A comprehensive new study released today by the National Organization for Women (NOW), the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life, and Incogni, a data privacy company, reveals that one in four American women have experienced online harassment, with ethnic diverse backgrounds and younger generations facing disproportionately higher rates of abuse.
The new research, which surveyed adult women across the United States, also found that more than half of victims report these experiences—including sexually motivated harassment, cyberbullying, doxxing, stalking, or swatting—have severely or significantly impacted their lives. While there isn’t a specific federal law against cyberbullying, a number of states have protective measures addressing online harassment by criminalizing the use of electronic communication to place someone in reasonable fear for their safety or that of their family. But are they enough?
The research carried out jointly by NOW and Incogni, focused on identifying the most common forms of online abuse experienced by women and analyzing the data by age, ethnicity, and place of residence. The study also examined the impact of the data exposure of personal information online on enabling this kind of abuse and how women feel about taking down or removing their information from the web.
Topline Survey Results
- One in four American women have experienced online abuse, with women from mixed ethnic backgrounds reporting the highest rates of online abuse at 37%, followed by Latina or Hispanic women at 31%.
- The most frequent type of online abuse experienced by American women was cyberbullying (10%), followed by sexual harassment (9%) and trolling (8%).
- Women with mixed racial backgrounds experienced online abuse most frequently, including cyberbullying (23%), hate speech (21%), and sexual harassment (16%).
- Latina or Hispanic women also experienced some of the highest rates of online abuse, including cyberbullying (13%), hate speech (10%), and sexual harassment (13%).
Survey Results by Age
- Young women aged 18-34 consistently reported higher rates of harassment across most categories of abuse.
- Sexually motivated online abuse occurred most frequently among women aged 25-34 (17%), 18-24 (16%), and 35-44 (13%).
- Revenge porn was reported among 6%, 5%, and 4%, respectively. The occurrence of AI deepfakes stood out among women aged 25-34 (4%).
How Online Abuse Impacts Women
- Most types of abuse were having in majority severe or significant impact on victims’ livelihood.
- 78% claimed they were severely or significantly affected by swatting.
- 70% claimed they were severely or affected considerably by revenge porn.
- 68% claimed considerably by revenge porn.
- 68% claiming they were severely or significantly affected by AI deepfakes.
Sixty-nine percent of women think that laws protecting victims of online abuse are insufficient. With the absence of effective data privacy laws in the US and consistent anti-doxxing legislation, many women remain vulnerable to various forms of digital abuse.
“This research exposes the pervasive nature of online abuse, how it extends to real-life threats, and its impact on women’s livelihood, affecting their self-esteem, mental health, and financial wellbeing,” said National NOW President Christian F. Nunes, who we have had the opportunity to feature on GirlTalkHQ.
“The disproportionate targeting of minority women and younger generations is particularly concerning and is further proof our federal and state legislatures need to pass laws to protect women.”
Geographic analysis revealed that women in Washington state experienced the highest rates of online abuse (33%). At the same time, the West South-Central region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas) collectively reported the highest regional rates at 29%.
Moreover, 84% of American women think that their data might be used by hackers or unauthorized parties, with 29% of respondents being personally negatively affected by this issue. One in eight women also indicated that they suffered from cybercrimes resulting from having personal data available online.
“The results of this analysis underscore the role of personal data accessibility in enabling cybercrimes aimed at intimidating and silencing women,” added Darius Belejevas, Head of Incogni.
“Unfortunately, without effective legislation preventing these crimes and protecting the victims, we expect an increase in online harassment activities, especially those resulting from how easy it is to find and exploit sensitive personal information”.
Although there are currently no federal laws that protect against online abuse and harassment, many states have protective measures in place, which you can read about more HERE to know your rights. You can see more of the survey results from NOW and Incogni by clicking HERE.
