Resident doctor and reproductive specialist Eka Kvirkvelia was the target of hate speech, sexual harassment and death threats on social networks for several months. On March 4, she published a public post and called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to respond.
Many women in Georgia and abroad have a similar experience, and it has a specific name — technology-facilitated gender-based violence, also known as TFGBV.
If women involved in politics and public activities face many individual obstacles in their daily lives, online space they have to deal with additional misinformation, threats of physical attack, hate speech, threats of violation of privacy, attempts to damage reputation, which in itself aims to marginalize women and reduce their participation in civic and political life.
Eka Kvirkvelia has been publishing educational videos about reproductive health on various social network platforms — Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok — for about a year. For Eka, sharing vlogs is her political as well as civic activism. Among other things, he vlogs about how to avoid harassment, cyberbullying, violence; How to protect our reproductive rights and more. In addition to being active in the social network, Eka also conducts trainings.
She decided to make educational videos after the facts of childbirth, violence and harassment in the country increased.
“Honestly, I expected that women would be more interested, although paradoxically, the fact is that, initially, the majority of people who watched my videos were men – although men express themselves more aggressively and try to “punish” you more aggressively. “, when you talk about what the patriarchy has normalized you; That you should not raise your voice about it and at most talk to the patient, relatives, etc. behind your closed office. […] In addition, it was found that compared to women, men were at a disadvantage in awareness of these topics. “In a country where men make fun of menstruation in their teens, it’s clear what’s going on,” says Eka.
Gradually, a wave of coordinated hate speech and threatening comments appeared on his videos, which also spilled over into private messages. As Eka tells us, she expected that vlogs would be met with some resistance, however, she never thought that it would turn into a threat and her life, as she says, would “change forever”.
“Your life really changes after you are threatened with a photo account on a social network that because you are fighting against the institution of virginity, they will cut your throat, break your spine, beat your genitals, etc. Also, they send you phallus videos, how they masturbate on you, etc.”
What Is TFGBV?
In the era of technological development, everything, including violence, has found a place in virtual space – where control mechanisms are less and guarantees of anonymity – higher. A study by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that 38% of women had personally experienced TFGBV, and 85% of women had witnessed it. According to the same study, the most common forms of TFGBV are misinformation and defamation. A 2017 survey of women aged 18 to 55 in Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US found that 23% of women had experienced online violence or harassment at least once. The incidence of TFGBV has increased especially since the Covid pandemic. For example, in Australia, violence based on the distribution of nude images has increased by 210%.
Women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence online, but people who experience discrimination on other grounds, such as people with disabilities, members of religious and ethnic minorities, or members of the LGBTQ+ community, are even more likely to be targets of this form of violence. In order to be able to defend ourselves, it is necessary to know what forms TFGBV combines:
- Doxxing — sharing personal and sensitive information without permission, including address, workplace, cell phone number, email address, family members’ names, and more;
- Cybermob — an attack, threat, insult by several people, which is often organized and coordinated;
- Image-based abuse — distribution of photos of intimate content without consent for the purpose of objectification, exploitation, humiliation, abuse and harassment. For example, such materials may include pornographic, child sexual abuse, or photographs containing sexualization of minors;
- Online impersonation — creating a false profile and impersonating someone else in order to harm someone’s reputation or breach security;
- Sextortion — online blackmail by threatening to publish sexually explicit information or photos and videos. This could instead mean asking for money or sex, sexual acts, or sexually explicit photos in exchange for not publishing the information;
- Cyberstalking — Repetitive, unwanted and/or threatening stalking or communication using technology. It can turn into real-life stalking or vice versa;
- Cyberbullying — targeted and repeated harassment of a person using technology, aimed at harming him;
- Online harassment — Repeated harassment, annoyance, or intimidation by frequent sending of demeaning or offensive comments. Its targets are most often women, girls and members of the LGBTQ+ community;
- Revenge porn — a form of violence based on visual information. It is defined as publishing photo-video material of intimate content without consent;
- Shallowfake — a manipulative photo made with various programs, on which, for example, someone else’s head is attached to a person’s body. It is relatively more difficult to recognize the so-called Deepfake.
“I Thought It Was My Fault”
“I had an anxiety disorder” – this is how Eka Media recalls with Aprili the period when she became the target of online violence and harassment. The nervousness of his family members and close people was also added to his feelings, and he felt a sense of guilt.
“I thought it was my fault; that, perhaps, I am causing this, etc. “It was a struggle in my head when I was teaching others that it’s not your fault, but this societal, distorted [view] that you have to take everything on yourself dragged me down in the end,” she recalls.
According to Eka, this experience changed her active and extroverted lifestyle until then – she tells us that she used to travel in disguise, wearing glasses and a cap. She avoided walking alone.
“My libido also decreased, I couldn’t feel feminine and I couldn’t wear dresses anymore”, – this is how Eka describes her current situation and tells us that even now, whenever she goes somewhere, she takes security measures and always shares her location with someone close to her.
“My testimony to the police was also a self-reflection for me and release from anger. I let myself go, I felt so good that I could say all this, get it out of my heart and not blame myself anymore. I realized that you have to do this in order to realize that there is no problem in you.”
Psychotherapist Lika Barabadze explains to Aprili Media that according to the results, it does not matter if you become a victim of bullying and/or violence in the physical or online space. Moreover, such experiences online may have a greater impact on a person’s mental health than in real life. The reason for this is that virtual relationships are already a very large part of our daily life.
“As time goes by and we interact more online, it becomes more and more the first source of our reactions. So it’s no surprise that people can be just as hurt by online violence as they are in a physical space. I don’t think there is any difference in the intensity of our reaction depending on whether we are bullied online or in real life. In general, it is recognized that the source of trauma can be both offline and online violence,” says Lika.
As for self-blame, the psychotherapist notes that this is often related to the responsibility that society imposes on women from childhood – in adolescence, girls often understand that they are responsible for any type of communication, emotional processes, safety.
“We are taught from childhood that we should be much more alert, for example, on the street, and it was “my responsibility” to protect myself from certain situations,” says Lika.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the burden of crime is often placed on the victim rather than the perpetrator.
Besides protecting her own rights, Eka also wanted to set a precedent and set an example for other women. After the investigation of the perpetrators under the article of stalking began, people around advised him to stop the legal battle. She faced a choice – to continue his activity in social networks or to stop. Despite everything, it was outweighed by the benefits it could bring to people on a daily basis.
“I went to some village and there, near the river, in Kobuleti, a woman came and told me how you changed her life, how she solved her problems with her husband, how she started protecting her rights. I don’t know, I really don’t know how I can stop it, but of course I think about it sometimes.”
She remembers the last case when she arrived in Zugdidi and was met by unknown women on the street, cried, hugged and thanked him. In Eka’s words, she would never have thought of it.
Her case was also precedential in that she was the one who initiated the appeal to the legal authorities for Meta.
“They told me about my case that they did not have such a precedent. We requested to apply now, they agreed and now we are waiting to see what result we will get”, Eka tells us.
How Is TFGBV Punished in Georgia?
It is important to know that gender-based violence in social networks is punishable. Women’s rights protection organization Sapari is one of those who provide legal assistance to people in such cases. Mari Varamashvili, the lawyer of Sapari, told Aprili Media that victims usually contact them at the first stage and receive legal advice.
Marie tells us that the most frequent crime that occurs in practice within the framework of TGBVB is invasion of private life, which involves the illegal acquisition, storage and distribution of intimate photo-video material, audio material. Despite the frequency of crime, public awareness in this regard is quite low. According to the lawyer, most people do not know that online violence is a crime of the same gravity and quality as the one that happened in the physical space.
“They don’t have information on whom to turn to, or how to turn to them in time; They do not know that even just a threat that has not yet been disseminated can qualify as an invasion of privacy, and they often fail to qualify and see the risks, recognize and identify this crime. This is also a problem. They don’t have information about the scope of cyber violence,” she says.
Mari says that, on the other hand, proper knowledge of cyber-violence and the willingness to conduct a case are less even in the investigative bodies themselves — the responsible persons may even “get into an embarrassing situation” if a citizen who is, for example, a victim of harassment on social networks, comes to them for help. According to the lawyer, the severity of the violence committed in the online space is not properly perceived.
Mari Varamashvili also talks about the gap in the legislation in this direction. For example, if in other countries the so-called Deepfakes and other images used by perpetrators are punishable, similar crimes in Georgia remain undetected. Another shortcoming, which the representative of Sapari draws attention to, is that there are no specific norms related to TFGBV directly in the criminal law code. In addition, as Mari Varamashvili says, despite the fact that we do not have specific articles on cyber violence, specific crimes can be included in the existing articles. In such a case, both the initiation of the investigation and the criminal prosecution of the offender would be simplified. According to Mari: “It simply depends on determination, the correct interpretation of the norm and specifically the good will of the prosecutor to start the prosecution.”
The lawyer believes that it is necessary to develop relevant regulations, improve and systematize the legislation, as well as define the term “cyberviolence” in the law.
“In such a case, people will know that this crime is found in the Criminal Code and is actually punishable,” Mari points out.
The case of Eka Kvirkvelia revealed another flaw. The lawyer requested a high-sensitivity investigator and the police provided an office for questioning, but it turned out that there is no separate space for questioning a sex crime victim. Eka learned on the spot that questions should be asked in a common space, where everyone should hear about her experience.
Sapari’s lawyer points out that there are no interrogation rooms in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but we see a different situation in the Special Investigation Service.
“The Special Investigation Service has a practice of conducting [interrogations] in isolation, without our intervention. They themselves have internal recommendations that the victim should be interviewed in a separate room and his photo-video material should not be viewed or listened to in a common space,” says the lawyer.
International conventions also oblige Georgia to eliminate all forms of cyber-violence, therefore, the representative of Sapari notes that it is necessary to determine the appropriate punishment, and to act as a deterrent lever for the abuser.
“Finally, we are coming to the complete reconstruction of the legislation, and this will be the biggest step that should be taken so that crimes do not remain behind the response, which is not the case nowadays”, Mari Varamashvili emphasizes.
What Should I Do if I Am a Target of TFGBV?
Today, when the scale of gender-based violence perpetrated through the use of digital media is increasing, it is important to know how we can act in such times. Sapari’s lawyer advises us that when we come across similar experiences on social networks, we should not block the abuser, so that it will not be difficult to obtain further evidence. Also, another recommendation is to take screenshots.
Additionally, legal advice is to copy and save a link to the abuser’s account, as it may not be identifiable if it is deleted. The stored link allows the information to be sent to the Meta office to request information.
Another recommendation, which Mari Varamashvili shares with us, is the following — we should not warn a person that we are providing information about his crime to the investigative agency. The reason is the same here and is related to the threat of evidence disappearing.
During such an experience, psychological readiness is no less important. Psychotherapist Lika Barabadze notes that all feelings, be it self-pity, shame, guilt, fear, weakness or others, are normal. It’s important to understand that since violence happens online, it cannot be ignored. According to her, at such times we should seek help in exactly the same way as we would do in case of violence in physical space. It may be a desire to receive both legal and therapeutic help.
In addition, the psychotherapist focuses on the importance of the support of the surrounding people at such a time. According to her, it is empowering when we realize that we are not alone in such a traumatic experience.
“When you recover from violence, it is very important whether you are alone or someone is standing by your side. It’s more important than what kind of abuse you went through.”
Finally, it should also be said that, in addition to the above, raising awareness in terms of cyber security is a necessary lever that reduces the risk of becoming a target of gender-based violence committed using technology.
