58% of young females have faced online harassment, abuse: Survey

More than half of young females who are on some social media platforms have faced online harassment or abuse, reveals a new survey.

Ahead of International Day of Girl Child 2020, a survey conducted by Plan International, a Non- Government Organization (NGO) working for children's rights and equality for girls in India, shows than more than half (58 per cent) women have faced online harassment or abuse.

The survey polled 14,000 girls and young women aged 15 to 25 in 22 countries including Brazil, India, Nigeria, Spain, Thailand and the US.

It shows that one in five girls (19 per cent) have left or significantly reduced use of a social media platform after being harassed, while another one in ten (12 per cent) have changed the way they express themselves.

Attacks were most common on Facebook, where 39 per cent of girls polled said they had been harassed, followed by Instagram (23 per cent), WhatsApp (14 per cent), Snapchat (10 per cent), Twitter (9 per cent) and TikTok (6 per cent).

Nearly half of the girls targeted had been threatened with physical or sexual violence, according to the poll. Many said the abuse took a mental toll, and a quarter felt physically unsafe.

Plan International's Chief Executive, Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen said: "Girls are being silenced by a toxic level of harassment. Activists, including those campaigning for gender equality and on LGBT+ issues, were often targeted particularly viciously, and their lives and families threatened. Driving girls out of online spaces is hugely disempowering in an increasingly digital world, and damages their ability to be seen, heard and become leaders."

In addition to the report, an open letter to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, was written by the girls from around the world who called on social media companies to create more effective ways to report abuse. "We use (your platforms) not just to connect with friends, but to lead and create change. But they are not safe for us. We get harassed and abused them. Every. Single. Day," they wrote. "As this global pandemic moves our lives online, we are more at risk than ever."