Building Safe Online Spaces Together

April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Every year the National Sexual Violence Resource Center sets a theme for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is Building Safe Online Spaces Together. While technology has become integrated into our daily lives and has made connection and communication possible through the pandemic, it has also opened up new pathways for people who choose to use abusive behavior to harass and abuse people over the internet.

Sexual harassment, cyber-bullying, sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation have often been seen as par for the course in online spaces, as something that victims just have to put up with and deal with as part of being online and using the internet. However, this year’s theme of Building Safe Online Spaces Together aims to disrupt that idea and call attention to online sexual abuse and harassment.

Online sexual harassment takes on many different forms, and it can include things such as sending someone unwelcome communication about sex, sending someone unsolicited nude pictures or pressuring someone to send nude photos or videos of themselves, or sharing private sexual images of someone online without their consent (which is known as revenge porn and is illegal in Minnesota.) Sometimes violence is initiated online and then takes place in person, such as adults using online platforms like social media or gaming networks to identify and groom vulnerable youth to facilitate abuse in person. Other times, abuse and harassment takes place entirely online. Even though abuse may occur over the internet, the negative impact on victims, their families, and the community can still be just as harmful as the impact of violence and abuse that happens in person.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center states that “the reality is that online sexual abuse is influenced by the same attitudes and beliefs that lead to sexual violence committed in person.” This is why we must take online sexual abuse and harassment seriously because it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The underlying beliefs, the trivialization and normalization of sexual assault and sexual harassment set the stage for a culture of violence, and that’s what’s at the center of online sexual harassment and abuse: rape culture. In the online sphere, rape culture can show up as unsolicited nude pictures, unwanted requests for nude photos and videos, unwanted communication about sex, sending someone hateful messages based on their sex, gender, or sexual orientation, and more. By normalizing these behaviors online, we’re laying the groundwork for sexual violence to be a cultural norm. We can’t end sexual violence in our communities without addressing the attitudes and practices that normalize and dismiss sexual violence and allow it to happen, and that includes in our online spaces.

If you or someone you know has been subjected to sexual assault, the Violence Prevention Center is here to support you. Visit us in our Grand Marais office (in the Cascade Building) at 21 W 2nd St or call our 24-hour Support Line at 218-387-1262 to speak with an advocate who will listen and believe you. Receive the support you deserve today.