Cyber-harassment of women: how can you protect yourself?

Cyber-harassment of women is a growing problem that is both alarming and devastating. While attacks on women in public places are increasingly reported – 81% of women have already been victims – they are even more prevalent online.

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85% of women experience cyber-harassment. This form of persecution has become a daily reality for many of them. The President of the United Nations General Assembly has even stated that women are 27 times more likely to be victims of online harassment than men. This statistic underlines the urgent need to find ways of preventing it.

Understanding cyber-harassment

Cyber-harassment can take many forms: insults, threats, doxxing (divulging personal information without consent), spreading false information or even revenge porn.

The anonymity offered by the Internet allows harassers to act without fear of reprisal, making it difficult for victims to defend themselves. Social networking platforms, chat rooms, instant messaging services and online gaming environments are fertile breeding grounds for abuse. This makes women more vulnerable.

Gaming platforms and online harassment

Video games are particularly affected by cyber-harassment. Women are regularly the targets of sexist insults and harassment. Faced with this reality, some initiatives are standing out by proposing innovative solutions to protect female gamers.

GameVerse, an intelligent matchmaking application for online gamers, is an example of innovation in this field. Its aim is to help players meet up based on their skill level and gaming preferences. All the while fostering an environment of respect and inclusion.

By creating a community based on shared values, GameVerse enables women to connect with partners who share the same passions, significantly reducing the risk of running into stalkers.

This type of application plays a crucial role in the fight against cyber-harassment, with spaces where women can play in complete safety. The importance of these initiatives lies in their ability to change the culture of online gaming, which is still too often perceived as a domain reserved for men.

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Protecting yourself from cyber-harassment: practical advice

Fortunately, there are a number of steps women can take to protect themselves from cyber-harassment. Here are a few essential strategies to limit the risks and strengthen their online safety.

• Protect your personal information: one of the first steps in protecting yourself from cyberbullying is to limit access to your personal information. Stalkers often use information such as address, telephone number or even geographical location to threaten or intimidate their victims. It is therefore essential to set your social networking profiles to private mode and to share only the information that is strictly necessary.
• Report and block: on many platforms, it is possible to report abusive behaviour and block malicious users. These tools are provided to offer an immediate form of protection. Although they don’t always solve the problem in the long term, they at least make it possible to interrupt the interaction with the harasser.
• Use moderation tools: some platforms and social networks allow you to filter comments or messages according to keywords. This can be useful to avoid receiving messages containing insults or threats. On some gaming platforms, it is also possible to deactivate voice communication to avoid toxic exchanges.
• Document incidents: for anyone who has been the victim of cyber-harassment, it is important to keep evidence of the abuse. It is therefore advisable to take screenshots of messages or comments, keep e-mails and, if possible, note the date and time of incidents. This can be useful if you are considering reporting or lodging a complaint of harassment with the authorities.
• Seek support: cyber-harassment can be a shameful experience, but it’s crucial not to be left alone to deal with the problem. To do this, you need to talk to those close to you or contact associations that specialise in combating online violence. There are resources such as cyber-harassment victim support platforms, which offer very useful advice and personalised support.

Towards a safer Internet for women

Combating cyber-harassment of women requires not only individual action but also collective responsibility. Online platforms must play a more proactive role by strengthening moderation policies and encouraging the reporting of abuse.

In an increasingly digitalised world, it is essential to build safe online spaces for everyone, and in particular for women, who are often the first victims of abuse. Many players are working to reduce the gap between the virtual and the real, so that cyberstalking is no more than a dim memory.