Text-Based (Sexual) Abuse and Online Violence Against Women

Toward Law Reform

Bibliographic Data

ID20062033
AuthorsKim Barker (0000-0003-4446-3480), Olga Jurasz (0000-0002-0064-8494)
Year2021
Pages247-264
Publication date2021-06-04
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueEmerald International Handbook of Technology-Facilitated Violence and Abuse (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1108/978-1-83982-848-520211017
OpenAlexW3163993997
ISBN9781839828485
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited7

The ideal of an open, all-inclusive, and participatory internet has been undermined by the rise of gender-based and misogynistic abuse on social media platforms. Limited progress has been made at supranational and national levels in addressing this issue, and where steps have been taken to combat online violence against women (OVAW), they are typically limited to legislative developments addressing image-based sexual abuse. As such, harms associated with image-based abuse have gained recognition in law while harms caused by text-based abuse (TBA) have not been conceptualized in an equivalent manner. This chapter critically outlines the lack of judicial consideration given to online harms in British courts, identifying a range of harms arising from TBAs which currently are not recognized by the criminal justice system. We refer to non-traditional harms recognized in cases heard before the British courts, assessing these in light of traditionally recognized harms in established legal authorities. This chapter emphasizes the connection between the harms suffered and the recognition of impact on the victims, demonstrated through specific case studies. Through this assessment, this chapter advocates for greater recognition of online harms within the legal system – especially those which take the forms of misogynistic and/or gendered TBA

Criminology · Domestic violence · Law reform · Legislature · Poison control · Political science · Sexual abuse · Sexual violence · Suicide prevention · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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