Houston, Texas attorney Paul Sternberg has spent decades helping local clients overcome their legal battles. His specialty is helping those threatened or harmed by online defamation attacks.

It’s no secret that online violence has been on the rise and unfortunately, women and girls often become prime targets. In fact, the UN estimates that 95% of online violence is directed at women. The COVID-19 pandemic only served to increase online violence as women and girls moved online for work, school, and social activities. 

The most common forms of online violence toward women include: 

• Misinformation and defamation
• Cyber harassment
• Hate speech
• Impersonation 
• Hacking and stalking
• Astroturfing 
• Video and image-based abuse
• Doxing
• Violent threats
• Unwanted images or sexually explicit content

Which Women are Most at Risk from Online Violence?

Though online violence can affect any woman, certain groups are at increased risk. This includes women with disabilities, women of color, migrant women, and LGBTIQ+ people. Young women and girls, who are more likely to be active in online spaces are also at increased risk of becoming targets of online violence. Likewise, women in the public eye such as human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and lawmakers are at increased risk. 

Protecting Women from Online Violence

This is clearly a growing problem that both tech companies and lawmakers will need to do more to address. However, until more protections are set in place, there are measures that women and girls can take to better protect themselves online. 

1. Protect Online Accounts

It’s important to be proactive and prevent potential online attacks before they occur if at all possible. Make it difficult for hackers to get into your online accounts by using complex and unique passwords for every account. It’s easier to recover one compromised account than several that have been hacked simultaneously due to the use of repeated passwords. Using a password manager app can help you keep track of your passwords. 

Another thing women can do is check privacy settings and enable two-factor authentication on every service that allows it. These tactics are simple, but are often the first step in preventing some forms of online violence. 

2. Be Cognizant of Your Online Posts

Though it seems nothing is off limits for sharing on social media, keep in mind that you don’t have to post everything about yourself for others to see. Instead, be mindful of what you post and why. Avoid posting overly personal information, and if you post photos, be aware of what’s in the background. You don’t want someone to be able to easily track you down from an online post. 

3. Protect Your Mental Health

If you find yourself the target of online violence, don’t panic. Remember that you have some power in this situation. First, take advantage of tools that social media services offer such as muting, blocking, or filtering users and threads. Report the abusive user or comments to the company. If you’re being attacked via email, use email filters to reroute harassing messages to a separate folder. You can also set filters on your emails that automatically block any specific misogynistic or derogatory words. 

4. Take Action 

Of course, you may not want to ignore abusive comments or messages entirely. Threats of harm or escalating harassment need to be dealt with in an appropriate manner. There are online support groups such as HeartMob which can be a good resource for women experiencing online harassment. But in some cases, you need to report harassment or online violence to local police authorities. Hiring an attorney who is experienced in online harassment or defamation cases can also be of immense help in identifying the perpetrator (if needed) and bringing them to justice. 

The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to deal with online abuse alone. 

Paul M. Sternberg owns a private practice law firm in Houston, Texas. He concentrates his practice in the areas of internet defamation law as well as business law. Mr. Sternberg is a graduate from the A.B.Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in 1987, and a 1996 graduate from South Texas College of Law in Houston. Mr. Sternberg, a seasoned entrepreneur, is the author of SECTION 230, FREE SPEECH AND THE INTERNET. With ten years of experience representing clients who have been victims of defamatory cyber-attacks, Mr. Sternberg has developed a reliable blueprint for securing positive outcomes in most cases. He has shared his professional expertise with FOX NEWS and various other media outlets to discuss internet defamation. Additionally, he is a frequent speaker to attorneys and community groups, sharing his insights and knowledge. He may be reached at www.TheDefamationAttorney.com or his office at 713-789-8120.

THIS ARTICLE SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS LEGAL ADVICE

Attorney Paul Sternberg of Houston, Texas, clarifies that the above text is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. The information may not be applicable to all individuals or situations. No attorney-client relationship is established or implied by this information, and no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, are made. For specific legal advice or to discuss your situation in detail, please contact attorney Paul Sternberg for a consultation at 713-392-4322.

Published by: Martin De Juan