Unseen but Foreseeable: Exploring the Psychological Consequences of Cyberstalking Victimization

• In Event: Roundtable: DFC and DIC Present - Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Around the World

Abstract

With rapid technological advancements come spikes in technology facilitated violence, such as cyberstalking. Although overall estimates of prevalence are mixed, women are disproportionately affected by this form of victimization (Cavezza & McEwan, 2014; DreBing et al., 2014; Morgan & Truman, 2022), most often at the hands (or keyboards) of men, consistent with other forms of interpersonal and gender-based violence. Cyberstalking encompasses a wide range of behaviors, frequently resulting in various forms of psychological distress to the victim, including anxiety and PTSD (Short et al., 2022). The 2024-2025 Electronic Communication Harassment Observation (ECHO) survey uses psychometric assessments (GAD-7, PTCI, PCL-C), to examine the impact of cyberstalking victimization, analyzing victims' psychological responses in relation to the specific behaviors they endured. This quantitative data is supplemented by qualitative interviews with victims of cyberstalking and compared to the first iteration of the ECHO survey, launched in the United Kingdom in 2010. Data reveals that individuals experience varying clinical levels of anxiety, PTSD, alarm and fear, while themes of self-blame, and minimization of experiences are often influenced by the victim’s interactions and responses to their abuser, as well as prior relationship and gender.

Author

• Kylie McCarthy, University of New Haven