But It Was Just A Joke! Online Harassment and the Differential Understanding of What Constitutes Abuse Between American Men and Women

• In Event: Malicious Scripts: Investigating Online Harassment and Networked Abuse

Abstract

While harassment and abuse have long been a concern of advocates, policy makers and law enforcement, in recent years, digital technologies have enabled new avenues for harassment and abuse of others. While many modes of harassment are an extension of offline analogs, some tactics amplify the reach and impact of the harassment and others are modes unique to a digital space. A nationally representative cellphone and landline telephone survey of 3002 Americans 15 and older examined the prevalence of online harassment, digital abuse and cyber stalking. The study unpacks the prevalence among Americans of witnessing harassment and personal experiences with over 20 different practices of online harassment or abuse. The survey design initially asks respondents about experiences with harassment and then asks all who respond affirmatively whether they consider these experiences to be harassment or not. Men and women are differentially targeted for different types of abuse, with women more likely to report being sexually harassed, harassed over a long period of time and being cyberstalked – repeatedly harassed in a way that made them fear for their safety. Men are more likely to be physically threatened online. However, even accounting for different rates of harassment, men and women differ substantially on what they would identify as harassment or abuse.

Authors

• Amanda Lenhart, Data and Society / AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research

• Michele Ybarra, Center for Innovative Public Health Research (CiPHR)