Gender-based violence on the Internet: risks among minors
Gender violence through the Internet and social networks is progressively increasing. Also known as "gender-based cyber-violence" alone does more harm than the physical one, since, on the one hand, it transcends the personal sphere and, on the other, two factors that are typical of social networks, such as virality and the perpetuity of messages. Now, what effect does this violence have on children?
Gender violence, a global social scourge
Numerous studies have been conducted on gender violence, methods of approach, awareness and awareness campaigns, and regulatory aspects of this phenomenon, which today constitutes an authentic social scourge throughout the world.
In this sense, it is important to highlight how this type of violence frames the United Nations (UN), in its Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (December 20, 1993) and that defines as follows: "Every act of violence based on belonging to the female sex, which has or may result in physical, sexual or psychological damage or suffering for the woman, as well as threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occur in public life as in private life "
Thus, we understand gender violence as a submission and physical and / or psychological submission of the woman, who does not know or can not defend herself against her abuser, having to bear in mind the existence of numerous circumstances that generate such situations and even aggravate.
Psychological abuse through the Internet and social networks
On the other hand, we must bear in mind that one of the faces of this type of violence is psychological abuse, less visible than the physical, but that generates a strong emotional impact on the victim, often even more serious than the victim's own physical violence.
In this sense, the aggressor emphasizes the latter type of violence through control and harassment of women through the Internet, using all the means that technology allows: whatsapp, spyware to control your partner and a whole endless manipulation maneuvers.
We are therefore faced with cases of cyberbullying, a type of harassment in which the aggressor uses new technologies to harass women. All kinds of behaviors that include humiliations, threats, insults, are reflected in order to deliberately harm the victim, who, in many cases, does not know how to defend herself, causing destructive consequences on her self-esteem.
Therefore, the aggressor pursues a very clear objective with this type of behavior: the social isolation of the victim, which is not only achieved physically but now also through the internet; in this way, the victim does not even have these digital spaces to take refuge, since the aggressor controls all his movements, even in this medium, this is what is called "cyber-persecution".
The effect of gender violence on children
How can the existence of this type of intra-family domestic violence affect the children?
There is no doubt that this type of situation does not help education in values or good family coexistence. Indeed, there are numerous studies that confirm that the aggressors, in the face of episodes of anger and outbreak of violence, do not control in any way or minimize their effects in the presence of their children, who are silent witnesses of what is happening, often unable to react to these facts.
Obviously, this type of behavior on the part of the father figure, repetitive and continuous over time, can generate in the child an effect of parental alignment, similar to the so-called "Stockholm Syndrome", in which the kidnapped person shows signs of understanding , esteem and even justification towards his kidnapper.
The psychological process in children: conversion and repetition
This is due to a complex psychological process in which the child is assuming that with the use of force, aggressiveness and control results are achieved, even to belittle the mother, accepting and consenting to what happens, to whom he considers weak for not defending himself and facing up to this type of aggression.
Psychological process that, on the other hand, for it to come to fruition and produce that authentic transformation of the child, it is necessary that it presents a series of characteristics, traits and psychological personality that transitions to that change.
1. Conversion. If this finally occurs, the conversion of the minor is a fact and will end up becoming a new aggressor, repeating these learned patterns and being able to mortify or harass these classmates through these technological means.
2. Repetition. Thus, with these conditioning and family conditioning, the minor repeats the attitudes and behaviors observed for a long time in the father figure; aspects so normal and daily for him, as for example the dissemination of offensive comments, insults, threats and even behaviors that can be more subtle, such as spying on the couple's mobile or exercising some type of control accessing the profile of social networks, without the consent of the woman.
All this, logically, is due to the fact that the minor, under these circumstances, perceives this type of behavior as normal and ignores that respect for privacy, dignity and image is a fundamental right in any field.
Ricardo Lombardero. Lawyer, Mediator and Coach. Cofounder of Lomber Soluciones Cyberbullying
