Online Abuse or Harm | What You Should Know & How to Protect Yourself
- euniceanteh
- Nov 15
- 8 min read
In today’s digital world, we connect, work, learn, and share online more than ever. But along with these benefits comes a darker side — online abuse and harm, which affects millions of women and girls around the world every day.
From hateful messages and harassment to image-based abuse and deepfake manipulation, online violence is real, harmful, and often overlooked.
Whether you've experienced it personally or know someone who has, this blog breaks down what online abuse looks like, how to spot it, and most importantly how to protect yourself and get support.
Technology can be a powerful tool for our day-to-day lives but sadly, it can also be used to cause harm to others. Digital technology is like a two-edged sword, it can be used for either good or bad. Online abuse can happen over long periods and escalates over time.
It can happen to anyone: young, old, men or women. However, women, young people and marginalized groups tend to suffer from it the most. 85% of women who spend time online have witnessed online violence. 38% of women have been the target of online violence and/or know other women who have been targeted online (65%). Over 30% of children worldwide have been victims of online bullying.
Women are 27 times more likely than men to be harassed online.
1 in 5 women have experienced online harassment or abuse.
Black women are 84% more likely to receive abusive or problematic comments online.
People spread hate, fear, and misinformation on social media in ways and they are rarely held accountable for their actions. If you imagine a group of 20 women and girls, statistics show that around 17 of them will have either experienced online violence personally or seen another woman or girl being targeted online.
Let’s break it down. In this blog, we’ll explore:
What Is Online Abuse?
Online abuse is any form of behavior using the internet or digital technology to harass, threaten, bully, exploit, control, or harm someone emotionally, psychologically, or socially.
It can take place across various platforms such as social media, email, instant messaging, and online gaming. This behavior can be illegal, harmful, and have severe emotional consequences.
Unlike physical abuse, online abuse can reach you anytime, anywhere. That’s what makes it feel so overwhelming, it follows you home, to school, to work, and even into your sleep.
Types of Online Abuse (And What They Look Like)
The most common and harmful forms of online abuse, which can also be used to silence, threaten or harass:
Cyberbullying: This includes repeated, intentional harassment like mean comments, body-shaming, or spreading rumors.
You’re so ugly, no one will ever love you. Everyone knows what you did.
It's not just words, it causes emotional harm to the victim.
Trolling: Deliberately provoking or upsetting people online to cause anger or distress. Trolls say things just to upset you, to provoke you. They might comment:
‘You’re too sensitive.’ or ‘No one cares about your story, get over it.’
Their goal? To silence or exhaust you.
Harassment & Hate Speech: When people attack others online because of their race, gender, sexuality, or religion, it’s hate speech.
'Go back to your country’ or ‘You deserve what happened to you.’
This kind of abuse can feel deeply personal — because it is."
Video- and Image-Based Abuse (Revenge Porn also known as leak nudes): This is when someone shares your private photos or videos without your consent to shame or control you. It could be an ex, or even a hacker. This isn’t just humiliating, it's abuse, and in many places, it’s illegal.
After a breakup, a woman’s ex-partner uploads private photos she had shared during their relationship onto social media and threatens to “expose” more if she doesn’t get back together with him.
In another case, a hacker gains access to someone’s phone and leaks private pictures online without permission.
This is abuse, not embarrassment and it’s illegal in many countries.
Misinformation and Defamation: Spreading fake or exaggerated news through rumors or falsehoods that aim to discredit women, and in particular public figures (for example, public officials, activists, journalists).
An outspoken female journalist posts about government corruption. In response, fake social media accounts spread edited photos and false claims saying she’s having an affair to discredit her credibility.
Activists find fake articles circulating online falsely accusing them of fraud or unethical behavior to ruin their reputation.
This form of digital smear campaign is often used to silence women in public spaces.
Stalking or surveillance: When someone tracks your online activity, your location, or checks your phone without permission that’s stalking. It’s often happens in toxic relationships to control or intimidate.
A partner secretly installs a tracking app on a woman’s phone so he can see where she goes and who she messages.
He constantly calls or texts if she doesn’t respond right away, accusing her of lying.
This isn’t care, it’s control and intimidation.
Doxxing: Doxxing is when someone shares your personal information online like your address or phone number to get others to harass you. It puts your safety at real-world risk.
A woman shares her views on gender equality on Twitter. In retaliation, trolls post her home address, phone number, and workplace online, encouraging others to “teach her a lesson.” She starts receiving threatening messages and feels unsafe leaving her home.
Doxxing turns online harassment into real-world danger.
Catfishing & Impersonation: Catfishing is pretending to be someone else online, maybe using fake photos, stories, even voice notes. It’s used to trick, scam, or emotionally manipulate someone.
A scammer creates a fake Instagram profile using another woman’s photos and name, pretending to be her to gain followers or scam others.
In another case, someone uses a fake dating profile to start an emotional relationship, only to later ask for money or private pictures.
Catfishing exploits trust and emotions for manipulation.
Scams & Exploitation: Scammers may pretend to be in love with you or offer fake jobs or giveaways to get your money or private info. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
A woman receives a message from someone claiming to offer a “remote job” with high pay, but she must send personal information and a small “registration fee” first.
Another example is a fake “romance scam” where a person pretends to fall in love online, then asks for money for an “emergency.”
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Coercive Control: When a partner demands access to your phone, reads your messages, or monitors your social media that’s online coercion. It’s not love. It’s control.
A boyfriend demands access to his partner’s phone “to prove she’s loyal,” monitors her messages, and forbids her from posting selfies or chatting with male friends.
He says it’s because he “cares” but in reality, it’s manipulation and control.
Healthy relationships respect privacy. Control is not love.
Online Grooming & Sexual Exploitation: This is when someone builds trust especially with young people only to later manipulate or exploit them. They may send inappropriate content, ask for photos, or try to meet in person. This is abuse. And it must be reported.
A 15-year-old girl meets someone online who claims to be 17. Over time, they build trust, and he starts asking for private photos and videos. Later, he threatens to share them unless she sends more.
This is not a relationship, it’s abuse and exploitation, and it must be reported.
Misogynistic Networks: There are entire online spaces that promote hatred toward women, including the ‘manosphere’ or ‘incel forums.’ These groups encourage violence, harassment, and toxic masculinity.
Groups of men gather in online spaces like “incel” forums or “manosphere” chatrooms, sharing violent or degrading posts about women — saying things like “women deserve to be punished for rejecting men.”
Some members encourage harassment campaigns against women online. These spaces normalize hate and fuel gender-based violence.
AI-Generated Deepfakes & Digital Manipulation: AI can now be used to create fake, explicit content putting someone’s face or voice into porn or harmful videos. These deepfakes are dangerous, traumatic, and very difficult to erase.
Someone uses AI tools to create fake explicit videos using a woman’s face, making it appear like she’s in pornographic content — then shares it online to shame her.
Others may use AI to clone a person’s voice to create false audio messages or “confessions.”
Deepfakes are modern digital violence that can be invasive, traumatic, and nearly impossible to undo.
Astroturfing: It is when a fake or staged campaign is made to look like it’s coming from everyday people, even though it’s actually being controlled by a small group or organization. For example;
A few people might create many fake accounts to flood a website with positive reviews or support for a cause, making it seem like a lot of real people are behind it, when they’re not.
It gives the false impression of public support or popularity, when in reality, it’s all carefully planned.
Why Does Online Abuse Happen?
There are a few reasons online abuse is so widespread:
Anonymity - “They Can Hide Behind a Screen”
Many abusers feel emboldened online because they can hide behind fake profiles, burner accounts, or usernames with no real identity attached. This gives them a false sense of power and freedom to say or do things they likely wouldn’t offline. Anonymity allows people to bypass empathy and accountability. It dehumanizes the victim and creates a false sense of safety for the perpetrator.
Lack of Accountability on Platforms
Social media companies often fail to moderate harmful content consistently or remove it quickly enough. Reporting tools can be confusing, slow, or ineffective — especially for marginalized users. Only 1 in 4 women who experience online abuse report it. Of those who do, many feel their reports are ignored or mishandled. If platforms don’t take action, abusers feel empowered to keep going. Victims are often left unsupported, and the abuse continues unchecked. Research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate for the BBC has shown that 97% of 330 accounts sending misogynistic abuse on Twitter and Instagram remained on the site after being reported.
Cultural Silence and Victim-Blaming
In many communities, online abuse is minimized or dismissed. Victims may be told to "just log off," "ignore it," or worse — blamed for “provoking” the abuse by speaking up or sharing content online. A 2021 Amnesty International report found that Black women and women of color are more likely to be blamed for the abuse they receive — even when it’s clearly targeted and harmful. This silence and dismissal discourage victims from reporting or seeking support, allowing the abuse to continue in the shadows.
Power, Control, and Gender-Based Harm
Just like offline abuse, online abuse is often about control. Abusers use digital tools to intimidate, isolate, monitor, or silence their targets. UNESCO reports that 73% of women journalists have experienced online violence, and many say it affects their work, safety, and mental health. Similarly, 1 in 3 women worldwide has experienced gender-based violence and online abuse is an extension of this reality. Online abuse isn’t random. It often reflects power imbalances, misogyny, and racism. It’s used to punish women for being visible, vocal, or vulnerable online.
Online abuse can feel invisible but relentless. You may not know who’s behind it, and you can’t control what’s said or shared about you.
Signs You Maybe Experiencing Online Abuse
Sometimes online abuse starts subtly and grows over time. Here’s what to watch out for:
You’re receiving threatening or repeated nasty messages
Someone shared private photos or info without your consent
You feel afraid, anxious, or stressed every time you go online
Fake accounts have been created in your name
You feel like you have to keep blocking or changing usernames just to feel safe
If this sounds like your experience, please know:
It’s not your fault and you are not alone.
How to Protect Yourself
You deserve to feel safe both online and offline. Here are some first steps:
Document everything.
Take screenshots and save messages or evidence.
Block or report the abuser.
Use platform tools to remove them from your space.
Tell someone you trust.
A friend, mentor, therapist, or community group.
Report it to authorities.
Especially if it includes threats, stalking, or image-based abuse.
Update your digital safety settings.
Use strong passwords, turn off location sharing, and make your profiles private.
Don’t suffer in silence.
There are communities and organizations ready to support you. We’ve listed them for you [Mini-Directory: Where to Report and Find Support for Online Abuse].
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