Inequalities in real-life target women online, threaten their security. Studies carried out during the ongoing pandemic show that women and girls have been subjected to online violence. Classes move to distance learning using online resources and people work online from homes. Women and girls have used online resources more due to the pandemic and they have faced online violence. According to a survey on Domestic Violence Against Women in Turkey, three of 10 women have been subjected to online violence. According to the reports of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, online violence has increased during the pandemic. According to a report prepared by the UN called “Online and ICT facilitated violence against women and girls during COVID-19”, globally, women are 27 times more likely to be harassed online than men. 76 percent of women have been subjected to online harassment in the world, and 58 percent of women in Turkey have been subjected to online harassment.

News Center- The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect every aspect of our lives. As the increasing cases and death rates and the measures applied in social life show the effects of the pandemic, some of its negative effects have been invisible. One of the invisible effects of pandemic is online violence against women. With the widespread use of the internet and technology during the pandemic period, we have faced online violence, a new form of gender-based violence. Studies show that applications of online violence have increased during the pandemic. This increase seems to have a connection with the increase in usage of the internet at home. The report prepared by the UN entitled “Online and ICT facilitated violence against women and girls during COVID-19” reveals that male violence and harassment have no limit. The report states that one in 10 women report having experienced cyber-harassment since the age of 15 in the European Union.  

Even pornographic videos are sent to women

The report says “Women and girls are subject to online violence in the form of physical threats, sexual harassment, stalking, zoombombing and sex trolling. Specific cases have been documented by media and women’s rights organizations of unsolicited pornographic videos displayed while women were participating in online social events. “

Women and girls targeted

Studies show that women and girls are often targeted and that they face serious problems due to the digital violence they are subjected to. Online violence harms women's sense of security, their physical and psychological health, human dignity, and rights.

The studies show that women are harassed through private messages, and they also avoid sharing something or commenting on social platforms. Women worry about facing gendered or even misogynistic comments on their social media accounts. The studies also show us that the “disliked” posts of female users on social media networks mostly receive gendered comments. 

•         Report on Prevention of Violence Against Women by The Psychiatric Association of Turkey

•         2020 Report by the We Will Stop Femicide Platform

•         Domestic Violence during the COVID-19 pandemic by Toprak Ergönen A, Biçen E, Ersoy G.

•         Report on Received Applications in April 2020 by We Will Stop Femicide Platform, http://kadincinayetlerinidurduracagiz.net/aciklamalar/2912/nisan-2020-basvuru-karsilama-raporu

•         Report on Received Applications in May 2020 by We Will Stop Femicide Platform, http://kadincinayetlerinidurduracagiz.net/aciklamalar/2918/mayis-2020-basvuru-karsilama-raporu

•         UN report on “Online and ICT facilitated violence against women and girls during COVID-19”.