Report Finds Social Platforms and Police Failing Women Abused Online

The Guardian reported the case of Jane, who learned that intimate photos of her had been posted on a website without her consent. She expected police to help. Instead, she was warned that researching where her photos had been shared might put her at risk of breaking the law. She was given a leaflet on internet safety and told to go to tech companies for help but to expect little from them. The case was closed. Jane recalled that the officer called at all times of day and approached the case in a way that was insensitive, victim-blaming and entirely inappropriate, with misogynistic undertones.

Jane's Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat accounts had all been hacked, along with those of several other women, and images were extracted from private messages. On the platform where the images were posted, commenters left derogatory messages, and one stranger used identifying personal data, including names of people and schools and links to social media profiles, to contact Jane directly. She said she felt exposed, harassed and stalked online by a community of anonymous perverts, and that the experience left her feeling angry, violated and unsafe. Like many women who have had similar experiences, she has moved more of her life offline and no longer feels comfortable in many online spaces.

Disheartened by the traumatic reporting process, Jane appointed the law firm Leigh Day, which successfully pressed Ofcom into opening a formal investigation into the platforms and the police into reopening their criminal investigation. She feels there has been little to no clarity or transparency about how long these will take. The report said part of the difficulty is that perpetrators can be based around the world and are able to conceal the IP addresses that identify their locations. Jane argued this is no different from other online crime and no barrier to action, saying: 'We would not expect the same response when it comes to other serious and complex crimes, such as terrorism.'

The Refuge and EVAW report found that most women in situations similar to Jane's did not report their experiences to online platforms or the police. When they did, they often felt the response was poor. In many cases, they felt their complaints were misunderstood or not taken seriously, they were told to adapt their own behaviour, and either no action was taken or it was too slow.

A survey of 2,000 women for the report found that 17% of those who made a complaint to the police did not have their cases investigated at all. Nearly half, 47%, of those surveyed aged 16-24 had experienced violence online, with one in four experiencing misogyny or sexual violence. One in five had been stalked, monitored, harassed or controlled; 18% had experienced image-based abuse, including being sent unsolicited images or having their intimate images shared without consent; and 9% had been doxed, meaning their personal information, such as phone numbers and addresses, was shared online. Nearly one in three women of all ages had been affected, and one in seven said they had left social media platforms as a result. For 15% of respondents, the level of abuse was so bad they said they had felt suicidal. The research also found that one in six women aged 16-24 had received dating, sex and relationships advice from an AI chatbot that they considered inappropriate, unhealthy or unsafe.

Gemma Sherrington, the chief executive of Refuge, said Ofcom's guidance was a welcome step, but the regulator must go much further in holding tech companies legally responsible for combating the normalisation of misogyny, holding perpetrators to account, and keeping all women and survivors safe. The report also called for enhanced tech abuse training for police and prosecutors, a new online safety commission or ombuds role, ringfenced funding for specialist services, and for Ofcom to be empowered to take swifter and more robust enforcement action.

An Ofcom spokesperson said tackling the harms that women and girls disproportionately face online is a top priority for Ofcom. The spokesperson said the law is clear that tech firms must take down illegal content, including harassment, stalking, violent threats and abuse, when they become aware of it. Ofcom said it is cracking down on the spread of illegal intimate images, forcing tech firms to act to stop such content spreading on their platforms, and tightening its codes to reflect new quicker takedown timeframes. It also said it has shown it will not hesitate to act where tech firms fall short, with investigations open into three services for suspected failures.