Sexualization and cyber-violence

Girls use social media to be creative, communicate with friends, and to learn. Although social media can be quite useful, it

can also have a negative impact on users, especially girls.
Sexualization and cyber-violence can occur through social media, instant messaging and email. Learning about these
technologies and their risks can help young girls use social media in a safe way.
Keeping Girls Cybersafe
What Everyone
Needs to Know
1
 Statistics Canada. (2010). Child and youth victims of police-reported violent crime, 2008. Ottawa, ON: Minister of Industry.
2
 Royal Newfoundland Constabulary/Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (2011). Victim age/Gender analysis. UCR data for period 2006-2010. 3 Canadian Centre for Child Protection. (n.d.) Techniques used for luring children: Activity sheet. In Kids in the know. Retrieved from http://www.kidsintheknow.ca/PDFS/gr4_luring.pdf 4
 Media Awareness Network. (2012) Young Canadians in a wired world – Phase 2–Key fi ndings. Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/research/YCWW/phaseII/key_fi ndings.cfm 5
 Media Awareness Network. (2012). Cyberbullying. In Web aware. Retrieved from http://www.bewebaware.com/english/cyberbullying.html#who 6 Weeks, C. (2012, August 1). The bullying gender gap: girls more likely to be targets. In The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fi tness/health/the-
bullying-gender-gap-girls-more-likely-to-be-targets/article4456321/)/
7 Canadian Centre for Child Protection. (n.d.). Social networking websites. In The door that’s not locked. Retrieved from http://thedoorthatsnotlocked.ca/app/en/teacher/13-15/social_network-
ing_what_is_it
8 V’inkin Lee, M. (2012, August 31). One in 10 children falling prey to cyberbullying, survey reveals. In the Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from http://www.vancouversun.com/health/children+falling+p
rey+cyberbullying+survey+reveals/7176052/story.html#ixzz2786wwzrM
9 Durham, M.G. (2008). The Lolita Eff ect: Sexy girls in the media. NOJ/HO Ж:Nabokov online journal, 2. Retrieved from http://etc.dal.ca/noj/articles/volume2/14_Durham1.pdf 10Girls Action Foundation. (2011, March 8). Girls in Canada today: National opinion poll & report on the status of girls. In YWCA Canada. Retrieved from http://ywcacanada.ca/data/research_
docs/00000175.pdf
In 2008, girls aged 12 to 17 years-old, made up 86 per
cent of the victims of the “other sexual crime” category,
which includes luring a child via a computer, invitation to
sexual touching and sexual exploitation.1
According to RCMP violent crime statistics for 2009, in
80 per cent of cases of luring minors over the internet
for sexual purposes, the victim was female.2
Predators use child luring techniques, such as asking
for help; bribery; affection and attention; authority;
threats and weapons; trying to gain trust; compliments;
employment; and using a false emergency.3
Sexual predators often use social networking sites,
such as online blogs, where girls look to talk to new
people.
Over half of the young people who report being
sexually harassed over the internet said that they
actually knew the person.4
More than half of the teenage victims of cyber-violence
never report it.5
Online or cyber-violence is much more common among
girls than boys, with 28 per cent of girls reporting being
targeted by cyber-violence compared to just 15 per cent of
boys. 6
You must be at least 13-years-old to use Facebook;
however, there are other websites open to all ages.7
More than 80 per cent of 10 to 17-year-olds have a
Facebook page and nearly all have access to email.8
On an average day, young people are bombarded by
many forms of media, including more than 30 million
websites.9
By puberty, girls are three times more likely than
boys to suffer from depression due to low self-
esteem, negative body image, and feelings of helplessness,
hopelessness and stress.10 This vulnerability may be
increa