“There is no constitutional right or freedom to threaten to rape or kill a woman because you disagree with her politics,” Senator Kim Pate speaking as a judge at A People’s Tribunal: Every Woman’s Right to Speak Free from Online Hate. The event held earlier this week, was the catalyst for the Toxic Hush Campaign launched by Informed Opinions (IO).
The non-partisan, charitable feminist organization, maintains the absence of diverse women’s experience-informed insights undermines democracy and impedes our ability to effectively address the social, economic and environmental challenges Canada is facing.
According to American research, 40 per cent of people experiencing online harassment develop lower self-esteem. Around 30 per cent worry their lives are in danger.
Worldwide, the United Nations Broadband Commission’s 2015 report found that 73 per cent of women are abused online. The same report found that 52 per cent of women polled felt the internet was not a safe place to express their opinions.
Since the start of the pandemic, online hate speech increased 20 per cent globally. That means women’s voices are increasingly suppressed as online violence against them surges.
According to Shari Graydon, Head of IO, “Our work shows that women with intersectional identities experience the worst of it. Threats of physical and sexual violence are common, so it’s not surprising that a significant number of women report feeling not just angry, but anxious and fearful.”
While it’s well documented that women are targeted by online hate, the lack of Canadian research is disheartening. That’s why IO created the Toxic Hush campaign to draw attention to those at risk while compiling reliable Canadian data about online abuse.
Victims tell their stories
The official launch of Toxic Hush took the form of an all-woman tribunal. Five victims of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) testified before a panel of three citizen judges including Senator Kim Pate; Donna Young, Dean of Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University; and Waneek Horn Miller, Olympian and Indigenous Human Rights Advocate.
One of those to give evidence was to Birgit Umaigba, Clinical Instructor at Centennial College and critical-care nurse.
Umaigba has a significant presence on social media but found it challenging to advocate online for nurses’ rights during the pandemic.
However, when she spoke online about anti-Black racism, and anti-racism in general, she was attacked by trolls and prominent white people.
According to Umaigba, “The messages were hateful and they often focused on the fact that I am an immigrant in this country – ‘go back to your country’ or ‘if Canada is so bad why are you here? Leave.’”
Turns out many of the online attacks and threats came from accounts that were created with the intention of spreading hate and intimidation and to silence voices like Umaigba’s.
“I have been threatened, and those threats caused me many sleepless nights and nightmares, not knowing what extent people will got to,” said Umaigba. “I thought about how some of these people are white and in positions of authority, have privilege and connections. I cannot deny that I have feared for my life, and felt that I had to watch my back. It has resulted in a huge exhaustion that even led to the loss of my real voice through vocal cord damage.”
The pandemic created a situation where most people were spending more time on the internet and social media. That meant, women facing multiple forms of discrimination were at a greater risk of harm.
None of this was news to Brandi Morin a French, Cree and Iroquois journalist from Treaty 6, Alberta. Her work has been published and broadcast through a wide variety of Canadian media outlets.
Morin has thousands of followers on Twitter and Instagram and she uses these platforms to get critical information out to the world.
Last fall Morin received her first death threat. It was sent via email by someone using a pseudonym. The violently graphic description of her destruction also included very personal details about Morin’s life.
She contacted the police, but was told they couldn’t do anything until the situation escalated. They did recommend Morin lock her doors.
Months later, Morin wrote an opinion piece for the Toronto Star contrasting the human rights abuses imposed on Indigenous Nations with the human rights protest of the Freedom Convoy.
Morin experienced an avalanche of emails filled with racist hate, threats of violence and vows to destroy her career. That week she woke up in the middle of the night with panic attacks.
Her follow-up opinion piece for The Star spoke to the issue of freedom of the press as journalists covering the truckers’ convoy were being physically, verbally and emotionally abused by protesters.
That time, her piece opened a floodgate of support from people across the country.
“I’m not alone in facing these acts of violence. I am just one of thousands, maybe even millions, of women around the world who are being targeted. So, I use my voice for those who cannot speak here today. But I carry the strength of their warrior spirits as life-givers with me and demand action for now and future generations,” said Morin.
When women report online threats to police, they are encouraged to stay off of the internet. Graydon points out, “it’s no longer possible for many people to do their jobs or function day-to-day offline. And, because men’s voices already dominate 70 per cent of news coverage, exerting out sized influence on the agenda-setting public discourse that shapes policies and impacts spending, this toxic hush impacts us all.”
The Toxic Hush campaign challenges the idea that responsibility for dealing with online abuse lies with the individual woman being targeted. Instead, it holds social media companies and government policy to account for failure to provide protections against online hate and cyberviolence.
Rohini Arora, Director of Organizing and Campaign, BC Federation of Labour, was targeted by bots. According to Arora, these bots were pushing a far-right, pro-misogyny, anti-immigrant, anti-worker, anti-women sovereignty agenda by perpetuating hate, intolerance and violence.
“Initially, I was in utter shock. I couldn’t sleep, I had physical symptoms like chest pain, heart palpitations, prolonged sadness, hair loss, nausea. I was hyper aware and then I had to deal with the heightened anxiety that came with the hyper-awareness. I was under so much pressure from something that happened online,” recounted Arora.
The abuse caused trauma that not only lasted years but dictated Arora’s career path.
“Every occupation I chose was a way to keep me behind the scenes and that was intentional. I was traumatized by what happened online and it impacted every decision I made for many years,” she noted.
Platforms and companies must do better
In its 2021 report, Deplatforming Misogyny, the Women’s Legal Action and Education Fund (LEAF) found digital platforms are crucial to how people interact, share information, express themselves, build community, politically mobilize, and participate in public life.
It also found these platforms provide space for TFGBV like doxxing, stalking, trolling, launching coordinated harassment campaigns, and distributing intimate images without consent.
The business models, policies and decisions made by these companies gives rise to the hostile environment that silences and disenfranchises women, girls, and marginalized and systemically oppressed groups.
The report contains 14 recommendations for federal government action and legislative reform. It also has recommendations for holding digital platforms accountable for TFGBV committed by users. None of the recommendations have been implemented.
As Senator Pate noted during her judgment, “In the absence of any formal regulation, the rule for anonymous attackers is, ‘Hey say whatever you want!’, while the rule for women is, ‘Speak at your own risk.’”
The Federal government is in the process of developing a regulatory response. In order for these regulations to be impactful, IO acknowledges it’s important for Canadian women to have their voices and experiences incorporated into policy. To that end they have created a survey that will lay bare why government and social media platforms need to act immediately to ensure freedom of speech and equality for women using online platforms.
Over 90 per cent of respondents-to-date have shared that they experienced or witnessed increased online threats or abuse since 2020.
IO encourages women across Canada to make their voices heard by completing the Toxic Hush survey. The results will undoubtedly paint an evidence-based picture too powerful to be ignored by government or social media corporations.
For women experiencing or living with the trauma of online abuse, take a deep breath and know that you are not alone. Then, use the Toxic Hush Action Kit to find ways to protect and care for yourself.
IO has been working to improve the portrayal and representation of women in the media and amplifying women’s voices through research, advocacy, and thought leadership for more than four decades. Founded in 1981 as MediaWatch, the organization has evolved with the times and remains the only national Canadian initiative addressing women’s engagement in public discourse. The Toxic Hush campaign is supported by both the Government of Canada and concerned members of the public.
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