Horeck, Tanya; Ringrose, Jessica; Milne, Betsy; Mendes, Kaitlynn; (2023) Young People's Experiences of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence During COVID-19: Final Report. Anglia Ruskin University: Cambridge, UK.

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Abstract

In this mixed-methods study, we explore the specific forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence that young people in England, aged 13-18, experienced during COVID-19 lockdowns and beyond. This report provides data on the harms experienced by young people, and how this differs across gender (girls, boys, gender non-conforming), sexuality (LGBTQ+), and other intersecting identities (e.g. race). Concerns about young people and the various harms they encounter online, including sexual harassment and imagebased sexual abuse, have steadily grown in recent years. These worries further increased during lockdown for COVID-19, when the WHO, Interpol, NSPCC, CEOP and other children’s agencies, warned that increased screen time during periods of quarantine made young people more susceptible to online sexual exploitation, grooming, and abuse. Our study found that rates of harm were high, but unevenly spread amongst participants, and were often higher for girls, sexuality, and gender diverse youths (see also Dunn, 2020). Following Storr et. al, we use the term “sexuality and gender diverse” here to foreground that young people have diverse identifications and positionalities, which shape their experiences of technology and platforms (Storr et. al, 2022). While the central aim of the study is to amplify the voices of young people, we point to the importance of including teachers and parents in the conversation. A key objective is to broker better forms of communication between these groups about the closely interlinked harms and benefits of digital media. The report concludes with a set of recommendations for schools, parents, government, and tech companies on what is needed to better protect young people, including ways to report online sexual harassment and how to seek help.

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