Technology has opened the door to new forms of sexual violence, which is why the Home Office has focused for several years on detecting and investigating these digital attacks against women. Through its National Office against Sexual Violence (Onvios), the Home Office has identified up to 12 types of digital violence against women, including sexual trolling, revenge porn or… com. deepfake sexual.
Sexual digital violence is that committed “partly or wholly” using information and communications technologies, as defined by the new State Charter to Combat Violence against Women. As well as those “attacks directed against a woman because she is a woman, which are exacerbated by the use of mobile phones, the Internet, social networks, or e-mail.”
Thus, the manifestations of digital sexual violence identified by Onvios are: sexual cyberbullying, through the repeated sending of unwanted sexual messages; he Sexting Coerciveness (pressure to share sexual content under duress); economic blackmail, i.e. being forced to produce sexual content in exchange for money; he doxing Sexuality (publishing personal data with sexual content); he Grooming or manipulate minors to gain their trust; Sexual trolling, such as mob attacks with offensive sexual comments; he com. deepfake Sexual (creating false sexual content using artificial intelligence); digital espionage; Revenge porn, through the non-consensual posting of sexual content; Take intimate or personal photos or videos without consent; Sextortion and recording, as well as dissemination of sexual content to third parties.
Although it happened connectedHarassment, threats, blackmail or the unauthorized dissemination of intimate images, which are used to harm, control or humiliate the victim, have consequences similar to non-virtual violence, Onvius warns. Consequently, they cause fear, anxiety, an increase in suicidal and self-harm behaviors, a feeling of loss of control over their own image and serious social and personal consequences. They affect from this office, which was created by the Ministry under the direction of Fernando Grande Marlaska to promote training, awareness and sensitization on sexual violence and to create an observatory to generate knowledge from scientific research.
Digital sexual violence is a growing trend, and institutions and organizations in Spain – from the police forces to the Ministry of Equality or the Autonomous Regions – are now focusing on it as one of the main problems, especially among the younger population. “Technologies amplify exposure, impact and persistence of harm, generating devastating consequences for those who suffer from it,” they add from Onvios.
The State Charter to Combat Violence against Women, approved in 2017 and renewed this year, stipulates, among other measures, the creation of indicators and the compilation of statistical data on the full scope of violence against women in digital environments, as well as the classification of various cases of sexual cybercrimes as a crime. This Convention commits to punishing “those who, without the permission of the affected person and with the aim of undermining their moral integrity, publish, display or transmit an image of their body or a voice created, modified or recreated through automated systems, programmingOr algorithms, artificial intelligence or other technology, so that they appear real or simulate situations of highly sexual or offensive content.
Phone 016 helps victims of sexual violence, their families and those around them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in 53 different languages. The number is not registered on the phone bill, but the call must be deleted from the device. You can also contact via email 016-online@igualdad.gob.es And via WhatsApp on 016 000 600. Minors can call the ANAR Foundation phone number 900 20 20 10. If it is an emergency, you can call 112 or the phone numbers of the National Police (091) and the Civil Guard (062). If you cannot connect, you can use the ALERTCOPS application, through which an alert signal is sent to the police with geolocation.