Two complaints filed in the south of Gran Canaria for recording and dissemination without consent of a video with sexual content have given names these days to the cyber violence sexista way of harming women that is increasing. The case has received a lot of media attention as it investigates young Real Madrid players and there is a minor involved, but it is not isolated and represents the tip of an iceberg under which various forms of violence that finds its support in technology. According to the report from the Canary Islands Public Prosecutor’s Office, “the increase in complaints of crimes against privacy continues”, the most common being extortion and the dissemination of images with sexual content. The lawyer specializing in gender violence Maria del Pino Nuez He explains that today more and more cases are appearing because there is greater social awareness and we give a name to what the victim suffers, but he recalls that “there are a lot of hidden violence” because we are always afraid of feeling called into question.
The lawyer emphasizes that sexist violence which is intensifying in new technologies represents a challenge for justice. Videos and social media posts are evidence of the reported affair, but it is “the victim’s own testimony that has credible parameters.” He emphasizes that victims of gender violence or sexual violence have a coherent story that they will sometimes tell since “the impact and the symptoms that this woman or this minor feels are not the same as those of a victim of a road accident. , he summarizes. Nuez emphasizes that legal operators are trained to the new law of only yes is yesto which we must “give time”. However, he adds two key issues that he raised: firstly, the consideration that this is a social issue that must concern all citizens; and second, that it places consent at the center.
“This means a new approach, from interviewing victims, to what to ask, what to consider, what to ask for in written allegations; in written accusations; what compensation to request; the victim’s right to reparation…” underlines the lawyer, who adds that we must consider the seriousness of what is accused and how it happened. Concerning consent, he insists that a woman can consent to an act but not to everything as a whole, she can consent to a relationship, but not to broadcast it and that, therefore, “consent can be revoked » whenever she wants. .
The report of the Canarian Prosecutor’s Office for the year 2022 indicates that the crime against privacy, which is linked to sexual freedom, “is a typically male crime, since in practically all the reported cases they were committed by men , being in the majority. female victims. Likewise, he emphasizes in the increase in these cases committed by adolescentswhich “contrary to what happens in adult criminal law (where the crime is often associated with a romantic breakdown); In the case of minors, the sending or exchange of photos or videos of a sexual nature is carried out as a simple game, without the prior existence of a romantic relationship, to initiate flirting or attract the attention of the other, with the fictitious postulate that “It is a complicity which will lead the other not to disseminate them.”
The report also emphasizes that “in cases where, alongside the author, third parties have intervened who, without having intervened in the initial action, subsequently receive the compromised material, transmitting it knowing that they do not have the “authorization of the party concerned, we also appreciated, a crime against moral integrity.”
Types of sexist violence on the Internet
“Other crimes committed via social networks or instant messaging applications are threats, coercion, scams and attacks on moral integrity in the form of creating false profiles on networks with the aim of insulting the victim”, indicates the prosecution’s report in his memory. . The equality expert Ana Lydia Fernández Layos, that She is coordinator of the Service for Prevention and Attention to Cyber-Sexist Violence in Gran Canariaemphasizes that, on the one hand, there is violence that occurs within the couple or ex-partner (collected in the 2004 law) and which not only occurs in person but occurs through devices digital through identity theft, threats, control, extortion…
On the other hand, he emphasizes that there are many cases of grooming (online sexual harassment and abuse), Sextortion (extortion with images of sexual content) or even deep fakewhich consists of placing the image of a person on a naked body or on a body that is not theirs, cases which have been highlighted in recent days in the media. “This is done out of revenge or sextortion or many times to defame and want to end or damage the career or reputation of a person in the workplace, in this case a woman and for sexist reasons “, indicates the expert, who adds that women and minors also receive threats through these networks to maintain sexual relationships or to force them not to end a relationship.
Towards greater visibility
Lawyer María del Pino de La Nuez emphasizes that the victim can come forward whenever they feel ready. “I do not believe that the message should be impunity, the message should be one of support for victims, that they have the necessary resources to decide whether to denounce or not, because it does not matter if they denounce, they will be the beneficiaries of all resources,” he said. He points out that victims are often not aware that they are victims and that the Only Yes It’s Yes law must continue to be provided with resources so that they can seek help. Among these resources, he gives the example of making wellness facilitators available to centers, delegates in sports centers and all the figures that have been created in the regulatory texts so that the criteria are grouped together.
Ana Lydia Fernández points out that not only are women and girls hypersexualized, but in many cases society reproaches them for their publications, or questions them for having agreed at some point to be photographed or recorded in an intimate context, but not for them to be broadcast. . Other times, they explain that they are criticized simply for being online and being in contact with other people. The expert warns that the expression that “if you don’t want this to happen to you, don’t be on the Internet or don’t have relationships” is becoming more and more widespread and that this also causes a lot of self-censorship in women and girls, “that we cannot interact or participate” on the Internet with the same freedom and tranquility as men.
It is this context that in many cases makes it difficult for victims to seek help. “There is a part that concerns shame, blame, fear of threats, corruption or sextortion,” indicates the coordinator of the prevention service. Additionally, they are afraid of the consequences if the person threatening them broadcasts these videos or images without their consent.
A new service against “cyberviolence”
The investigation Sexist cyberviolence: an analysis of the current reality in Gran Canarihascommissioned by the Cabildo, claims that only 5% of women who experience this violence report it. In addition, 50% of those surveyed said they had experienced some form of violence online, of a sexist or sexual nature. The report also concluded that 44% of those surveyed would not know where to go to report this type of incident. And that is why this week the island company launched a specialized service.
Ana Lydia Fernández affirms that there are very few resources with these characteristics in Spain and that she is a pioneer in the Canary Islands. He gives advice on what cyber violence sexist support, but also psychological, legal, cybersecurity and digital self-defense. It is a multidisciplinary team that works in a coordinated manner to inform, disseminate and train professionals from the gender violence network, teachers, security forces and organizations or people interested in working with young people and women . He insists that it is possible to attend the service in person, but also to contact him via social networks, by telephone or by email.
The lawyer specializing in gender violence and the coordinator of this service agree on the need to promote emotional education on sexuality and equality. Ana Lydia Fernández argues that it is important to “train and prevent” so that young people are aware of the impact they have, “because often young people commit crimes against their peers or against a girl without knowing that this constitutes a crime,” she said. summary. And they do it because “different types of violence have become so normalized that they surely know that it is not fair and that it hurts them, but they do not know to what extent it constitutes a crime” and the impact their actions can have. have “on the girls they cyber violence or harass. It is for this reason that the Cabildo de Gran Canaria service has abundant material that can be consulted and used in classrooms.
