Tackling digital sexual violence in Canada requires updated policies and procedures

Online abuse affects one in six school-aged children, according to a recent World Health Organization survey of Europe, Asia and Canada. This statistic is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to online abuse, though, as this issue affects more than just school-aged children.

Other reports have found that over 80 per cent of Canadian undergraduate students have suffered at least one form of online abuse and 95 per cent of anti-violence workers have worked on cases where technology was a contributing factor.

These types of abuse are known as technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV). It’s the term researchers and activists use to talk about the sexualized and intimately intrusive side of online abuse. TFSV encompasses non-consensual sexual imagery like deepfakes and unsolicited dick pics, gendered harassment and cyberstalking, as well as misogynistic narratives spread through social media. Link to story can be found here.