Let's talk about online stalking!

Discrimination, abuse, exploitation, stalking, harassment, or cyberbullying reproduce gender-based violence and affect the offline lives of victims/survivors, evidencing the impact of virtual and technological spaces on everyday life. Online gender violence is a continuation of offline violence, which is increasingly widespread and virulent in a society with a patriarchal structure. 

A study conducted in 51 countries around the world found that 38% of women over age 18 have suffered online violence.¹ In that context, understanding the mechanisms driving such violence allows us to recognize each type of aggression. In this case, I want to emphasize stalking facilitated by technology; a form of violence that feeds on online information, which is on the rise in our hyperconnected world and continued gender-based aggression seeking to control the lives of women and LGBTIQ+ persons.

Stalking exists in the offline space as a form of intrusion and harassment. It is a person’s feeling of discomfort in relation to another person or situation, where they have the impression of being followed or controlled in their movements by someone external without their consent -for example when speaking or writing on social media or online chats or administering their bank accounts online- and in some cases it can be used to exert emotional, physical, and digital power over the victim. 

Stalking is described by counselors on digital gender violence² and persons working in the fields of human rights and technology as a common form of violence that persists over time, creating a pressing need to denounce, discuss, and characterize it, to further its recognition and design strategies of defense and mitigation. 
 

Wondering and asking questions

In the first months of the year, alongside the program Take Back The Tech!, we convened various fellow feminists, professionals in the fields of technology-facilitated gender-based violence and human rights in the digital space on their perceptions surrounding online stalking. It was an invitation to participate in a forum where we organized three focus groups under a methodology based on understanding their perceptions and experiences in their areas of specialization, with the intention of including people working in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

In this sense, the focus groups were conducted online. As part of our effort to examine perceptions we felt it was important to conduct specific interviews by region with people who specialize in providing support for victims of online violence to begin to outline our approach to the issue and its impacts. 

Our aim was to start a conversation that characterizes technology-facilitated violence and allows us to think together about its divergent mechanisms, impacts, and contexts. Above all, we seek to collectively pose important questions about this kind of violence based on the experience of those who have assisted others and who are working in each context from different regions.³ 
 

The continuum of violence

As the European Parliamentary Research Service emphasizes in its study (2021), women can be potential victims of digital stalking, be they public figures, people in monogamous relationships, or simple social media users.⁴ This affirmation is constantly confirmed by those who provide victim support services, report, and investigate online gender-based violence and digital rights who participated in this conversation. 
 

“Online stalking is the act of an individual leveraging digital tools and platforms to consistently intimidate, harass, or threaten another person. This behavior manifests in various ways and frequently involves an infringement of the victim's privacy.”

     (Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

Participants in the conversations agreed that online stalking is a form of technology-facilitated violence that is characterized by being prolonged over time, feeds on information about victims available online (such as social media platforms and online information), does not require extensive technological knowledge, and is commonly accompanied by other forms of online gender-based violence (OGBV). This characterization underscores how online stalking is recognized as tangible and commonplace violence; however, enunciating it does not seem sufficient to combat it.
 

“Online stalking it’s not understood regarding OGBV, it gets to be known because of cases or experience. The online concept is lacking understanding, the physical concept is more commonly understood.” 

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

In groups from the different regions, online stalking was mentioned as a form of vigilance that facilitates the implementation of other forms of violence, among which the conversation in the group from the African and Latin American region made a link to femicide as one more form of violence that leads to (sic) other, more extreme forms. Participants in the conversation with the Asian region mentioned its specific link to harassment of public figures and activists.
 

“...a young woman femicide in day light after a case of stalking track down to kill her.”

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

“I've heard testimonies from university girls who are now scared to join WhatsApp study groups because they get stalked.”

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

From conversations with participants we found that the groups most vulnerable to stalking are women, adolescents, and LGBTIQ+ persons. Members of this group cited the vulnerability of public women and human rights defenders (whose information is in public spaces due to their work and activism). Also, they frequently mentioned the threats members of the LGBTIQ+ community in the African region face due to discrimination and persecution in cultural and normative settings which are targets for extremist religious groups and legislative systems that threaten their lives.

In the context of the conversation with participants in the group from Asia, in particular Pakistan and India, a widespread problem appeared involving family access to devices or accounts, mentioning that it is common to find that victims share access to mobile telephones and personal information in their homes facilitating access in particular by male family members. They even mentioned the possibility of installation of stalkerware to obtain account information for purposes of location tracking, messages, and bank transactions or access to passwords.
 

Perceptions and experiences

Stalking is one of the forms of structural gender-based violence that has been normalized in different cultures and is based on maintaining continuous control and surveillance of victims. In a male-dominated system, this means that anyone who does not present as male can be stalked. “Online stalking is usually accompanied by other forms of violence” was an affirmation repeated constantly in the conversations. The urgent need to problematize it to develop and implement strategies tailored to diverse contexts was a unanimous conclusion among participants in the focus groups and interviews. 

Words for stalking in other languages: tiktik (slang word for surveillance), chedkhaani (more harassment than stalking in Hindi), Pinnale pouva, pinthudarunnu (malayalam), peecha karna (Hindi), Kaboo me rakhna, Chhupkese Peecha Karna (Terms in Hindi), mentioned by participants.  

In the same vein, a report by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (2023)⁵ affirmed que " the current digital landscape is one where the cruelest voices often dominate and discriminatory hierarchies are reinforced through negative engagement in digital spaces, preventing women and LGBTQ+ people from participating freely, safely and authentically in them." Such violence, known as online stalking, would not be being investigated in depth, leaving room for its greater problematization in the three regions, and even the need for greater research to ensure that this conversation continues with increased emphasis in the future.
 

“It is crucial to acknowledge that online stalking is a grave concern that can inflict substantial distress and fear on the victim. It is a form of online violence and is considered illegal in numerous jurisdictions.”

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

According to participants from Pakistan, the Philippines, and India, women are most often assaulted by family members. In the African region religious extremists are cited as the most common aggressors against women and LGBTIQ+ communities. In the group for the Latin American region, the usual aggressors are domestic partners and former partners, but also right-wing extremists, especially against the LGBTIQ+ community or activists. Also, participants in the focus groups and interviews in Latin America mentioned the possibility of using parental control apps to surveil third parties, such as former domestic partners, or purchase such apps to track victims in real time in the African region.

“as it is common for the online activities of women and girls to be surveilled by male family members” 

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)
 

“Organizers of the #EndfemicideKE have been cyberstalked since the march and most of them have had to make their accounts private, lock their accounts, the organizers are public. Pictures of them, defamation, shut down employees, even family members putting on twitter, social media.” 

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

After systematization of conversations, the most common mechanisms of this form of violence we identified are: constant monitoring of information available online through social media or app permissions and the use of stalkerware. 

The group on the Latin American region discussed the possibility of using parental control apps to maintain control over third parties, such as former domestic partners, evidencing the use of apps created for other purposes to commit such violence. In the case of the group from the African region and in the interview[s], participants mentioned purchase of apps to monitor victims in real time. Among prominent mechanisms, access to physical devices, sharing telephones, and sharing passwords with third parties were identified in the Asia group.

Participants from all the regions stressed the existence of a digital gender gap between victims/survivors and aggressors on a political and cultural basis, and underscored the lack of digital literacy and experience in the use of technology, especially for women and the LGBTIQ+ community in all the regions, as priority issues open to be discussed and reviewed.
 

The double-edged sword of the legal system

The demand for a legal system that includes recognition of gender-based violence and human rights has been a constant fight for civil society in the different regions, where the core aim is to achieve a legal reflection of these social demands. However, at several points in conversations with the different regions and interviewees, participants stressed the importance of understanding the complexities the legal system creates, its voids, and its lack of applicability in the lives of victims/survivors. 
 

“I am unsure about the extent of reporting and the kind of infrastructure that is put in place to support victims of cyberstalking.”

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)
 

The conversation in the participating group from Asia featured remarks noting the existence of specific local legislation in India and the Philippines on cyberstalking; however, they are taken for granted and assumed as natural. 
 

“It’s a very difficult form of violence to prove before the authorities and the legal system; cases are difficult to report and seeking justice under the law is complicated.”

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

In this sense, the legal demand for recognition arose as a possible solution in the discussions of the participating group from the African region, which agreed unanimously that enacting specific legislation on online stalking can help to recognize it, confront it, and mitigate it.

The group from the Latin American region mentioned the legal option but did not demand it as a sole solution. It focused on problematizing the prevailing lack of justice on the issue of gender-based violence on the physical plane, which is not understood by legal systems in their virtual dimension and even less in understanding the reproduction of this kind of violence when technology is involved.

Combining various forms of action in the fight to eliminate gender-based violence ensuring emphasis on varied strategies is part of the reflection that ensues when we discuss strategies against such violence within the different participating groups. The legislative arena may offer a pathway, but it cannot be the only means of building recognition and defense strategies to confront online stalking. 
 

“[Online stalking] is commonly minimized by authorities and victims. When victims report it there are no measures to support them; they tell them to get off the internet, which makes them even less able to discover who is behind it. There is a lack of tools to aid detection and law enforcement.”

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

Questions and challenges

In general, we find that participants in the conversations in the three regions acknowledge the existence and impacts of online stalking as a form of latent technology-facilitated violence, difficult to prove in the legal system and on reporting platforms, which reproduces the methods of physical stalking, harassment, surveillance, and control in the online space, forms of violence that are male dominated and manifest in various ways in the daily life of women and persons with diverse sexual preferences and gender identities.

Some of the issues that surfaced surrounding the debate regarding online stalking were: parental control and surveillance. Discussing the issue of parental control there are differences between the perspectives of the persons participating by region. In the Africa group, participants believe there is a need to maintain parental control and there have been no cases that might exemplify misuse of this type of technology. On the other hand, in the Asía group there were varied opinions questioning its rationale, as a need for in-depth debate with respect for the rights of children and adolescents, where the challenge of mentioning it and debating it revolves around trust and consent.
 

“There is a differentiation to be made between stalking and surveillance. For instance, in India, there is a lot of surveillance of content on social media, however, it may not always lead to stalking. Similarly, culturally, a lot of parents might be tracking their children’s online/digital activities - which again wouldn’t perhaps be considered stalking.”

(Participant in the open conversation on online stalking, 2024)

The misuse of parental control apps was repeatedly mentioned and acknowledged by participants from the Latin American region, who put on the table the importance of characterizing violence against children with the aim of understanding how it has direct effects on the perpetration of gender-based violence within the nuclear family. 

The lack of response from social media platforms on the issue of reporting is also part of the problem. In the words of participants in the focus groups and interviews, reporting “can become the worst option for victims,” raising false hopes and allowing fear to spread, generating impacts on our understanding of the effects of the different forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence that were debated.

The normalization of such violence linked to a male-dominated social structure makes efforts to work and conduct research on online stalking fundamental to fully understand and counter the different types of violence, their mechanisms and impacts. The difference between surveillance and stalking that was debated in groups from the different regions underscores the importance of taking into account the social, political, and historic context for the perception of violence surrounding territory and culture and their variants and focus represents a challenge as we seek to differentiate these forms of violence as a means of enriching it. 

On opening these conversations collectively, the focus groups reaffirmed the need to extend them to other persons and territories with greater time and persistence. The opportunity to think collectively about the challenges that motivate us to take creative action to confront this type of violence was one of the central conclusions of this conversation.

The strategies that now are part of the response organized by the persons who participated in the focus groups from the three regions are diverse and vary from feminist counseling, attention, litigation, and research. Focus group participants mention that “there is no single formula to address this kind of violence;” likewise, they placed special emphasis on supporting victims of online gender-based violence as a mechanism to mitigate technology-facilitated gender-based violence. 

Finally, we understand that this conversation is just beginning and it is important to emphasize that participants from organizations and collectives that are combating technology-facilitated gender-based violence or promoting digital protection insist that every form of violence or case of violence is different and there is no single way to resolve online stalking, and instead we need to problematize gender-based violence, understand it, and organize against its mechanisms, aggressors, and impacts in the virtual and physical space. 

Note: 

This conversation was the product of an invitation focused on the perceptions of groups of persons who support victims or work on human rights related to technology in the different regions of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, which in no way reflect the criteria of those regions in their entirety. It is an attempt to define an approach to the issues and make notes on it. 

We want to thank everyone who participated with their comments, perceptions, and time in this joint conversation on online stalking. 

This article is based on the systematised responses from focus groups and interviews conducted between February and April 2024. 
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