps fail to properly address issues of online harm. A lack of policy is to blame, as well as app design features and society’s general attitudes towards more minor cases of abuse.Rosalie Gillett, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, Queensland University of TechnologyNicolas Suzor, Professor, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1441072020-08-13T19:26:43Z2020-08-13T19:26:43ZAlmost half of US teens who date experience stalking and harassment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352018/original/file-20200810-16-uknkb8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C2184%2C1355&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social media makes dating-related harassment and stalking that much easier.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/mobile-phone-users-royalty-free-illustration/928088582?adppopup=true&uiloc=thumbnail_similar_images_adp">smartboy10/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352574/original/file-20200812-24-7c4bxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352574/original/file-20200812-24-7c4bxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352574/original/file-20200812-24-7c4bxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352574/original/file-20200812-24-7c4bxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352574/original/file-20200812-24-7c4bxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352574/original/file-20200812-24-7c4bxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352574/original/file-20200812-24-7c4bxj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Falling in love for the first time can be a thrill, and teen dating is important to adolescent development. But according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X20921631">the results of a study</a> that my research team recently conducted, these early forays into romance often veer into unhealthy territory. </p>
<p>As many as 48% of 12- to 18-year-olds who describe themselves as having had a dating partner in the past year have also experienced dating-related stalking and harassment. </p>
<p>Not only can dating-related stalking and harassment <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.08.035">cause anxiety and depression</a> in teens, but it can also be a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-16-00193">harbinger</a> for more serious forms of abuse should the relationship continue.</p>
<p>Our study collected self-reported survey data from 320 adolescents from across the U.S. through the <a href="https://www.norc.org/Research/Projects/Pages/survey-on-teen-realtionships-and-intimate-violence.aspx">Survey on Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence</a>. Youths with dating experience were asked whether a dating partner had ever spied on or followed them, damaged something that belonged to them or gone through their online accounts. Nearly half – 48% – said that they had experienced one or more of these behaviors, while 43% said that they had done these things to someone who they were dating. </p>
<p>Disturbingly, these statistics suggest that surveilling or acting aggressively toward a crush or partner isn’t just common among U.S. teenagers. They may also think it’s normal or acceptable. </p>
<p>Due to inexperience, <a href="http://www.pages02.net/hcscnosuppression/lifetimes_1113_health_and_wellness_bsbw_teen_dating_all_SHARED/?spMailingID=5843001&spUserID=MzI2Njk0Nzk4MjES1&spJobID=345550095&spReportId=MzQ1NTUwMDk1S0">adolescents may not recognize when they’re being treated poorly</a>. And, because they’re still developing, they may not know how to handle a situation in which someone’s attention is overwhelming or scaring them. It can be difficult for young people to know what constitutes healthy and unhealthy romantic pursuit, as well. Meanwhile, their media and social media diets don’t necessarily feature ideal relationship role models.</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=experts">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get expert takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p>
<p>It’s important for teenagers to hear from adults that it isn’t normal to constantly want to know what their partner is up to and that monitoring their social media posts or going into their private accounts is invasive – before, during and after a relationship. </p>
<p>I find that parents tend to have one of two extreme reactions to the idea of their teens dating for the first time. There’s the “over my dead body” reaction, which usually means they forbid their children from dating altogether. Or there’s the “aw, puppy love is so cute” response, in which they don’t dig too deeply into the contours of the relationship.</p>
<p>A third option is for parents to appreciate the ways in which dating is normal and helpful for the development of social skills; for example, dating can give teens practice ending relationships, which can <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-development/healthy-relationships/dating/index.html">give them the confidence</a> to get into and out of intimate partnerships in adulthood. At the same time, there’s a role for parents: Pay attention to what’s going on, and be there to guide them if there are signs that a relationship is becoming unhealthy. </p>
<p><em>Eva Bahrami, Nnenna Okeke and Elizabeth Mumford of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago contributed to this research.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The author received financial support from the National Institute of Justice Grant # 2016-VF-GX-0007.</span></em></p>Many also openly admit to spying on or stalking their partners, suggesting that they may not know that there’s anything wrong with the behaviors.Emily Rothman, Professor of Community Health Sciences, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1412532020-08-10T21:13:00Z2020-08-10T21:13:00ZNew report finding racism at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights was shocking — but predictable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351809/original/file-20200807-24-1vjktsc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1997%2C1332&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A recent report on discrimination and harassment at the CMHR is a wake-up call for the museum’s management and board of trustees. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It has <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pervasive-and-systemic-racism-at-canadian-museum-for-human-rights-report-says-1.5674468">joined the ranks</a> of several prominent institutions, <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/workplace-harassment-high-profile-cases-raise-questions-on-fairness-to-victims-and-accused">from Rideau Hall to the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts</a>, that have been rocked by allegations of discrimination and harassment. </p>
<p>The human rights museum is no stranger to controversy. Many issues from its early years are now part of the public record. In 2012, prominent human rights lawyer and scholar Mary Eberts <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/human-rights-museum-staff-leave-amid-interference-allegations-1.1131274">denounced government interference</a> in the museum and its failure to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2312940885">integrate adequately Indigenous perspectives and agency</a> in the development of the galleries. </p>
<p>Until 2015, the federal Conservative government attempted to interfere with content, pushing instead for “more positive stories,” as law professor Ken Norman wrote in the 2015 anthology, <a href="https://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/the-idea-of-a-human-rights-museum"><em>The Idea of a Human Rights Museum</em>.</a></p>
<p>I served as an external adviser and peer reviewer for the museum over several years. The current crisis may be shocking, but it’s a predictable consequence of the museum’s history of separating strategic management practices from human rights principles. </p>
<p>The allegations have been circulating on social media under the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cmhrstoplying?lang=en">#CMHRStopLying</a>. They also include incidents from January 2015 to mid-2017, when museum staff agreed to censor LGBTQ2+ content at the request of religious groups. The ensuing public uproar prompted <a href="https://canadianart.ca/news/ceo-departs-canadian-museum-of-human-rights/">the museum’s CEO, John Young, to step down</a>. The board of trustees launched an independent third-party review. </p>
<h2>Racism is ‘pervasive and systemic’</h2>
<p><a href="https://humanrights.ca/about/systemic-racism-and-discrimination-review">On July 31, 2020, the board received an interim report from that review that they made public on Aug. 5</a>. The report draws on staff interviews and contains 44 recommendations. It says that racism is “pervasive and systemic.” It confirms that Black and Indigenous people and people of colour have experienced adverse impacts, and reports incidents of heterosexism, homophobia and sexism. (The board of trustees will be the focus of a second report.) </p>
<p>The report has been accepted by the board of trustees. </p>
<p>It contains wide-ranging recommendations for diverse representation at all levels of the museum, including the CEO. It speaks to the importance of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and has a strong focus on inclusivity and community engagement in content and policy development. The report also notes that “front-facing” staff who interact with the public and develop programs generally have a strong interest or backgrounds in human rights. Management, on the other hand, generally do not, and see the museum as focused on “revenue generation.” </p>
<p>The disconnect between staff and senior management highlighted in the report resonates. So does the concern about commercial success and corporate engagement at the expense of substantive human rights programming. </p>
<p>The fact that years of incidents recounted in the report should have escaped the board of trustees’ notice speaks at the very least to a dysfunctional relationship between senior management and the board. That’s something for which the board is ultimately responsible.</p>
<p>The report is not without its flaws. It refers to equality in terms of “formal equality” instead of “substantive equality.” Formal equality has not been the legal standard in Canada for many years, while substantive equality has been established as the correct approach by the <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/7925/index.do?q=%22substantive+equality%22">Supreme Court of Canada</a>. </p>
<p>The distinction matters because equality should not simply mean that everyone is treated the same way at all times. Rather, a substantive approach recognizes people’s differences and that different approaches may be needed to achieve equality. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman stands in front of the Witness Blanket exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The exhibit features items from the residential schools era including badges and trophies, shoes and a door from one of the schools." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352019/original/file-20200810-14-xtnyk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352019/original/file-20200810-14-xtnyk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352019/original/file-20200810-14-xtnyk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352019/original/file-20200810-14-xtnyk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352019/original/file-20200810-14-xtnyk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352019/original/file-20200810-14-xtnyk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352019/original/file-20200810-14-xtnyk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Witness Blanket exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>These issues do not detract from the overwhelming and serious problems within the museum that the report highlights. However, there are other key issues that flow from the museum’s status as a national institution and its governance history. Next steps must actively address its vulnerability to external pressure and self-censorship. </p>
<p>My own experience points to the importance of strengthening relationships with Canadian human rights NGOs. Over the years, prominent leaders in Canada’s human rights community have expressed to me their frustration at the lack of openness by the museum to engage with human rights defenders today, or to engage with current issues and strategies to mobilize community action. </p>
<p>The museum must regain not only the public’s trust, but also that of its staff, who have worked for years to build stakeholder relations. Their efforts have been reduced to ashes. </p>
<h2>Reconnecting to human rights</h2>
<p>This moment in time offers an opportunity to reclaim and re-establish the museum as a respected mediator of difficult conversations and “difficult histories,” as scholar Ruth B. Phillips says in her <a href="https://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/the-idea-of-a-human-rights-museum">research on the portrayal of and engagement with Indigenous Peoples in Canadian museums.</a> </p>
<p>Indeed, the museum’s place at the very nexus of memory, discourse and dissent sharpens rather than resolves vexing questions about what human rights “count,” whose stories are given prominence and why. </p>
<p>Human rights-based approaches should be integrated into management thinking. Connecting strongly and authentically with civil society is part of a participatory approach. This means increasing engagement with civil society and racialized communities. Otherwise, the museum risks becoming timid, merely perpetuating illusions of understanding and progress.</p>
<p>The human rights scholar David Petrasek had thought deeply about the museum’s role in Canada. As he <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/openglobalrights-openpage-blog/inside-and-out-at-human-rights-museum-0/">once reminded us,</a> there is something both “dangerous and illuminating” about human rights. <a href="https://humanrights.ca/news/cmhr-releases-independent-report">The commitment of Pauline Rafferty, the board chair and interim CEO at the museum</a>, to reclaim principles of human dignity and respect are hopeful signs that a more daring exploit is possible.</p>
<p>The appointment on Aug. 10 of <a href="https://humanrights.ca/news/cmhr-welcomes-new-leader-as-crucial-step-towards-positive-change">new president and CEO Isha Khan</a>, a lawyer with human rights expertise, is another promising signal. </p>
<p>The Canadian Museum for Human Rights should reject the inherent caution and orthodoxy of institutional governance that is typical of federal institutions, and replace it with the kind of radical democracy and transparency that human rights principles demand. It would be an experiment. But it is one that would reconnect strategic governance to human rights principles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141253/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pearl Eliadis has served as a consultant and peer reviewer for the CMHR, and has served in a volunteer leadership role in several Canadian human rights NGOs. </span></em></p>The CMHR has released an interim report confirming incidents of censorship and discrimination. The crisis should be understood in the context of the CMHR’s institutional history and governance.Pearl Eliadis, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law and Max Bell School of Public Policy, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1317692020-02-25T18:48:47Z2020-02-25T18:48:47ZCanadian sports groups have policed themselves for too long and it isn’t making sports safer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316941/original/file-20200224-24694-47s9gx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C110%2C3447%2C1975&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As athletes raise issues of abuse and harassment, sporting organizations are clearly struggling with how to interpret and implement Sport Canada's 'safe sport' policies. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Can victims of abuse in sport trust sport organizations to carry out independent, qualified investigations?</p>
<p>Ideally, Sport Canada’s new suite of <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2019/03/safe-sport-for-all.html">safe sport policies</a> should be seen as a positive step towards addressing public concerns about harassment, abuse and discrimination in sport. </p>
<p>Yet, recent signs suggest the system is failing its victims.</p>
<p>Announced in March 2019, the safe sport policies are beginning to show serious cracks in its implementation. This is largely because the policies allow sport to police itself.</p>
<h2>Who exactly do these policies protect?</h2>
<p>The federal government allocated $30 million over five years to help Canadian sport organizations rid their sport of toxic behaviours. When the policies began their rollout, we were concerned about how fast the initiative was implemented and questioned its ability to properly serve victims.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z2_rXLJWJ0U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Like many sports organizations, Softball Canada has embraced safe sport policies to help athletes, coaches and administrators create a safe environment for all.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The reforms are clearly much needed. In a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/n-s-teen-hockey-player-angry-after-probe-finds-taunts-not-racial-1.5454285?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar">December 2019 incident in Nova Scotia</a>, hockey player Logan Prosper reported being taunted on and off the ice with racial slurs — including being told that Indigenous people “look like turds.” After investigating the matter, Nova Scotia Hockey determined that the comments were insulting but not racist.</p>
<p>Curiously, at the same time, Nova Scotia Hockey also reported that “incidents of racial slurs and homophobia” are on the rise in their sport. Further to that, the organization’s executive director, Amy Walsh, told the public, “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/hockey-nova-scotia-verbal-abuse-racist-slurs-1.5452800">We have zero tolerance for any form of discrimination</a>.” Another report published the same day said, “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/n-s-teen-hockey-player-angry-after-probe-finds-taunts-not-racial-1.5454285?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar">We encourage all of our members who experience racism to report it. It has no place in our game</a>.”</p>
<p>The gap between what sport organizations say about athlete safety and how they ensure it is at least the size of a hockey rink. It is urgent that Canadian sporting organizations address the discrepancy.</p>
<p>Even at 16, Prosper <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/n-s-teen-hockey-player-angry-after-probe-finds-taunts-not-racial-1.5454285?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar">isn’t fooled by the problem with self-policing</a> and questioned the investigative units’ expertise to assess racism, stating, “I don’t understand how they can decide which is racial or not, not only to me, but to anybody. It can’t just be their decision.”</p>
<p>Halifax is hosting the 2020 North American Indigenous Games in July. How can the thousands of young Indigenous athletes from Canada and the United States who will be taking part in the Games feel safe in a region where at least one of its most popular sports is seemingly insulating itself from addressing discrimination?</p>
<h2>A history of legal nonintervention</h2>
<p>From adjudicating racism to ethically handling abuse allegations, its time for the Canadian sport system to devote serious attention to fixing its ingrained toxic culture. In the past, attempts to regulate Canadian sport have emanated from within organized sport and from the judicial system. Often, physical violence in sport has been the catalyst for calls for regulation.</p>
<p>For example, in the late 19th and 20th centuries, Canadians were concerned about the growing level of violence in hockey. In 1904, Ontario Hockey Association President John Ross Robertson warned, “<a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=Fh15DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT215&lpg=PT215&dq=%E2%80%9CWe+must+call+a+halt+to+slashing+and+slugging,&source=bl&ots=BPaNB0VCiP&sig=ACfU3U2oNr_lHojUkMdpC_xiP2OVxyEDTw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhlOHp_-HnAhVzFjQIHVQ6BYoQ6AEwAHoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9CWe%20must%20call%20a%20halt%20to%20slashing%20and%20slugging%2C&f=false">We must call a halt to slashing and slugging, and insist upon clean hockey before we have to call in a coroner to visit our rinks</a>.”</p>
<p>The following year, a death occurred on the ice as the result of a stick-swinging incident, leading to a murder trial and later acquittal in Ontario. The belief at the time was that hockey was capable of regulating itself and the courts should not intervene.</p>
<p>A decade later, on May 24, 1913, boxer Luther McCarty was killed by Arthur Pelkey in the ring during a bout just outside of Calgary. The result was a manslaughter charge levied against Pelkey. Yet, as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43609534?seq=1">Kevin Wamsley and David Whitson explain</a>, “legal intervention in a properly conducted sporting event was questioned by all those (mostly male) who believed that violence in confrontative sports was simply part of the sport and therefore legitimate.”</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316942/original/file-20200224-24668-12nrcjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316942/original/file-20200224-24668-12nrcjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316942/original/file-20200224-24668-12nrcjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316942/original/file-20200224-24668-12nrcjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316942/original/file-20200224-24668-12nrcjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316942/original/file-20200224-24668-12nrcjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316942/original/file-20200224-24668-12nrcjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 1913, a boxing march between Luther McCarty and Arthur Pelkey resulted in McCarty’s death by cerebral hemorrhage. From the early days of boxing and hockey, all sport still struggles with how to decide who is responsible when tragedy occurs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pelkey was not convicted of manslaughter. The judge, resting on case law established in 1911, stated in <em>R. vs. Wildfong and Lang</em> that “… it will be a long time before Parliament will think it wise to so hedge in young men and boys by legislation that all sports that are rough and strenuous or even dangerous must be given up. <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=GHTfbstegSwC&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=Wildfong+and+Lang&source=bl&ots=4vshiMuLDY&sig=ACfU3U1LdKtUd1CCtaRPWuCG0hYsLhu9Yg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjUquPU7ernAhXHmq0KHZYyA_QQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Wildfong%20and%20Lang&f=false">Virility in young men would soon be lessened</a> and self-reliant manliness a thing of the past.”</p>
<h2>The outward show of doing something</h2>
<p>Today, sport is still allowed to police itself. The growing list of victims coming forward, sometimes using media to inform the public, speaks to the need for a more independent system with qualified investigators as well as the need for independent reporting mechanisms.</p>
<p>Victims deserve to be heard and supported by a system that works for them. This is especially true when the harm they experience cuts deeper than racial slurs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131769/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor McKee receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janice Forsyth receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Canadian sport is still allowed to police itself when it comes to dealing with abuse and harassment.Taylor McKee, PhD Candidate and Instructor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western UniversityJanice Forsyth, Associate Professor, Sociology & Director, Indigenous Studies, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1313752020-02-10T04:13:11Z2020-02-10T04:13:11ZTinder’s new safety features won’t prevent all types of abuse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314375/original/file-20200210-52417-2lxp5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4575%2C3053&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Wachiwit</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The dating app Tinder has faced increasing scrutiny over <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-07/dating-app-sexual-assault-predator-was-using-dating-profiles/11931586">abusive interactions on the service</a>. In November 2019, an Auckland man was <a href="https://theconversation.com/grace-millanes-murder-trial-shows-social-attitudes-continue-to-minimise-gendered-violence-127796">convicted of murdering British woman Grace Millane</a> after they met on Tinder. Incidents such as these have brought attention to the potential for serious violence facilitated by dating apps.</p>
<p>Amid ongoing <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/tinder-lets-known-sex-offenders-use-the-app-its-not-the-only-one">pressure</a> to better protect its users, Tinder <a href="https://blog.gotinder.com/tinder-introduces-safety-updates/">recently unveiled some new safety features</a>.</p>
<p>The US version of the app added a panic button which alerts law enforcement to provide emergency assistance, in partnership with the safety app Noonlight. There is also a photo verification feature that will allow users to verify images they upload to their profiles, in an effort to prevent <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-about-money-we-asked-catfish-why-they-trick-people-online-100381">catfishing</a>.</p>
<p>“Does This Bother You?” is another new feature, which automatically detects offensive messages in the app’s instant messaging service, and asks the user whether they’d like to report it. Finally, a Safety Center will give users a more visible space to see resources and tools that can keep them safe on the app.</p>
<p>These features are an improvement, but they won’t end the harassment of women via the platform.</p>
<h2>Previously unsafe</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/131121/">PhD research</a> investigated experiences that make women feel unsafe on Tinder. It showed the app’s previous attempts to curb harassment have been inadequate.</p>
<p>In 2017, Tinder launched a feature to allow users to send animated messages, called “Reactions”, in reply to unacceptable messages they received. The negative images, which only women could send, included an eye roll and throwing a drink in someone’s face. Tinder <a href="https://blog.gotinder.com/tinder-launches-reactions/">claimed</a> Reactions would give users a fun and easy way to “call out” the “douchey” behaviour of men.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/right-swipes-and-red-flags-how-young-people-negotiate-sex-and-safety-on-dating-apps-128390">Right-swipes and red flags – how young people negotiate sex and safety on dating apps</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>The main critique of Reactions is that it puts the onus on women, rather than the app itself, to police the abusive behaviour of men. The effect was to distance Tinder from its users’ behaviour, rather than engage meaningfully with it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314117/original/file-20200207-43102-figpkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314117/original/file-20200207-43102-figpkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314117/original/file-20200207-43102-figpkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314117/original/file-20200207-43102-figpkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314117/original/file-20200207-43102-figpkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314117/original/file-20200207-43102-figpkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314117/original/file-20200207-43102-figpkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tinder’s Reactions feature, launched in 2017, held women responsible for policing the abusive behaviour of men.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tinder Blog</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A swipe in the right direction</h2>
<p>Tinder’s latest safety mechanisms are an improvement. The newly released tools suggest Tinder is taking the harassment of women more seriously, and a button that alerts law enforcement might actually protect users from physical abuse.</p>
<p>But the panic button is only available in the United States. Given the service operates in <a href="https://www.gotinder.com/press">more than 190 countries</a>, Tinder should consider rolling it out worldwide.</p>
<p>The new “Does This Bother You?” feature could also prove useful in preventing overt harassment. Using machine learning, it will prompt users to report inappropriate messages they receive through the service. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0959353517720226">Research</a> and a range of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tindernightmares/?hl=en">social media pages</a> show that harassing and abusive messages are commonly facilitated through the platform’s instant messaging service.</p>
<h2>‘De-normalising’ abuse</h2>
<p>Because a great deal of harassment and abusive behaviour is normalised, it is unclear how much Tinder’s new measures will protect women. <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/131121/">My research</a> showed that many women using Tinder experienced behaviour that made them feel uncomfortable, but they didn’t think it met the threshold of abuse.</p>
<p>Sometimes, abusive behaviours can be initially interpreted as romantic or caring. One woman I interviewed reported receiving an overwhelming number of lengthy text messages and phone calls from a Tinder user who was pressuring her into having dinner with him. At first, the woman considered the man’s behaviour “sweet”, viewing it as an indication that he really liked her. But after the number of his messages became torrential, she feared for her safety.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-about-money-we-asked-catfish-why-they-trick-people-online-100381">It's not about money: we asked catfish why they trick people online</a>
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</em>
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<p>For experiences like this, Tinder’s “Does This Bother You?” feature would be ineffective since the messages were sent via SMS. The limitations of the in-app messaging feature, such as the inability to send photographs, led many of the women I interviewed to talk to prospective dates through other digital media. But Tinder cannot identify communication on other services. The inability to send photos, however, does prevent users from receiving unsolicited images within the app.</p>
<p>Even if the man’s messages were sent in-app, it is unclear whether the “Does This Bother You” algorithm would prompt users to report messages that are seemingly romantic in content.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314376/original/file-20200210-52384-rg65mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314376/original/file-20200210-52384-rg65mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314376/original/file-20200210-52384-rg65mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314376/original/file-20200210-52384-rg65mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314376/original/file-20200210-52384-rg65mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314376/original/file-20200210-52384-rg65mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314376/original/file-20200210-52384-rg65mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tinder’s new safety features suggest the app is taking abuse more seriously. But they’re not enough to prevent harassment of women via the platform.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Kaspars Grinvalds</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Taking users seriously</h2>
<p>For the “Does This Bother You?” feature to be effective, Tinder needs to be better at responding to users’ reports. Some of the women I interviewed stopped reporting other users’ bad behaviour, because of Tinder’s failure to act.</p>
<p>One woman described reporting a man who had sent her harassing messages, only to see his profile on the service days later. This points to a big problem: Tinder does little to enforce its <a href="https://www.gotinder.com/terms/us-2018-05-09">Terms of Use</a>, which reserves the right to delete accounts that engage in harassment. </p>
<p>Tinder’s failure to respond to user reports sends a messages that they’re not justified, leaving users with the impression that harassment is tolerated. The app’s new safety features will only help users if Tinder does better to address user reports.</p>
<p>While Tinder’s new safety mechanisms are an improvement, the platform will need to do more to address normalised abuse. It can begin to do this by listening to women about what makes them feel uneasy, uncomfortable, and unsafe on the app.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131375/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosalie Gillett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dating app Tinder has come under increasing scrutiny over harassment facilitated by the platform. But its new safety measures, while undoubtedly an improvement, are unlikely to prevent abuse.Rosalie Gillett, Research Associate in Digital Platform Regulation, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1282042019-12-10T13:55:58Z2019-12-10T13:55:58ZNew studies show discrimination widely reported by women, people of color and LGBTQ adults<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305260/original/file-20191204-70144-1utq93k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. public opinion is divided over who faces discrimination.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/frustrated-excluded-outstand-african-american-man-1079701316?src=9fee6da8-7f09-4e0d-a1d1-c79369b8c1c5-1-15">fizkes/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent years, U.S. public opinion has been divided about the existence and seriousness of <a href="http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2017/08/29102356/PewResearchCenter_8-29-2017_Racism_topline_for_release.pdf">racism</a>, <a href="https://www.prri.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/August-2018-Topline-1.pdf">sexism</a> and other forms of discrimination.</p>
<p>Amid <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/on-views-of-race-and-inequality-blacks-and-whites-are-worlds-apart/">growing racial divides in civil</a> and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/29/views-of-racism-as-a-major-problem-increase-sharply-especially-among-democrats/">political views</a>, our research team at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in partnership with NPR and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, asked 3,453 adults about their experiences of discrimination. </p>
<p>We surveyed adults who identified as members of six groups often underrepresented in public opinion research: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13220">blacks</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13216">Latinos</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13224">Native Americans</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13225">Asian Americans</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13217">women</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13229">LGBTQ adults</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14756773/2019/54/S2">Our studies, published in December</a>, show that people from these groups report high levels of discrimination from both institutions and other people. </p>
<h2>Widespread reported discrimination</h2>
<p>The articles were based <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13226">on a survey</a> conducted via telephone from Jan. 26 to April 9, 2017, among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.</p>
<p>We asked people if they had ever experienced specific forms of discrimination, harassment or unfair treatment because they are black, Latino, Native American, Asian American, a woman, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.</p>
<p>Discrimination was commonly reported across many areas of life, including in the workplace, at the doctor and with the police. Slurs, harassment and violence were also widely reported.</p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13220">half of black adults</a> say they have personally experienced racial discrimination when interacting with the police, while 22% have avoided seeking health care for themselves or family members due to anticipated discrimination. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13224">Nearly 4 in 10 Native Americans</a> say they or family members have experienced racial violence. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13216">One in 3 Latinos</a> say they have experienced discrimination when applying for jobs. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13225">1 in 4 Asian Americans</a> say they have been discriminated against when trying to obtain housing. </p>
<p>Among women, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13217">more than 4 in 10 say they have experienced</a> gender discrimination in the workplace when it comes to getting equal pay or promotions. </p>
<p>And <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13229">a majority of LGBTQ adults</a> say they or LGBTQ friends or family members have been threatened or harassed.</p>
<p>Although high rates of reported discrimination may not be surprising to some, this has rarely been documented by national survey research among some of these populations who are often <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/hardtosurvey-populations/probability-sampling-methods-for-hardtosample-populations/DF7E1268024A7729261CE63F380C6125">difficult to reach</a> due to their small sizes, geographic dispersion or in the case of LGBTQ adults, stigmatization.</p>
<p><iframe id="pBSo1" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/pBSo1/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>National debate on discrimination</h2>
<p>Polling has documented <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/on-views-of-race-and-inequality-blacks-and-whites-are-worlds-apart/">large gaps between whites and minorities</a> over their general beliefs about racial and ethnic discrimination in America. </p>
<p>There are similar divisions in beliefs about whether discrimination exists against <a href="https://www.prri.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/August-2018-Topline-1.pdf">women and LGBTQ adults</a>. For example, 52% of the public does not believe there is a lot of discrimination against women in the United States today, while 45% does.</p>
<p>The question over whether some minorities face serious discrimination, and the divide in public opinion over its answer, are critical to public debates affecting federal anti-discrimination policies. For example, the Trump administration has begun <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/08/trump-obama-racial-bias-522940">reversing several Obama-era anti-discrimination policies</a> on health care, college admissions, fair housing and lending. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/does-the-civil-rights-act-protect-lgbt-workers-the-supreme-court-is-about-to-decide-125290">The Supreme Court is also expected to rule in 2020</a> on extending workplace anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBTQ employees.</p>
<h2>The path forward</h2>
<p>Our findings show that, despite divided public perceptions to the contrary, reported discrimination against blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, women and LGBTQ adults is prevalent in the United States today.</p>
<p>Discrimination places a huge and often unseen burden on the country that is experienced in different ways by different groups and in different areas of life. Given our findings, we believe greater public policy efforts are needed to help end these common discriminatory behaviors in day-to-day life, as well as in institutions and policies. </p>
<p>As a path forward, in 2014, a national coalition representing 200 civil and human rights groups <a href="https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/USA/INT_CERD_NGO_USA_17654_E.pdf">detailed major policy opportunities to eliminate discrimination against minorities</a> in key areas that affect their lives, including health care, criminal justice and housing.</p>
<p>Working to end discrimination presents a challenge for leaders at all levels. Leaders of institutions can both act and educate at the institutional level, not only about the existence and pervasive nature of discrimination, but also about its impacts on the country, communities, individuals and their families. </p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This work was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed are solely those of the authors, and no official endorsement by the sponsor is intended or should be inferred.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span> </span></em></p>Marginalized groups said that they had experienced discrimination at the workplace, at the doctor and with the police.Mary G. Findling, Research Associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard UniversityJohn M. Benson, Research Scientist, Harvard UniversityRobert J. Blendon, Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1224002019-08-29T05:06:42Z2019-08-29T05:06:42ZHow to teach sex education in Indonesia: academics weigh in<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289825/original/file-20190828-184207-jp2h3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A formal sex-ed curriculum has been missing from Indonesian classrooms.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scholars weigh in on what sex education, which to this day <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1010539517702716">does not have a formal curriculum</a>, should look like for Indonesian schools. </p>
<p>They propose following the <a href="https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/technical-guidance-sexuality-education/en/">World Health Organisation’s guideline for sex education</a>, which can help students understand the many aspects of sexuality and reproductive health. Its module lays out in detail key learning points, ranging from ethics in adolescent relationships and respecting other people’s boundaries, to the ethical use of social media.</p>
<p>Currently, Indonesian schools teach limited aspects of reproductive health across their subjects. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1010539517702716">What little sex education we have is still restricted</a> to abstinence and STD threats. There is little to no focus on consent, sexuality and other gender-sensitive issues.</p>
<p>Lawmakers are debating <a href="https://kumparan.com/@kumparanstyle/hal-hal-yang-perlu-diketahui-tentang-ruu-penghapusan-kekerasan-seksual-1550050688179490092">a sexual violence draft bill</a> that includes thin provisions for sex education. </p>
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Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/conservative-rejection-of-indonesias-anti-sexual-violence-bill-misplaced-111683">Conservative rejection of Indonesia's anti-sexual violence bill misplaced</a>
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<p>Sri Wiyanti, a lecturer and director of the Law and Gender Society (LGS) in Universitas Gadjah Mada, acknowledges that the fight for a formal curriculum continues to be an uphill battle.</p>
<p>“Policymakers hesitate to take a firm stance. They’re still easily influenced by certain groups who only view sex education as a moral issue and not as a solution to our sexual violence epidemic,” she said.</p>
<p>Amid the lack of formal sex education, Indonesia faces a sexual violence crisis. <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/news/new-survey-shows-violence-against-women-widespread-indonesia">More than 33% of women have experienced sexual abuse</a>, a conservative estimate considering <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-crime-women/over-90-percent-rape-cases-go-unreported-in-indonesia-poll-idUSKCN1051SC">90% of cases go unreported</a>.</p>
<h2>Consent must be front and centre</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/technical-guidance-sexuality-education/en/">Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) guidelines</a> from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other United Nations bodies, which are designed for primary and secondary education, offer a human rights approach to sexuality education. </p>
<p>Ni Luh Putu Maitra Agastya, a senior researcher at the Center for Child Protection and Wellbeing at Universitas Indonesia (<em>PUSKAPA</em>), stresses how important this approach is, as it makes consent and healthy relationships the foundation of its curriculum. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289589/original/file-20190827-184240-18el891.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289589/original/file-20190827-184240-18el891.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289589/original/file-20190827-184240-18el891.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289589/original/file-20190827-184240-18el891.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289589/original/file-20190827-184240-18el891.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289589/original/file-20190827-184240-18el891.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289589/original/file-20190827-184240-18el891.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289589/original/file-20190827-184240-18el891.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Key learning aspects of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curriculum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WHO</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>“The focus should be to empower and prepare the children and youths to become healthy responsible adults that can make their own decisions and build healthy relationships with others, not to ‘sterilise’ them from risky behaviours,” she said.</p>
<p>“We need to have more discussions on consent and what it means when it comes to children and youths.”</p>
<p>A joint study by various groups including Lentera Sintas Indonesia, an organisation that supports sexual violence survivors, affirmed Agastya’s concerns. It found that more than half of Indonesians experience sexual abuse of one kind or another, <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/16/sexual-harassment-in-public-spaces-rampant-among-minors-survey.html">all before turning the age of 16</a>.</p>
<p>In 2016, a private elementary school implemented <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332130441_Applying_a_sex_education_programme_in_elementary_schools_in_Indonesia_Theory_application_and_best_practices">a pilot program on sex education</a> that put consent front and centre. This happened after school administrators saw that a lot of male students teased their fellow female students by inappropriately touching their breasts. </p>
<p>However, public schools don’t have this level of flexibility.</p>
<p>Agastya argues that incorporating WHO’s CSE curriculum in Indonesia’s education system could fill this gap by providing a dedicated module on bodily integrity.</p>
<h2>The importance of inclusivity</h2>
<p>Sri Wiyanti added that teaching children about sexuality and consent must be done with a gender-neutral approach, which is something that teachers often neglect.</p>
<p>“This concept must be taught to all students, boys and girls. At the surface, it may seem the only victims are girls, but boys are also hidden victims,” Sri Wiyanti said.</p>
<p>Indonesia’s Commission on Child Protection recorded that, in 2018, the number of male victims in child abuse cases <a href="https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1084961/kpai-korban-kekerasan-seksual-didominasi-laki-laki-pada-2018/full&view=ok">outnumbered female victims</a>.</p>
<p>Another thing Agastya said was important about the CSE curriculum was that it laid out provisions on <a href="https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/technical-guidance-sexuality-education/en/">how to apply the materials in informal education environments</a>.</p>
<p>“There are many at-risk school-age children who are not enrolled in schools. Think about street children or drop-out children due to poverty. Child marriage is higher amongst children from low-income families,” she said.</p>
<p>According to the World Bank, in 2017 around <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.UNER.ZS?locations=ID&view=chart">7.3% of elementary-level children across Indonesia were out-of-school</a>. Agastya says these children only get the chance to receive sexuality and reproductive health lessons from nongovernmental organisations, usually focusing on HIV/AIDS work.</p>
<p>“Age, gender, culture, and ability-inclusive material is very critical. We should look at the broader picture first before the curriculum is designed,” she said.</p>
<h2>Parents are part of sex education</h2>
<p>Agastya and Sri Wiyanti both argue that the need for parents and the community to be more involved with sex education is greater than ever.</p>
<p>Although comprehensive sex education modules remain vital, research acknowledges that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0017896908094636?journalCode=heja">parents still have an important role</a> in ensuring children have an adequate understanding of sexuality and health.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, studies have also shown that <a href="https://www.elsevier.es/es-revista-enfermeria-clinica-35-articulo-mother-daugther-communication-about-sexual-reproductive-S1130862118300615">most Indonesian parents don’t talk to their children about sexuality and reproductive health</a>. This is mostly because they feel it is not culturally acceptable and taboo.</p>
<p>“Sex education still receives a negative response from society. Many believe that it leads children and adolescents to engage in premarital sex,” Sri Wiyanti explains.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0017896908094636?journalCode=heja">UK research</a> into parental involvement in sex education suggests elementary schools should keep parents in the loop regarding their sexuality education materials and methods. The research recommends setting up parent-teacher groups that meet regularly so teaching efforts at home and in classrooms are synced. </p>
<p>Some similar initiatives in Indonesia that provide safe spaces for parents to talk about child development already exist, such as the government’s <a href="https://www.kemenpppa.go.id/index.php/page/read/29/1400/memperkuat-pencegahan-kekerasan-terhadap-anak-melalui-puspaga">Center for Family Learning (<em>PUSPAGA</em>)</a> program. However, its reach and content on sexuality and reproductive health remain limited.</p>
<p>“Advocacy is needed to ensure that reproductive health education can be provided not only by schools and authorised agencies but by parents, peers, teachers, the community as a whole,” Agastya said.</p>
<p>Sri Wiyanti added: “It may sound like a war, but it’s one that’s too important to lose. I hope that the public will never get tired of discussing this.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Scholars weigh in on what sex education should look like for Indonesian schools. To this day the subject does not have a formal curriculum.Luthfi T. Dzulfikar, Youth + Education EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1178382019-07-22T04:55:54Z2019-07-22T04:55:54Z1 in 5 Australians is a victim of ‘revenge porn’, despite new laws to prevent it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285051/original/file-20190722-116590-mld2st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mitchell Brindley is the first person to be convicted under WA's new laws against image-based sexual abuse.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angie Raphael/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A Perth man who pleaded guilty to distributing an intimate image of his ex-girlfriend without her consent <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6286378/no-jail-for-wa-first-revenge-porn-offender/?cs=14231">has been sentenced to a 12-month intensive supervision order</a>, sparing him jail time. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/first-wa-man-to-be-charged-under-revenge-porn-laws-could-face-jail-term-20190520-p51p93.html">media reports</a>, Mitchell Brindley repeatedly created fake Instagram accounts under the name of his ex-girlfriend and posted nude photographs of her on the site. </p>
<p>Brindley is the first to be convicted under <a href="https://department.justice.wa.gov.au/I/intimate-images-law.aspx">new laws that came into effect in Western Australia in April</a>. The new laws carry a maximum possible sentence of three years in jail and fines of up to A$18,000.</p>
<h2>What is image-based sexual abuse?</h2>
<p>Image-based sexual abuse (or IBSA) is defined as the non-consensual creation, distribution or threats to distribute nude or sexual images (photos or videos) of a person. It also includes altered imagery in which a person’s face or identifying marks appear in a pornographic photo or video, known colloquially as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-can-now-create-fake-porn-making-revenge-porn-even-more-complicated-92267">deep fakes</a>.” </p>
<p>Also known as “non-consensual pornography” <a href="https://theconversation.com/ending-revenge-porn-how-can-we-stop-sexual-images-being-used-to-abuse-54733">or “revenge porn”</a>, IBSA is an invasion of a person’s privacy and a violation of their human rights to dignity, sexual autonomy and freedom of expression.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/image-based-abuse/about/research">a survey of 4,122 Australians we conducted</a> for the Office of the eSafety Commissioner in 2017, one in ten Australian respondents had experienced a nude or sexual image of themselves being distributed to others or posted online without their consent. Young women aged 18 to 24 were among the most commonly victimised, as were Indigenous Australians and those with a mobility or communicative disability.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277477/original/file-20190602-69075-1hbxx3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277477/original/file-20190602-69075-1hbxx3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277477/original/file-20190602-69075-1hbxx3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277477/original/file-20190602-69075-1hbxx3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277477/original/file-20190602-69075-1hbxx3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277477/original/file-20190602-69075-1hbxx3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277477/original/file-20190602-69075-1hbxx3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Prevalence of image-based sexual abuse among demographic groups in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Office of the eSafety Commissioner</span></span>
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<p>In a separate <a href="http://crg.aic.gov.au/reports/1819/08-1516-FinalReport.pdf">survey we conducted</a>, we found the creation of nude or sexual images was even more prevalent. Of the 4,274 Australians aged 16 to 49 years that we surveyed, 20% said that someone had taken or created a nude or sexual image of them without their consent. Of those surveyed, 9% had experienced threats that a nude or sexual image of them would be shared. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-making-revenge-porn-a-federal-crime-would-combat-its-rise-47557">How making 'revenge porn' a federal crime would combat its rise</a>
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<p>When the creation, distribution and threats to distribute a nude or sexual image were combined, we found that more than one in five (23%) Australians had experienced at least one of these behaviours. </p>
<p>We also asked our survey participants whether they had ever <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563218305454">perpetrated image-based sexual abuse</a>. One in 10 reported they had taken, distributed or made threats to distribute a nude or sexual image of another person without that person’s consent. Men (13.7%) were almost twice as likely as women (7.4%) to admit to doing this.</p>
<h2>How does IBSA impact victims?</h2>
<p>Though the term “revenge porn” implies that the non-consensual sharing of nude or sexual images is based on the spiteful actions of jilted ex-lovers, research suggests the motivations for these behaviours – and the impacts on victims – are far more varied. </p>
<p>For instance, image-based sexual abuse is one way <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2018/02/for-survivors-of-domestic-violence-revenge-porn-is-the-awful-new-norm/">perpetrators of domestic violence</a> attempt to <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TcV1DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT356&dq=coercive+control+nude+images+woodlock&ots=NYQC81Hpsl&sig=-spv788AOEXjJ3OnRbpr0YbTTnE#v=onepage&q&f=false">coercively control</a> a current or former intimate partner. Police and service providers have also <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10439463.2016.1154964">described to us</a> how images are used to threaten victims of sexual and domestic violence in order to prevent them from seeking help and reporting to police. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/revenge-porn-laws-may-not-be-capturing-the-right-people-84061">Revenge porn laws may not be capturing the right people</a>
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<p>In other cases, nude and sexual images have been used as a form of bullying and harassment, particularly of young people. This can have severe impacts on a victim’s mental well-being, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/07/many-revenge-porn-victims-consider-suicide-why-arent-schools-doing-more-to-stop-it">sometimes resulting in self-harm</a>. </p>
<p>Many victims also experience high levels of psychological and emotional distress. In our study, we found approximately one in three people who experienced IBSA felt fearful for their safety – an indicator of potential stalking or intimate partner abuse being linked to the sharing of images online. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277476/original/file-20190602-69067-edb8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277476/original/file-20190602-69067-edb8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277476/original/file-20190602-69067-edb8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277476/original/file-20190602-69067-edb8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277476/original/file-20190602-69067-edb8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277476/original/file-20190602-69067-edb8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277476/original/file-20190602-69067-edb8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The impacts of image-based sexual abuse on victims.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Office of the eSafety Commissioner</span></span>
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<h2>Justice responses to IBSA in Australia</h2>
<p>Australian laws have come a long way in terms of responding to IBSA. <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/image-based-abuse/legal/whats-the-law-in-my-state-territory">Tasmania is the only state or territory in Australia</a> not to have made it a specific criminal offence. </p>
<p>Several states and territories also allow victims of domestic or family violence to <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/image-based-abuse/legal/protection-orders">order their partners</a> to destroy any intimate images they may have and prohibit them from distributing such images. </p>
<p>IBSA is also criminalised at the federal level under the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2018A00096">Enhancing Online Safety (Non-consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Act</a>, which was passed last year.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-are-there-laws-to-protect-against-revenge-porn-in-australia-74154">FactCheck Q&A: are there laws to protect against 'revenge porn' in Australia?</a>
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<p>Yet some victims of IBSA don’t want to go through the emotional burden of pursuing criminal charges against a perpetrator. They just want the abuse to stop and the images to be taken off the internet, removed or destroyed. In such cases, victims can <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/image-based-abuse/action/remove-images-video/report-to-us">report their case to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner</a>, which can issue formal removal notices to social media companies and other online platforms.</p>
<p>Image-based sexual abuse remains a social, health, legal and criminal policy challenge. Sadly, <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2017/may/not-just-_revenge-porn--image-based-abuse-hits-1-in-5-australian">our previous research has found</a> that not all Australians take this form of harm seriously, though there is widespread support for a criminal justice response which reflects the harm image-based sexual abuse can cause. </p>
<p>It is therefore important we continue with a multifaceted approach including education, prevention and training, as well as support services and justice responses, in order to properly address this type of intimate harassment and abuse.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The Office of the eSafety Commissioner operates an online portal with information, advice and assistance for victims of image-based sexual abuse. Visit https://www.esafety.gov.au/image-based-abuse/</em></p>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anastasia Powell is Program Manager of the Graduate Certificate in Domestic & Family Violence at RMIT University. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Criminology Research Council, and Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS). Anastasia is also a member of the board of directors of Our Watch, Australia's national foundation for the prevention of violence against women and their children.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Asher Flynn receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Criminology Research Council and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Henry receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Criminology Research Council and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. </span></em></p>New research has found that young women, Indigenous Australians and people with disabilities are the most frequent victims of ‘revenge porn.’Anastasia Powell, Associate Professor, Criminology and Justice Studies, RMIT UniversityAsher Flynn, Associate Professor of Criminology, Monash UniversityNicola Henry, Associate Professor & Vice-Chancellor's Principal Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1131482019-03-08T13:17:06Z2019-03-08T13:17:06ZFrance’s ‘everyday sexism’ starts at school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262702/original/file-20190307-82695-y5guko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C68%2C1917%2C1270&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Smartphones have put the tools for bullying and voyeurism in the pockets of schoolchildren.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/fr/photos/potins-filles-groupe-portrait-532012/">Baruska/Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In France, the #MeToo movement has a livelier name: <a href="https://theconversation.com/balancetonporc-the-story-behind-pigs-and-lust-92491">#BalanceTonPorc, or “Name and Shame Your Pig</a>.” It inspired hundreds of women to denounce sexual harassment on the streets and in the boardroom. </p>
<p>The latest workplace harassment scandal, exposed online in mid-February, involved France’s so-called “LOL League” – an anonymous <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/ligue-du-lol-metoo-france-media-sexism-women-britain-facebook-a8783461.html">boys club in the media industry</a> – that in 2010 began bullying female colleagues online. </p>
<p>Prominent news editors, including the <a href="https://www.slate.fr/story/174261/ligue-du-lol-publicite-agence-communication-sexisme">managing editor of the French edition of Slate</a> and of the venerable news daily Libération, had targeted female colleagues on Twitter and on Facebook, mocking them on their looks and ethnic origins or making sexist and racist slurs. </p>
<p>Many of these men had since climbed up in hierarchy in the news business, and, as #MeToo unfolded in 2017 and 2018, claimed that they were feminists.</p>
<h2>France’s everyday sexism</h2>
<p>Sexism is an everyday occurrence in France, where <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2019/03/05/des-publicites-le-temps-des-cerises-jugees-sexistes-retirees_a_23685290/">clothing advertisements</a> still use sex to sell products and men comment on women’s looks at the office and on the streets. Lewd comments are often defended as “just flirting.” </p>
<p>Flirtation was the argument some prominent French women – including actor Catherine Deneuve – have used to denounce #MeToo. In <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/10/catherine-deneuve-let-me-explain-why-metoo-is-nothing-like-a-witch-hunt">an open letter</a> published in January 2018, 100 women denounced #MeToo as a puritan witch hunt, driven by a hatred of men, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/why-did-catherine-deneuve-and-other-prominent-frenchwomen-denounce-metoo">claimed that French culture was simply different</a>, more sexually expressive, than American culture.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262728/original/file-20190307-82681-5dc2b0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262728/original/file-20190307-82681-5dc2b0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262728/original/file-20190307-82681-5dc2b0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262728/original/file-20190307-82681-5dc2b0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262728/original/file-20190307-82681-5dc2b0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262728/original/file-20190307-82681-5dc2b0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262728/original/file-20190307-82681-5dc2b0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A recent ad by the French brand Temps des Cerises triggered outrage when it updated France’s revolutionary motto, ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ by replacing the last word with the phrase ‘nice butt.’</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Feminists across France rushed to defend #MeToo’s goals of exposing workplace misogyny and holding sexual harassers accountable. By summer 2018, thanks to their efforts, France passed a law <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/france-street-harassment-crime_us_5b634939e4b0b15abaa0f552">criminalizing street harassment</a>.</p>
<p>But the French backlash against #MeToo demonstrated a certain confusion in the country between what constitutes sexual freedom and what constitutes abuse.</p>
<p>In France, <a href="https://m.centre-hubertine-auclert.fr/sites/default/files/fichiers/actes-251114-cybersexisme-web_0.pdf">studies show</a>, the tendency to pass off sexual harassment as harmless flirtation starts as early as <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/rechercheseducations/1561#tocto2n5">primary school</a>. </p>
<h2>Sexual violence at school</h2>
<p>Children do not always understand the difference between an intimate touch that is a consensual act of sexual discovery and a nonconsensual, inappropriate touch. And violence and harassment that take other forms – insults, mockery and rumors – are particularly hard for children to identify, and for adults to detect.</p>
<p>Both boys and girls may be subjected to sexism or sexual violence in the guise of a joke or of a game. </p>
<p>Recently, students in a school near Paris were all playing a game they’d learned on the social network Snapchat. It consisted of touching the other children’s private parts to earn “points.” During “<a href="http://www.leparisien.fr/essonne-91/epinay-agression-sexuelle-en-marge-de-la-journee-de-la-fesse-au-college-21-02-2019-8017392.php">Ass Day</a>,” as the students called it, boys and girls allowed each other to touch or squeeze their genitals. </p>
<p>Not participating in this “game” was not really an option. </p>
<p>One female student told a school guard she did not consent to being touched. He looked the other way, and the groping continued. Even after school, the girl was trailed by boys trying to touch her on her way home. </p>
<p>She informed her parents, who went public with the story.</p>
<h2>Cyberbullying</h2>
<p>Other common coerced sexual encounters between students include forced kisses and voyeurism, especially spying on the boys’ or girls’ bathroom. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.centre-hubertine-auclert.fr/sites/default/files/fichiers/etude-cybersexisme-web.pdf">Smartphones and social networks</a> put the tools of voyeurism in kids’ pockets.</p>
<p>Online variations of the bathroom peeping Tom include <a href="https://eviolence.hypotheses.org/glossaire/U">upskirting</a> – when kids snap pictures up a girl’s skirt – and <a href="https://eviolence.hypotheses.org/glossaire/c">creepshotting</a>, or taking a picture of a woman’s cleavage <a href="https://www.theawl.com/2016/07/are-there-ethics-in-creepshotting/">without her knowledge</a>.</p>
<p>“<a href="https://theconversation.com/global/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=revenge+porn">Revenge porn</a>” – when angry friends, school bullies or ex-partners post sexually explicit photos of a person without their content – is another danger children face on social networks.</p>
<p>In January 2018, about 50 high school girls in the eastern French region of <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/harcelement-sexuel/video-affaire-de-nudes-a-strasbourg-des-selfies-intimes-d-adolescentes-exhibes-sur-les-reseaux-sociaux_2622194.html">Strasbourg</a> discovered nude pictures of themselves – previously shared only with friends or boyfriends – published on Snapchat and Facebook groups linked to the school. </p>
<p>Boys are not the only ones to ridicule girls for their sexuality, a form of harassment known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/global/topics/slut-shaming-28126">slut shaming</a>. In a bid to earn male approval and popularity, girls, too, <a href="https://www.deboecksuperieur.com/ouvrage/9782804175948-les-ados-dans-le-cyberespace">post revenge porn and circulate upskirts</a> at the expense of their female classmates.</p>
<h2>Stereotypes create violence</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.egalite-femmes-hommes.gouv.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/LUTTE-VIOLENCES-guide-Comportements_sexistes.pdf">Tension and aggressive behavior</a> among teens is attributable to various factors in their development: puberty, identity building, peer group influence, seduction games. </p>
<p>But gender stereotypes are at the heart of this problem, too. </p>
<p>Stereotypes about how men and women should behave are conveyed by the media, at home and <a href="https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/5-exemples-de-sexisme-ordinaire-a-l-ecole_1318832.html">in the classroom</a>. In France, <a href="https://etudiant.lefigaro.fr/article/-paye-ton-bahut-denonce-le-sexisme-au-college-et-au-lycee_ffa3944a-dbeb-11e6-8620-c271acfe3201/">teachers’</a> own internalized sexism may unintentionally lead them to enforce social norms about “flirtation” and the stereotypical roles of boys and girls.</p>
<p>This hurts boys, too. In France, where men are expected to display their <a href="https://eviolence.hypotheses.org/files/2017/09/Sigol%C3%A8ne-Couchot-Schiex-280917.pdf">sexual dominance</a>, boys considered insufficiently “<a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-agora-debats-jeunesses-2012-1-page-67.htm">manly</a>” can become victims of bullying and sexual violence. </p>
<p>“The socialization of boys draws two distinct groups,” <a href="http://prevenance-asso.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Les-violences-sexistes-%C3%A0-l%E2%80%99%C3%A9%20School-une-oppression-viriliste.pdf">says the French educator Eric Debarbieux</a>. “Those who manage to show their strength, to be the strongest, the most virile; and others who risk being downgraded to the category of sub-human, or ‘fags.’” </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d9eo8azCrTs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Quebec film 1:54 denounces homophobic harassment in schools (Yan England, 2016).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Better sex education</h2>
<p>Schools in France mostly address gender-based behavior and sexual violence during <a href="http://eduscol.education.fr/cid46864/les-enjeux-de-l-education-a-la-sexualite.html">sex education</a> classes. </p>
<p>The national sex ed curriculum, in place <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/edso/951">since 1973</a>, is the now the <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/m-moyen-format/article/2017/02/17/l-education-sexuelle-un-sujet-devenu-sensible-en-ile-de-france_5081339_4497271.html">subject of debate in the country</a>. </p>
<p>Teachers discuss public health issues, relationships between girls and boys, the culture of equality, sexual violence, pornography and gender and homophobic prejudices.</p>
<p>Efforts since #MeToo to make French sex education more progressive – starting it at a younger age, for example, or to teach French <a href="https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/theorie-du-genre-ou-egalite-entre-les-sexes_1836853.html">elementary school children more about gender, sex and identity</a> – have proven <a href="https://www.franceinter.fr/societe/education-sexuelle-ce-qui-est-vraiment-enseigne-a-vos-enfants">controversial</a>. Last September, the French government found itself debunking accusations that it <a href="https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/Education/education-sexuelle-a-lecole-ce-que-vont-apprendre-nos-enfants-3748817">wanted to teach toddlers how to masturbate</a>.</p>
<p></p>
<p>But if French schools contribute to national confusion about the difference between flirting and harassment, schools need to do more to develop students’ ability to think critically about gender roles as they are <a href="http://www.lecrips-idf.net/professionnels/dossier-thematique/egalite-filles-garcons/influence-medias.htm">conveyed by the media</a>, film, television and advertising.</p>
<p>Critically, younger children must be taught about consent, which will help them distinguish between seduction and aggression. France’s anti-#MeToo women wanted to protect the “<a href="https://www.worldcrunch.com/opinion-analysis/full-translation-of-french-anti-metoo-manifesto-signed-by-catherine-deneuve">freedom to bother</a>,” which they say is necessary to give women the “freedom to say ‘no.’” </p>
<p>But children need to know, too, that they <a href="https://www.liberation.fr/debats/2018/01/14/de-la-liberte-d-importuner-au-droit-de-ne-pas-l-etre_1622400">have the right to not be bothered</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113148/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bérengère Stassin ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>France’s #MeToo backlash has revealed just how deeply rooted sexism is in the country. Disguised as flirtation or child’s play, sexual harassment begins as early as elementary school.Bérengère Stassin, Maître de conférences en sciences de l’information et de la communication, membre du CREM, Université de LorraineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1122252019-03-05T19:07:11Z2019-03-05T19:07:11ZStudents don’t feel safe on public transport but many have no choice but to use it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262024/original/file-20190305-92301-2d5obn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nearly half of female tertiary students surveyed in Melbourne say they 'rarely' or 'never' feel safe on public transport after dark.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-alone-passageaway-671868">KN/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The worst-case scenario has happened twice for young women using public transport in Melbourne in the past nine months. In June 2018, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/aussie-womens-fury-after-eurydice-dixons-vile-murder/news-story/41d6923708312ae8a5d3d5f2ee788b65">Eurydice Dixon</a>, 23, was walking from the tram to her home, through a well-used park just north of the central city, when a young man is alleged to have stalked, raped and murdered her. In January 2019, another young man is alleged to have raped and murdered 21-year-old Palestinian exchange student <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-19/man-charged-over-aiia-maasarwe-death/10728836">Aiia Maasarwe</a> 100 metres from the tram she took home from central Melbourne.</p>
<p>Even before these attacks, students reported feeling unsafe when using public transport. In April to June 2018, we undertook a <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/research/projects/current/public-transport-safety-for-tertiary-students">survey</a>, as part of <a href="https://www.kth.se/abe/om-skolan/inst/som/avdelningar/urbana-studier/forskning/urban-community-sa/trygghet-i-kollektiv">a 17-city global study</a> of tertiary students’ safety on public transport. We received over 500 completed surveys. </p>
<h2>What did our survey find?</h2>
<p>A large proportion of female students report a climate of fear on public transport. Just under half (45.1%) said they “rarely” or “never” feel safe on public transport after dark, compared to 11.3% of men. </p>
<p>Almost three in five women (58.9%) say they try to reduce their risk of victimisation in various ways. These include avoiding certain lines and stops, ensuring they are met at a stop and being constantly on alert. Just under half (45.4%) of female students report fear of victimisation as a reason for not using public transport.</p>
<p>This was not just a matter of perceptions. Almost four-fifths (79.4%) of female students and an equivalent proportion of LGBTI+ students said they had been victims of unwanted sexual gestures, comments, advances, exposed genitals, groping or being followed on public transport in the previous three years. </p>
<p>Over half (51.7%) of men reported having been victimised. These incidents were more likely to be gestures and comments rather than groping or being stalked.</p>
<p>Only 5.7% of those who had been victimised reported this to anyone in authority. This is hardly surprising. The public safety messages from police, transport authorities and tertiary educational institutions do not encourage the reporting of incidents. Instead, they emphasise the responsibility of potential victims to protect themselves.</p>
<p>The immediate response of police to the killing of Eurydice Dixon was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/15/men-need-to-change-anger-grows-over-police-response-to-comedians">this statement</a>: “Make sure you have situational awareness. Be aware of your own personal safety. If you’ve got a mobile phone, carry it; if you’ve got any concerns, call the police.”</p>
<p>But both Eurydice Dixon and Aiia Maasarwe were allegedly carrying their phones and sending messages as to their whereabouts when attacked. </p>
<p>As Change.org executive director <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/aussie-womens-fury-after-eurydice-dixons-vile-murder/news-story/41d6923708312ae8a5d3d5f2ee788b65">Sally Rugg said</a>, these messages “suggest that the police can’t stop men from raping people, so it’s up to the women to take precautions, which is insulting to men, unhelpful and untrue”. </p>
<h2>Counting the cost of student safety concerns</h2>
<p>With 18 tertiary institutions located throughout Greater Melbourne, safe public transport access touches on issues of social justice, environmental sustainability and economic productivity. The situation in most tertiary institutions is one of car dependence. For instance, at the largest Deakin University campus, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259138426_Engaging_higher_education_institutions_in_the_challenge_of_sustainability_Sustainable_transport_as_a_catalyst_for_action">61% of students and staff drove alone to work in 2012</a>. </p>
<p>The outer suburbs fare worst – <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222754050_Quantifying_spatial_gaps_in_public_transport_supply_based_on_social_needs">50% of these areas have “very low” or “low” public transport frequency</a>. Yet these suburbs have very high needs for public transport in terms of the proportion of adults without cars, including many tertiary students – a concept called “transport disadvantage”. Students living in middle and outer Melbourne tend to be <a href="https://atrf.info/papers/2010/2010_Mahmoud_Currie.pdf">more dependent on public transport and more likely to travel in the evenings</a>, two risk factors for victimisation.</p>
<p>Tertiary students have a huge economic impact, through the revenue they generate for their institutions, their role in the workforce, the services they use and the purchases they make. The 2016 census recorded <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/australias-universities/key-facts-and-data#.XG3YbLhS82w">1.4 million</a> university students in Australia – 26% of them, or almost 400,000, international students. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262025/original/file-20190305-92301-1q0ov3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262025/original/file-20190305-92301-1q0ov3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262025/original/file-20190305-92301-1q0ov3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262025/original/file-20190305-92301-1q0ov3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262025/original/file-20190305-92301-1q0ov3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262025/original/file-20190305-92301-1q0ov3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262025/original/file-20190305-92301-1q0ov3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A national survey of university students found public transport is where sexual harassment is most common.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-waiting-train-1043487601">Dennis Diatel/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/tertiary-student-education-profile.pdf">2016, the City of Melbourne</a> had 227,000 students living and/or studying within the municipality, with 45,000 students calling it home. A third are international fee-paying students, who <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/wave-of-studentonly-skyscrapers-to-hit-melbourne-20160202-gmjd00/">often live in high-priced apartments sold on the basis of safe and convenient access to campuses</a>.</p>
<p>The issues of safety are nationwide. In 2016, <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/change-course-national-report-sexual-assault-and-sexual">a study</a> involving 30,000 students in all 39 Australian universities underscored the high rates of assault and harassment of women and sexual minorities. Public transport was the most common location for sexual harassment – 22% of incidents, as opposed to 14% on university grounds and 13% in a university teaching space. And 57% of perpetrators of sexual harassment were identified as male students from their university.</p>
<h2>We need a better approach</h2>
<p>There are precedents for a better approach. In 2015, Transport for London, in partnership with police, launched its “<a href="http://www.btp.police.uk/about_us/our_campaigns/report_it_to_stop_it.aspx">Report it to Stop it</a>” campaign. </p>
<p>The campaign built on a series of videos encouraging women to come forward in reporting unwanted sexualised staring, remarks, groping and stalking on public transport. The videos also show the consequences of reporting, with a man being identified and arrested for sexual harassment. A reporting hotline can be called or texted 24 hours a day, every day. </p>
<p>In the first year of the campaign, <a href="https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/inside-tfl-campaign-tackle-unwanted-sexual-behaviour-public-transport/1450533">reports of harassment on public transport increased by 36%, with a 40% increase in criminal charges</a>. An evaluation after the first year found 84% of women respondents agreed the campaign “made me feel more confident to take action against unwanted sexual behaviour if it occurred”.</p>
<p>Our report recommends that the Victorian government work with police, public transport providers and tertiary institutions on a coordinated campaign to encourage better reporting of sexually related crimes on public transport. This would include:</p>
<ul>
<li>investing in a common hotline</li>
<li>creating publicity materials (including posters, videos, ad campaigns) to encourage reporting by both victims and witnesses</li>
<li>employing consistent messaging on all these organisations’ websites that put the onus for safety where it belongs: on offenders not to offend, and on institutions to respond properly to offences. This should include public education on consequences of offences.</li>
</ul>
<p>We also recommend that people who make reports be treated respectfully and their concerns treated seriously. All reports should be immediately followed up and all efforts made to arrest, charge and convict offenders. All public security and authorised officers, drivers and station attendants should be trained in how to respond to complaints and concerns.</p>
<p>Our third recommendation is that tertiary educational institutions have a role to play in cases where offenders as well as victims are students. Very clear messaging is needed on campus that offences on public transport as well as on campus are an institutional responsibility.</p>
<p>Our final recommendation is that state government recognise the impacts of infrequent, unreliable and inadequate transport services on the mobility and safety of people with lower incomes and less access to cars, including tertiary students. Authorities should consider partnering with ride-sharing services to make “the last kilometre” home from some public transport stops safer and more secure. Without a coordinated campaign to tackle the root causes of victimisation and fear, putting more CCTV, lighting and officers on trains is no longer enough.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112225/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Thompson is an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award Fellow (DE180101411)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn Whitzman and Rewa Marathe do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As they return to classes, a survey finds nearly half of female tertiary students in Melbourne don’t feel safe using public transport at night. And 79% have been sexually harassed or victimised.Carolyn Whitzman, Professor of Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneJason Thompson, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Design, The University of MelbourneRewa Marathe, Research Assistant and PhD Candidate, Melbourne School of Design, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.