What is OGBV?
Online gender-based violence (OGBV) is the term used to refer to any online action by one or more people, directed at others, based on their actual or perceived sex or gender identity, or by enforcing harmful gender norms. Women, men and non-binary people experience gender-based violence, but the majority of victims are women and girls and non-binary people. OGBV can take many forms, including but not limited to threats of violence, discrimination, doxxing, online harassment, sharing sexual and private images without consent, and trolling. Beyond constituting direct psychological and possibly physical harm, OGBV has the effect of silencing its victims, curtailing their freedom of expression and by extension making the internet an undemocratic and unsafe public space. In the context of a global pandemic and an increasingly digitised world, it is vital that the human rights and dignity of all internet users be protected.
A 2020 survey from the Web Foundation found that 52% of young women and girls had experienced abuse online.
“Women and girls are experiencing a surge of violence and abuse online and the digital world has become a new front in the assault on the freedom and power of women. Being a woman online means being disproportionately at risk of abuse. When you’re a woman of colour, and a Black woman in particular, LGBTQ+ or from other marginalised organisations — the abuse is often far worse.”
World Wide Web Foundation, Tech Policy Design Lab: Online Gender-Based Violence and Abuse
Social media companies have a responsibility to curtail OGBV insofar as it takes place on their platforms. In their report No Excuse for Abuse, PEN America outlines some of measures that can be taken to address OGBV. These include proactive measures that empower users to reduce risk and minimise exposure, reactive measures that facilitate response and alleviate harm, and accountability measures to deter abusive behaviour. The ScrollSafe prototypes encapsulate all three.