The role of social media abuse in gender- based violence: the challenge of vituperative communication in the age of new technology

Online abuse communicated via social networking sites has increased considerably in recent years, with a significant amount of vituperative communication targeted at women. This mixed methods study investigates the gendered online abuse received by women serving in the occupations of academia, journalism, policing, and politics. Written in the shadow of the murder of two Parliamentarians, the research considers how abuse in the online space echoes other forms of gender-based violence, drawing upon evidence gathered from 50 interviews, the analysis of three Twitter ‘storms’, and the review of a wide interdisciplinary corpus. This study reveals that the online abuse of women in high-profile, public facing occupations consists of seven elements: defamation, emotional harm, harassment, threat, belittlement, silencing, and criticism of appearance; and that at least one of these elements is present in every abusive encounter evidenced here. This research further demonstrates that the online abuse directed at women is misogynistic, frequently includes violent threats, and dismisses women’s contributions to online discussions. The study also reveals that the abuse directed at women varies by occupation, with police officers most likely to receive abuse that denigrates their ability or appearance; politicians and journalists more likely to receive violent threats, and academics receiving abuse of all types. The expectation that women maintain an online presence frequently acts as a trigger for abuse, with other determinants an increased focus on topics that compel individuals to take a binary stance; and the malign nature of political debate. The study concludes by presenting a series of recommendations, operating at the personal, organisational, legislative, and structural level. Ultimately, this doctoral research demonstrates that online abuse is about gender and is the consequence of being a woman on the internet.
This thesis contains content that readers may find obscene and / or distressing.