As an internet user, you have the power to help put an end to digital sexual violence. The Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) developed the 5 R’s, a set of strategies to empower everyone on the internet to be effective digital bystanders.
What is Digital Sexual Violence?
Digital sexual violence includes any form of sexual harrassment, degradation, exploitation, or abuse that happens digitally. For instance, digital sexual violence may occur in the form of doxxing, online grooming, or child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) as well as artificial and authentic non-consensual explicit materials (NCEM), formerly known as deepfake/AI and revenge pornography.
Preventing Digital Sexual Violence
We can combat digital sexual violence through bystander intervention. This is when a witness to digital sexual violence, online abuse, or virtual harassment prevents it from continuing and/or helps the victim. This is accomplished by noticing digital sexual violence, stepping in during incidents, and speaking out against ideas and behaviors that perpetuate rape culture.
Unfortunately, witnesses of dangerous acts are often unlikely to step in. The Bystander Effect can explain why this happens, and it can be broken down into five common motives for avoiding intervention:
- Diffusion of Responsibility: Research shows that when multiple people witness a potentially dangerous situation, most assume someone else will intervene. This is not true.
- Pluralistic Ignorance: Witnesses may assume that if no one has stepped in, the situation must not be problematic. This assumption is dangerous, as it results in no action being taken.
- Ambiguity: Witnesses may think they don’t know enough about the situation to intervene or may be unsure about whether something problematic is happening. Given what’s at stake, it’s important to trust your instincts and use what you know to evaluate the situation before you decide against intervention.
- Embarrassment: Witnesses are sometimes fearful of embarrassing themselves by calling out perpetrators, but it is necessary to weigh the consequences of a potentially embarrassing moment with the consequences of experiencing sexual violence or other harmful situations.
- Fear of Getting Hurt: Witnesses may neglect to intervene for fear of putting themselves in danger. Fortunately, there are many ways to intervene that prioritize your personal safety while still helping to diffuse or disrupt a dangerous situation.
If you think you see digital sexual violence happening to someone else, it’s important to remember to go with your gut, closely assess the situation, and maintain the safety of both yourself and the victim. Inspired by Right to Be’s 5 D’s of Bystander Intervention, the SVPA has created our own 5 R’s of Digital Bystander Intervention. These five strategies are designed to empower witnesses of digital sexual violence to stand up for victims.
- Respond: Respond directly to the parties involved, if it is safe to do so. Call out negative behavior publicly, directly tell the perpetrator(s) to stop, or ask the victim if they are okay. Prioritize assisting the victim over debating the perpetrator.
- Report: Report digital sexual violence to the social media company, website, browser, or platform. If it’s happening within a community, you can report it to a moderator. Alternatively, you can report it to administrators at your K-12 school, college, or company. Lastly, you can report it to the authorities.
- Record: Record what is happening by taking screenshots, videos, or writing it down. This is particularly important in situations that will involve the authorities, children, and/or a pattern of offenses. Make sure you do this in a way that is safe and in line with the law.
- Rebuke: Rebuke digital sexual violence and challenge rape culture by calling it out and explaining why it is harmful. Keep in mind, reposting can amplify the harm by increasing visibility and engagement. It can also make you a target. Make sure you do so safely. For example, you can reference the content in a separate post.
- Resource: Reach out to the victim and offer resources or provide support. You can offer to provide information about how to get digital SV removed from the internet, offer to help the victim go to the authorities, or offer to help them make a report to the platform/moderator(s).
The 5 R’s will empower you and other individuals to be effective digital bystanders without risking your own safety. Equipped with this set of tools, you can recognize digital sexual violence, properly intervene in dangerous situations, and fight back against rape culture.
If you’re interested in learning more, download our digital bystander intervention training at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y8KzkTkkrASMyEGK2DocN941IpC1-Ja5/view.
