This report summarizes research from a two-year study on cyber violence and cyber sexual violence experienced by girls and young women. 288 surveys and 6 focus groups were conducted across Toronto. Key findings include: over 80% of respondents felt safe online, though many felt harassment was common; the most unsafe sites reported were Omegle and Tinder; most would report incidents to parents or police; and over 70% felt low confidence or appearance increased vulnerability. Recommendations are to address gender attitudes, treat young women as experts, and improve prevention with schools and online platforms. Limitations included lack of diversity in participants.

1. May
8,
2015
[CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT]
Cyber Self-Defense Research Report

2. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
2
Executive Summary
This report provides a summary and analysis of the research findings from Year One of the
Cyber Self-Defense Project research study. This was a two year initiative funded through Status
of Women Canada, conducted in partnership with METRAC, East Metro Youth Services
(EMYS) and St. Stephen’s Community House Youth Services. This participatory action research
project utilized 288 surveys and six focus groups with girls and young women across Toronto to
uncover trends with regard to experiences of cyber violence and cyber sexual violence and to
examine possible methods of addressing such issues by service providers. Collected data is
available in the report (pp. 6-13). The research uncovered that while the majority of young
women felt a sense of safety online, they also felt that violence and harassment of women online
is quite common. As well, perceived risk factors for victimization online were highly
individualized, such as low self-esteem and personal appearance.
This report concluded that young women are not connecting their experiences of victimization
and violence with issues connected to the internet or larger systemic factors. We found that
issues of desensitization and victim blaming were still major issues despite some young people
reporting an understanding of gendered double standards and the high frequency of common
experiences between young women. Based on these findings, our recommendations for further
inquiry include:
• Working with young women and young men together to address gendered attitudes that
contribute to systemic violence
• Treating young women as the experts in their experiences and using this expert
knowledge to educate service providers
• Working with schools, social service providers, the criminal justice system and social
media providers to improve safety and prevention methods for sexual cyber violence
This report and research has several limitations, including a lack of representation of Aboriginal
Peoples. In addition, due to the use of a participatory action research team, time and scheduling
conflicts may have impacted elements of the research. Finally, we have discussed that the
phrasing of certain questions, for example “where should someone report sexual cyber
violence?” versus “where would you report sexual cyber violence?” may have impacted the
nature of some answers.

3. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
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3
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................... 4
Initial Process...................................................................................................................... 4
Method................................................................................................................................ 5
Limitations.......................................................................................................................... 5
Research Findings............................................................................................................. 6
Demographics ..................................................................................................................... 6
Use of Internet..................................................................................................................... 8
Safe vs. Unsafe Sites and Apps........................................................................................... 9
Perceived Online Safety.................................................................................................... 10
Perceived Experiences of Sexual Cyber-Violence ........................................................... 10
Reporting of Incidents....................................................................................................... 13
Perceived Risk Factors of Being Targeted Online............................................................ 13
Discussion......................................................................................................................... 14
Desensitization.................................................................................................................. 14
Slut-Shaming and Victim Blaming................................................................................... 15
Impacts of Cyber-Violence Offline .................................................................................. 16
The Role of Social Service Workers................................................................................. 16
Glossary of Terms………………………………………………………………….17
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………..18

4. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
4
Introduction
The Cyber Self-Defense Research Project is a peer-led, citywide needs-assessment on sexual
cyber-violence experienced by girls and young women1
. The project is a collaboration between
East Metro Youth Services, specializing in human trafficking and sexual exploitation trauma
treatment; St. Stephen’s Community House, specializing in youth engagement and youth-led
initiatives; and METRAC, specializing in ending violence against women and youth individually
and systemically; and is funded by the Status of Women, Canada. With varied backgrounds in
services and areas of interest, each agency involved in the research brought a specific knowledge
of different populations in our city – extending the reach of our research to speak to many
members of the Toronto community.
The participatory action research team – Webbing With Wisdom – administered 288 surveys and
conducted 6 focus groups with young women and girls across the GTA to better understand their
knowledge and experiences with sexual cyber-violence. A wide range of neighbourhoods and
demographics were explored, and an extensive understanding of what it means to be a young
woman or girl online was captured throughout our research. Our team seeks to utilize this data
and the voices of young women to inform social services and young women as it relates to
sexual cyber violence and online experiences.
Initial Process
In the initial stages of our research project, a staff from each agency and a group of young
women from various communities and backgrounds with sexual cyber-violence (the participatory
action research team) came together to form the direction of the project. The peer group
discussed relevant experiences of cyber-violence and sexual cyber-violence, as well as how to
best approach the research and capture authentic experiences of young women online. Together,
the peer-researchers were trained in Anti-Oppressive Practice2
, methods by which to conduct
research, and potential crisis interventions, were they to arise in our focus groups.
Our research question was:
“What are young women and girls’ experiences with cyber-violence and sexual cyber-
violence, and how would they inform social services and young women to best support them
through these experiences?”
1
For the sake of this document, “young women” and “girls” will be referring to any persons who choose to currently,
or have ever self-identified as women.
2 Anti-Oppressive Practice is a form of social work practice which examines power and oppression that creates
inequitable power relations in society and seeks to decrease the effects of this

5. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
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REPORT
5
Method
Over the course of an eight-month period, the research team met weekly to review methods of
conducting research that would best suit the interest of girls and young women in the
community, as well as considering the key understandings we wanted to take away from our
study. We discussed and reviewed details in our survey, methods of approaching sensitive matter
in our focus groups, and the importance of our role as researchers to reflect on our own biases
and interpretations throughout the research project.
Once data was collected, our research team formed sub-committees to address different
components of our study. Group one was responsible for generating dialogues and reflecting on
arising themes during a team retreat; group two was responsible for analyzing and interpreting
data and bringing it to the group for discussion and finalizing a report of findings; and group
three was responsible for utilizing the data report to organize our end of term roundtable – where
we would be able to share our findings with participants of the study, as well as connect with
service providers for feedback to be used in our strategy for Year 2.
Surveys were comprised of quantitative, qualitative, Likert Scale and multiple response
questionnaires.
Limitations
Despite our best efforts to capture diverse voices and experiences of young women around the
Toronto area, the random selection of study participants did not allow a fair representation of
LGBTQ* people, Aboriginal Peoples and people living with a disability(ies). The limited time
and multiplicity of peer researchers on the team created difficulty in arranging consistent
meetings, and hindered effective in-depth focus group discussions as they were conducted on the
same timeline as our surveys. Finally, we believe the framing of particular questions in third
person may have lead participants to respond in a way that affected the way questions were
answered; for example, one question was posed using language such as “who should someone
report to if they are experiencing sexual cyber violence”, rather than “who would you report
to…”.
These limitations, in the future, could be reduced through further outreach to diverse
communities such as LGBTQ* youth services organizations, Aboriginal Peoples organizations,
more promotion of completing the survey online to address access issues, and more attention to
how the questions will be understood by young people completing it.

6. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
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6
Research Findings
Demographics
Our respondents were mostly girls aged 18 and over (68%), most having completed high school
as their highest level of education (91%), and some
having completed post-secondary degrees (44%).
Our highest self-identified
ethnic/cultural/racial
background was found to be
Mixed-Race by 18%
(N=211) of our respondents,
followed by 14% (N=211)
Black-African identified
persons. The least reported
group of
ethnic/cultural/racial
background was Middle-
Eastern and Black-
European, both standing at
1% (N=211) of our
respondent self-reports.

7. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
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REPORT
7

8. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
8
Use of Internet
The results of the surveys revealed that girls and young women use the Internet for a variety of
purposes, most frequently to find out information/answers and for entertainment (graphed
above). Additional reasons given for utilizing the Internet given by respondents in the “Other”
category included work, gaming, online shopping and personal research purposes for hobby
projects.

9. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
9
Safe vs. Unsafe Sites and Apps
On a Likert Scale3
response, participants were asked to rate social media websites and apps from
Positive/Safe to Harmful/Unsafe. Our research has found that websites rated as proportionately
higher in harm comparable to the other scaled responses include Omegle (anonymous one-on-
one chat app), reported unsafe by over 60% of respondents and Tinder (geolocated dating app),
reported unsafe by 52.7% of respondents. Participants rated YouTube (streamed video website)
and Vine (15 second video sharing website) the safest, with 50.1% and 52.2% frequency of
selections in the Positive/Safe or Somewhat Safe scale responses respectively4
.
Self-­‐rated
perception
of
safety
by
site
3
Likert Scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions. These ordinal
scales measure levels of agreement/disagreement
4
Please note that respondents were excluded from the following data who answered either “Do Not Know” or “Do Not
Use This Site”, as they did not report on their perceived safety for those sites/apps.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Omegle
Tinder
Snapchat
Vine
Youtube
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Positive/Safe
Somewhat
Safe
Neutral
Somewhat
Unsafe
Harmful/
Not
Safe

10. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
15
and
younger
16-­‐17
18-­‐19
20-­‐21
22
and
older
Number
of
respodents
Age
of
respondent
Survey
Question:
Do
you
feel
safe
online?
No
Yes
Percieved Online Safety
Of the 192 young women and girls
who responded to our survey
question, an overwhelming total of
81.3% (N=192) of girls reported that
they do feel safe online. There was no
significant difference in response by
age or demographic, however this
result was very significant and
contradictive to other portions of our
study in which high rates of
experiencing unsafe/threatening
behaviors online were reported.
Perceived Experiences of Sexual Cyber-Violence
When asked to report on perceived experiences of sexual cyber-violence specific scenarios, 55%
(N=212) of respondents reported that they believe unwanted sexual approaches/advances online
are very common, 48.6% (N=218) of respondents reported that coming across or being sent
sexual images online are very common, and another 45.2% (N=217) of respondents claim that
the spreading of sexual images of girls online is very common.

11. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
11

12. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
12

13. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
13
Reporting of Incidents
When asked where someone should report to5
if faced by cyber-violence or sexual cyber-
violence online, 76.8% (N=211) of girls claim that one should report to a parent and 75.8%
(N=211) of girls claim that one should report to the police.
There was no significant change in data according to age, race or educational background.
Perceived Risk Factors of Being Targeted Online
When asked what perceived factors respondents believed made some girls more vulnerable to
experiencing cyber-violence, 72% (N=213) of young women believed that lack of confidence
and 70% (N=213) believed that looking or acting a certain way were the biggest factors for being
targeted. Conversely, only 28% (N=213) of girls believed that being from a certain
neighbourhood and 25% (N=213) believe that being from a certain educational background
increased risk.
5
This question was a multiple response question, meaning participants were welcome to check more than one
answer, and therefore percentiles reflect the amount of times each response was selected.

14. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
14
Discussion
Online Safety
Throughout out research, it became evident that many portions of our research findings
contradict each other. Although 81.3% (N=192) of girls and young women report feeling safe
online, their experiences and their perception of occurrences such as unwanted sexual advances
and exposure to unwanted pressures or nudity online tell us there is a story to be explored in their
experiences. We propose several possible reasons for these results, which will be detailed and
elaborated on below.
Desensitization
A possible consideration for our findings is that the constant exposure to negativity that targets
girls and young women online leads to desensitization and feelings of helplessness, especially
when perpetrators of online harassment and exploitation go either unpunished or inadequately
punished.
To further support our claim concerning desensitization, we found that when our participants
answered the question: “How can we use the internet to stop sexual harassment/exploitation and
violence against young women?”, 16.4% reported that “we can’t” and commented that the only
means to reduce violence online was to stop their use of internet altogether (we labeled this
response as “Avoid or Limit Personal Internet Usage”). This feeling of hopelessness was further
supported in our focus group findings, where all participants said there is nothing we can do to
stop online violence against women and that it will always be unsafe.
However, the focus groups also reported that the they experienced violence is rooted in abusive
people, not the Internet as a whole, and that there are preventative measures that could alleviate
this problem. It would seem possible that current online safety measures are ineffective in
tackling harmful and dangerous activity targeting them online. Indeed, the second most
frequently reported way of stopping online violence was to upgrade protection resources.
When further prompted to discuss potential means of decreasing the sexualisation of women
online, participants of the focus groups expressed their recognition of the influence of popular
social media outlets and want to use it to empower themselves. The participants stated that
positive viral campaigns are “informative, inspiring and touching, especially when endorsed by a
celebrity” and the use of social media to fight back was the most frequently reported answer to
“List some ways girls challenge cyber violence online.” Leadership and advocacy by girls and
young women is required to reclaim their space on the Internet and thus, to feel safe.

15. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
15
Slut-Shaming and Victim Blaming
It is evident that reported feelings of safety online are disproportionate to perceived risks and
experiences of violence by girls and young women. While many participants maintain that they
do, in fact, feel safe online, the harms of unwanted harassment, sexual bullying, and spreading of
sexual rumours, among other things, are consistently regarded as common occurrences online.
When asked what suggestions could be made to make the Internet a safer place for young women
and girls, 22.2% (N=207) of respondents said, “Don’t share or give out personal information”,
while significantly fewer proposed “educating men” on issues of cyber violence, or “Challenging
racism, sexism, etc.”
We believe the reason for this response is the shaming and blaming of individual girls and young
women who are targeted online. Respondents reported frequently that the way a person looks
and “lack of confidence” are common risk factors for cyber violence, suggesting that people look
to the person experiencing the violence to explain it, rather than the person who is perpetrating
the violence. In other words, participants believed that uninvited gestures of sexual violence
would not be commonplace if not motivated or provoked by the women and girls themselves,
thereby removing blame from the aggressors.

16. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
16
Impacts of Cyber-Violence Offline
The top three most frequently reported answers to the question “How could cyber violence affect
someone’s life offline?” were “Depression, Anxiety and Emotional Trauma,” “Lowers Self-
Esteem and Self-Confidence,” and “Self-Harm and Suicide.” This demonstrates the knowledge
young people have of the potential for extreme negative consequences of sexual cyber violence
for some people that experience it. It is noteworthy that in focus groups, girls stated they could
not successfully disengage from the Internet. They reported that disconnecting from the web
meant missing out on important dialogues, events, and news, so that their overwhelming fear of
the Internet is also followed by an overwhelming “fear of missing out”. We believe that actual
steps of eradicating online violence must account for how important the internet is in daily life.
The Role of Social Service Workers
Participants in both focus groups and surveys reported that simply finding support is not enough
to remedy negative and harmful situations online. As noted before, punishment for these actions
and real consequences for perpetrators are necessary for participants to feel that their issues are
being taken seriously. Participants acknowledge that counselling and service workers can help if
they are nonjudgmental, open, and alert to issues occurring in teen culture. In fact, participants
most frequently reported that “education of service workers with regard to teen and high school
culture and their community” was the most important factor in terms of how service providers
and teachers can engage with young people experiencing online violence. Focus groups reported
that relying on different support outlets is important because “Sometimes parents don’t listen, so
we need someone who will.”
It is crucial for social service workers, counsellors, parents, and community members to try to
understand the circumstances and feelings of girls and young women in a technologically
progressive society. By doing so together, they can ensure readily accessibility resources in
positive and inclusive female spaces. For example, to challenge oppressive behaviors and
attitudes on the Internet, participants acknowledged that more awareness and education for
themselves and service providers is necessary. Through focus groups, it was suggested that
talking more about online safety and cyber bullying in community spaces, holding seminars and
presentations in schools (explaining how this abuse affects an individual, the repercussions of
being a bully, and how to keep yourself and others safe), and creating anonymous support online
for people experiencing cyber violence or bullying, could all contribute to this.

17. CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT
REPORT
17
Glossary of Terms
Aboriginal
Peoples:
A
collective
name
for
the
original
peoples
of
North
America
and
their
descendants
with
unique
histories,
languages,
cultural
practices
and
spiritual
beliefs.
p.5.
Anti-­‐Oppressive
Practice:
an
overall
perspective
on
practice
and
advocacy
that
encourages
practitioners
to
think
differently
and
openly
about
power
and
oppression.
It
recognizes
that
focusing
exclusively
on
working
on
individuals
or
groups
ignores
social
structures,
and
sociopolitical
and
structural
problems.
p.4.
Cyber-­‐violence:
the
use
of
cell
phones,
instant
messaging,
e-­‐mail,
chat
rooms
or
social
networking
sites
such
as
Facebook
and
Twitter
to
harass,
threaten
or
intimidate
someone.
p.4.
Desensitization:
the
diminished
emotional
responsiveness
to
a
negative
or
aversive
stimulus
after
repeated
exposure
to
it.
p.14.
Exploitation:
the
use
or
manipulation
of
another
person
for
one's
own
advantage.
p.4.
Facebook:
an
online
social
networking
service.
p.9.
Human
Trafficking:
the
recruitment,
transportation,
transfer,
harbouring
or
receipt
of
persons,
by
means
of
the
threat
or
use
of
force
or
other
forms
of
coercion,
of
abduction,
of
fraud,
of
deception,
of
the
abuse
of
power
or
of
a
position
of
vulnerability
or
of
the
giving
or
receiving
of
payments
or
benefits
to
achieve
the
consent
of
a
person
having
control
over
another
person,
for
the
purpose
of
exploitation.
p.4.
Instagram:
an
online
photo
sharing
social
Web
service
that
lets
you
share
your
life
with
friends
through
a
series
of
pictures
captured
with
a
mobile
device.
p.9.
LGBTQ*:
an
acronym
that
stands
for
Lesbian,
Gay,
Bisexual,
Trans
and
Queer
(as
well
as
other
minority
sexual
and
gender
identities),
and
is
used
to
designate
a
community
of
people
whose
sexual
or
gender
identities
can
create
shared
political
and
social
concerns.
p.5.
Likert
Scale:
Use
fixed
choice
response
formats
and
are
designed
to
measure
attitudes
or
opinions.
These
ordinal
scales
measure
levels
of
agreement/disagreement.
p.5.
Needs-­‐assessment:
a
systematic
process
for
determining
and
addressing
needs,
or
"gaps"
between
current
conditions
and
desired
conditions
or
"wants".
The
discrepancy
between
the
current
condition
and
wanted
condition
must
be
measured
to
appropriately
identify
the
need.
p.4.
Omegle:
a
free
online
chat
website
that
allows
users
to
communicate
with
others
without
the
need
to
register.
The
service
randomly
pairs
users
in
one-­‐on-­‐one
chat
sessions
where
they
chat
anonymously
using
the
handles
"You"
and
"Stranger".
p.9.
Participatory
action
research:
an
approach
to
research
in
communities
that
emphasizes
participation
and
action.
It
seeks
to
understand
the
world
by
trying
to
change
it,
collaboratively
and
following
reflection.
PAR
emphasizes
collective
inquiry
and
experimentation
grounded
in
experience
and
social
history.
p.4.
Qualitative
research:
research
using
methods
such
as
participant
observation
or
case
studies,
which
result
in
a
narrative,
descriptive
account
of
a
setting
or
practice.
p.5.
Quantitative
research:
the
systematic
empirical
investigation
of
observable
phenomena
via
statistical,
mathematical
or
computational
techniques.
p.5.
Sexual
cyber-­‐violence:
the
use
of
cell
phones,
instant
messaging,
e-­‐mail,
chat
rooms
or
social
networking
sites
such
as
Facebook
and
Twitter
to
harass,
threaten
or
intimidate
someone
sexually.
p.4.
Sexualisation:
to
make
something
sexual
in
character
or
quality.
p.14.
Slut-­‐Shaming:
the
act
of
making,
or
attempting
to
make,
a
person,
especially
a
woman
or
girl,
feel
guilty
or
inferior
for
certain
sexual
behaviors,
circumstances,
or
desires.
p.15.
Snapchat:
a
mobile
app
that
allows
users
to
send
and
receive
"self-­‐destructing"
photos
and
videos.
Photos
and
videos
taken
with
the
app
are
called
Snaps.
The
sender
determines
how
many
seconds
(1-­‐10)
the
recipient
can
view
the
Snap
before
the
file
disappears
from
the
recipient's
device.
p.9.
Tinder:
a
location-­‐based
social
discovery
application
that
facilitates
communication
between
mutually
interested
users.
The
dating
app
allows
users
to
chat
with
their
matches.
p.9.
Twitter:
Twitter
is
an
online
social
networking
service
that
enables
users
to
send
and
read
short
140-­‐character
messages
called
"tweets".
Registered
users
can
read
and
post
tweets,
but
unregistered
users
can
only
read
them.
p.9.
Victim
Blaming:
the
victim
of
a
crime
or
any
wrongful
act
is
held
entirely
or
partially
responsible
for
the
harm
that
befell
them.
p.15.
Vine:
a
free
mobile
application
that
enables
users
to
record
and
share
an
unlimited
number
of
short,
looping
video
clips
with
a
maximum
length
of
six
seconds.
p.9.
YouTube:
a
video
sharing
service
that
allows
users
to
watch
videos
posted
by
other
users
and
upload
videos
of
their
own.
p.9.

18. May
8,
2015
[CYBER
SELF-­‐DEFENSE
PROJECT]
Acknowledgements
METRAC,
St.
Stephen’s
Community
House,
and
East
Metro
Youth
Services
would
like
to
thank
all
of
the
participants
involved
with
this
research
project,
including:
For
Youth
Initiative
Central
Neighbourhood
House
–
Girls’
Night
Out
Malvern
Family
Resource
Centre
Central
Toronto
Academy
–
Girls’
Group
St.
Alban’s
Boys
&
Girls
Club