Between 25% and 40% of American adult Internet users say they have been harassed online
45% report experiencing “more severe†kinds of harassment
57% of people reporting harassment in the US are women
An 11-year analysis of online harassment cases found that women made up 72% of victims and men 47.5% of perpetrators.
Chatroom participants with female usernames are sent threatening and/or sexually explicit private messages 25 times more often than those with male or ambiguous usernames.
Close to two-thirds of women journalists report experiencing threats, sexist abuse, intimidation, threats, and harassment in the course of doing their work
Women journalists also report that more than 25% of the “verbal, written and/or physical intimidation including threats to family or friends†they receive happens online
21.1% of surveyed women journalists report experiencing digital/online account surveillance
20.3% of women journalists report email or other digital/online account hacking
67% know their harassers. Among people under 35, that number rises to 71%
63% of American women online report knowing someone who has been targeted online, compared to 37% of men
26% of people reporting abuse say they don’t know their harasser’s or harassers’ real identities
Women are more likely to use social media than men. Sixty-two percent of people who reporting harassment experienced it on Facebook, 24% Twitter, 20% via email and 18% YouTube.
Men are more likely to experience abuse as name-calling
Women experience higher rates of sustained abuse involving sexual harassment, stalking and intimate partner violence
25% of young women have been sexually harassed online, compared to 13% of young men
26% of young women report being cyber-stalked
7% of young men report being cyber-stalked
32% of Asians, 32% of Hispanic, 28% of Blacks and 23% of Caucasians report online harassment
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens experience almost three times as much bullying and harassment online as their straight and cisgender peers. Forty-two percent of LGBTQ youth report being bullied or harassed online versus 15% of non-LGTB peers
LGBTQ youth are twice as likely to be bullied via text message
32% of LGBT youth, almost four times the percentage of non-LGBT youth, report being sexually harassed online (8%)
In addition to increased risk of physical threats and name calling experienced by male peers, women between 18-24 years experience high rates of sustained harassment and stalking.
Feminine user names online can generate up to 25x the incidence of targeted, gendered abuse
Despite women making up 52% of the gaming market[19], up to 70% of girl and women gamers hide their gender in order to avoid online harassment
Teenage girls are 2-3X more likely than boys to say they are experiencing “uncomfortable flirting†online
Teenage girls cite risk and the threat of harm and violence as a major inhibitor to their online public participation