Internet haters want to silence women in public life
The internet has become a safe space for misogynists. Comments which would lead to tribunals in the workplace or gasps of condemnation in the pub flow freely behind the murky anonymity of the web. Rape threats, ‘slut’ shaming and body-fascism are now disturbingly commonplace on Twitter. It is time to reclaim the internet.
There are four points we must all acknowledge to make this a reality.
First, it *is* about gender. We must challenge those who say online abuse is not a women’s problem, that it is a universal problem. Evidence shows the volume of abuse faced by high-profile women far exceeds that of their male comparators. The character of abuse against women online is also darker, cruder and more violent than that which men experience. And, moreover, the purpose of e-misogyny is inherently gendered – to silence women, to deter women, to scare women. Because they are women.
Second, we do not bring it on ourselves. The internet knows not what we are wearing. It knows not how much alcohol we have consumed, or our sexual history. Yet it knows what we have said online. Women’s words alone are enough for many commentators to hint that misogynist abuse is deserved. That rape threats could have been avoided, should the victims have been less ‘mouthy’. That expressing statements of feminism is deliberate provocation. Victim-blaming is as old as rape itself. I will teach my sons never to threaten a woman, not my daughter to hold her tongue.
Third, it is not harmless. ‘Harmless banter’. ‘No real threat.’ We must be clear that online misogyny is not inconsequential. It deters women from public debate; a vicious circle of female invisibility and susceptibility to attack. It normalises a language of violence which reduces women’s safety in relationships, opportunities in the workplace and security on the streets. We are seeing this acutely in the first generation brought up in the social media age: sexual harassment is rife on university campuses, and domestic violence is growing alarmingly among 18-24s.
Fourth, it is not inevitable. ‘Haters gonna hate’, we are told. Or perhaps, ‘Trolls gonna troll’. Do we really have to put up with this phenomenon? Of course not. Each of us has a duty to call out misogyny wherever we see it, with the same ferocity we do racism. Public figures across the spectrum must unite to condemn it. Leaders must hold their own followers to account and say it is wrong to the collective as well as the individual. Social media providers must show both political and technological leadership in seeking its elimination. The recent legal recognition of misogyny as a hate crime must lead to more rigorous prosecutions. Most of all, we must show solidarity with women targeted. We must not be silenced.
Together we must make the internet a safe space for women and a no-go zone for misogynists.
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Claire Reynolds is a former special adviser at 10 Downing Street and a founder member of Lead4Women