AirTags/Bluetooth trackers
Bluetooth trackers are small devices that have been developed using Bluetooth technology to locate objects, animals or people. They are often attached to objects or placed in bags, and can be tracked via a smartphone app. However, they also harbour potential for misuse, as they can be used for surveillance of people without their consent.
Image-based sexualised violence
Image-based sexualised violence means that images or videos showing intimate acts, nudity or sexualised content are created, distributed or shared without the permission of the person depicted. This includes both unaltered as well as edited images or recordings, such as deepfakes or deepnudes. It also includes the threat to share such content. So-called "revenge porn", the unauthorised distribution of private photos or videos and the use of software to create or distribute such content, are just some examples.
Cybergrooming
Cybergrooming means building trust and making a connection with someone on the internet. It refers to the targeted sexual harassment of children and young people on the internet. Adults establish a basis of trust, often using a different identity, in order to force their targets to watch sexual acts in front of the camera, or actually carry them out themselves. It is not uncommon for real-life meetings and abuse to occur.
Cyberharassment
Cyberharassment involves using the internet to engage in unsolicited interaction with a person, often as a means of insulting, abusing and threatening them. By way of example, this can include sending insulting emails or messenger messages, and publishing posts or comments on social media.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying refers to systematically bullying and tormenting people over a long period of time using digital communication media. This often has serious consequences for those affected.
Cyberbullying may include: spreading private information and photos, repeatedly sending emails including insults or threats, and deliberately ostracising someone.
Cybersexism
Cybersexism is the continuation of sexist power relations and gender-specific discrimination in the digital space.
Cyberstalking
Cyberstalking means stalking, harassing, intimidating and threatening a person using digital media and technology.
Deepfakes
Deepfakes are fake digital representations, usually of videos, that are created using software. People's faces or voices are inserted into existing recordings to give the impression they are saying or doing something when it is not actually the case. This technology is often used to create fake pornographic content.
Doxing
Doxing is the internet-based collection of personal data, and subsequent publication of this data, with the aim of exposing or intimidating those affected.
Hate speech
Hate speech is a form of cyberharassment that is deliberately used to attack and demean individuals or certain groups of people. Hate speech incites hatred and violence, and is closely interwoven with sexism, sexualised violence and racism.
Intersectionality
Intersectional approaches and analyses take into account that various social categories are conditioned by relationships based on power, and the way they interact and interplay affects (structural) inequalities. In terms of digital violence, this means, for example, that women are attacked online because they are women, but also because they are black, trans, disabled and/or of colour. So it's not just about sexism and gender-specific violence, but also about other forms of violence, such as racism and ableism. The levels are intertwined and cannot necessarily be separated, but they feed into different discriminatory experiences. Additional information can be found here: The intersectional nature of digital violence.
Password manager
A password manager is a program that helps create and manage secure passwords. Every password a person uses can be securely stored and subsequently retrieved with this program. Password managers are available for computers, but also for smartphones.
Revenge Porn
Revenge porn is a term often used to describe when consensual video recordings of sexual acts are shared without the permission of the person portrayed. From the perspective of those affected, it is a problematic term, as it trivialises non-consensual distribution of intimate images by its association with pornography, as well as the misinterpretation of the crime as revenge, instead of emphasising the actual violation of privacy and abuse of power.
Sexting
The term sexting is composed of "sex" and "texting", and refers to digitally sending or sharing intimate photos of oneself that were taken voluntarily.
Sextortion
Sextortion is the threat to share nude photos or sexually explicit images with third parties.
Shit storm
Shitstorm is a word used to describe an avalanche of negative, discrediting or insulting comments on social media and in comments sections.
Spy apps
Spy apps or spyware are applications that pass on information about smartphone or computer activities to another person. This can include information about call histories, locations, messenger content, photos, contacts and internet search histories, for example.
Victim blaming
Victim blaming means that a person is blamed for the violence or abuse they have experienced instead of holding the perpetrator accountable. This is unfair and discriminatory because it diverts attention away from the actual problem, and instead blames women and marginalised groups for their own experiences of violence.