We Need To Stop Online Abuse
I have never experienced any form of online harassment and for that I am thankful. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Online harassment is prevalent and very serious. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done about it either.
In 2014 a survey conducted by Pew Research revealed that 70% of all 18 to 24 year-olds had experienced online harassment. In addition, 26% of those were women who had been stalked online. (Stein, 2016) According to a more recent Pew Research study, 41% of all Americans have been victims of online harassment and 25% have experience severe harassment such as sexual harassment, physical threats, stalking, slut shaming, etc. (Vogels, 2021)
Something has to be done to stop this type of behavior. There needs to be better regulatory policies and consequences for these crimes. However, and unfortunately many of these predators are never prosecuted because like many real-life situations, the victims do not speak up because of fear of more severe harassment and threats. In addition, many law enforcement agencies do not know how to investigate these types of crimes. Although social media policies against harassment are becoming more stringent, more and more activists are campaigning for justice it is only a matter of time before the federal, state and local governments will have the ability to enforce safe online behavior. Hopefully sooner than later.
