Research shows women more likely to experience online harassment

GEORGE TOWN: Women are significantly more likely to have experienced online harassment in its many forms including physical harassment, said Pulau Tikus state assemblywoman Yap Soo Huey.
She said according to the Pew Research Centre 2014, young women aged between 18 to 24 years experience certain severe types of harassment at disproportionately high levels.
"Twenty-six percent of young women have been stalked online and 25% were the target of online sexual harassment", she said during her closing speech at a youth seminar on cyberbullying and online harassment at Komtar today.
She said Malaysia was also listed on the Sophos Security Threat Report 2013 as the sixth most vulnerable country to cyber crime, which includes, but is not limited to online harassment.
The seminar titled "Lets Make A Difference: Cyber Bullying & Online Harassment" is part of A YouthSpeak Penang Project and Penang Goes Orange campaign organised by Penang Women's Development Corporation (PWDC) and AIESEC.
Among the objectives of the seminar are to increase the awareness of young people regarding cyber bullying & online harassment including on protection and prevention.
The seminar also aims to increase the awareness of gender inequality and its link to gender-based violence and at the same time, to give young people the opportunity to engage in issues that impact their lives and to come up with solutions.
The programme also included a personal sharing session with Perdana Fellow Bernard Goh and a forum titled "A Safer Internet for Everyone" .
About 30 university and college students state-wide participated in the seminar in the one-day programme.