Monday, October 20, 2014

(Series Piece 2) Anna Kavanaugh - Syndicated Columnist. Column - Cyber Abuse: The Virtual Violent Crime

Written by: Anna Kavanaugh, Syndicated Columnist
Published for syndication by: The Global Institute for Cyber Safety and Standards

The internet has become ground zero to some of the most vicious and profoundly cruel abuse afflicting our society today. It is a gateway for what we are only beginning to understand as virtual violent crime. As victim suicides continue to rise at staggering rates, it is imperative for us to change the dialogue regarding cyber-abuse. Contrary to the comforting advice passed down to children for generations, the online world has dramatically changed its meaning. The more accurate reality of today is this: sticks and stones may break bones, but words can really kill. And they are killing every day.

Bullying. It has been an unfortunate but commonly understood word in the history of our vocabulary. In many ways its meaning has now outgrown the word and today it is a misunderstood and inaccurate descriptor that has created a dangerous climate for victims struggling to survive without falling through the cracks. The term bullying is still widely viewed, interpreted, and responded to as a child’s issue. An issue that on one hand receives broad sympathy and concern while on the other is seen as a natural and unavoidable part of growing up. It is still commonly believed that being the victim of bullying builds character and strength and that those victims should simply ignore, toughen up to, and endure its traumatic effects. This generalized response to victims, particularly those who are late adolescents and adults, presents a serious set of ramifications that leaves them feeling isolated, embarrassed, minimized, invisible, ashamed, and often contemplating suicide as their only escape from the pain. The term bullying is not a one-size-fits-all word and bullying itself has changed. With the expanse of the internet, bullying has evolved into something much more menacing, sophisticated and perilous than our society has ever seen before. And the increasing number of victim suicides around the world is sounding alarms that we are indeed dealing with a new form of violent crime. One we cannot begin to effectively address until we begin to talk about it for what it really is.

The World Wide Web: A vast digital and invisible network wrapping the globe 24 hours a day. With billions of users accessing and viewing its contents, cyberspace has become the platform of our existence. It is a virtual civilization on which we have become dependent. We work, bank, shop, have relationships, educate and entertain ourselves all within this network, yet the online world operates without policing or any kind of meaningful protection. The virtual reach of the internet can turn hostile and invade our personal space to damage our physical lives outside of the computer. And danger does lurk in cyberspace, very often from people we would never suspect capable of the destructive behaviors they display online. These individuals disconnect from reality, all sense of right and wrong, good and evil, legal or illegal, and reveal their criminally minded nature in their actions. From behind their computer screens they will disseminate false information with deliberate intent to tarnish the reputation and damage the livelihood of their target, with no remorse for doing so. They feel safe in the perceived anonymity of the internet as they dehumanize, terrorize, and mercilessly assault others to feed their own motivations.

There is a pandemic disease rampant in cyberspace, one where those infected with deep-seated hatred, inner unresolved rage and a propensity for profound cruelty, feel entitled and empowered to perform heinous human crimes. Online, the crimes these perpetrators cannot act out in the physical realm are unleashed behind the cloak of their screens and keystrokes.

Cyber-abusers can be found in all walks of life, backgrounds and age groups, with late adolescents and adults being among the most savage and inhumane due to their level of sophistication in understanding how to cause catastrophic harm in the lives of others. We may know these individuals in our day to day lives, never suspecting their capability of carrying out unthinkable brutality in their actions towards others online. Cyber-abusers are highly skilled at manipulating reality, public perception and employing various tactical terroristic schemes. They exploit social media networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, and use them as a public stage to maximize victim humiliation and carry out their hate crimes. These online networks enable abusers to propagate false realities and engage in psychological terror tactics, threats and intimidation to execute the damage they inflict on their victims. With a wide variety of mobile devices and app programs available to online users, it is easier than ever for these individuals to have constant access to the controls of abuse. There is little difference seen between adult cyber-abusers and adolescents. The primary difference is that adults revert to adolescent behavior in which the full impact or consequences are not recognized. Adults are also more devious and cunning in plotting how to do the most harm to their victim’s life as a whole. What is the responsibility of the companies behind the social networks that built the platforms which are now exploited to host these crimes? That is a serious question we need to ask, and one we desperately need to answer.

Cyber-Abuse can happen to anyone. Children, teenagers and adults can all be ensnared by the nefarious actions of online individuals aiming to destroy their targeted prey. These individuals view the lives of others as mere game pieces with which to play and do so with great delight. Both adults and children suffer catastrophic and often permanent emotional damage that can drive them to suicide. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a common diagnosis among victims of this type of crime. Emotional pain knows no age limit, and cyber-abusers are masters at extinguishing their victim’s sense of self-worth, love, hope, optimism, future outlook, identity, and joy of living life. For victims of cyber-abuse, no matter how strong their network of support there is often no stopping the erosion of their human spirit and self-esteem as they are relentlessly battered in the public domain before what is perceived as a worldwide and perpetual audience of millions. For too many victims, suicide is the only way to find relief from the constant public onslaught they are forced to endure. Society misunderstands the reach of cyber-abuse. Turning off the computer or blocking offending individuals is not a remedy. What is posted online propagates throughout a 24-hour virtual civilization and causes continual damage to a victim’s reputation, livelihood, relationships, and more. Unlike physical abuse, there is no relief from the virtual abuser. Victims are unable to retreat into a safe place to find the relief they need. The severe harm caused to a victim’s life takes on a life of its own in the perpetuity of cyberspace that feels inescapable. The damages a victim suffers are extreme and can also extend to their family and friends.

The effects of cyber-abuse are violent and real. If the severe, debilitating trauma and emotional wounds inflicted on victims of cyber-abuse would bleed like gunshot or stabbing wounds, we would all understand that cyber-abuse is a violent crime, and cyber-abusers are criminally intent on murder. Those who are victimized experience the same emotional trauma as if they were physically assaulted, whether it is by a mugging, battering, rape, or attempted murder. Cyber-abusers aim to kill. This may not be a conscious thought but it is what drives them. They are incapable of discerning real life from virtual life and the consequence of a potential victim suicide is stimulating to an abuser, it is not a deterrent. It feeds their inflated sense of omnipotence and power. To them, life and death is only a game in which they cannot stop until they have obliterated their target for the “win.” In the physical world, a violating crime committed against us generally comes and goes in a single traumatic event, leaving us with the emotional brokenness to then recover from. Cyber-abuse is the perpetual rape of our most basic human rights, spirit and soul. Victims are violated indefinitely on every level. There is no potential for healing and recovery from the severe trauma and damages a victim will sustain, as it is an ongoing and repetitive assault against their emotional and psychological selves. Again, it is crucial we understand that cyber-abusers aim to kill whether it is a conscious or unconscious thought, or a figurative or literal result. Cyber-abuse is a virtual violent crime. And until we begin to understand this, we cannot effectively save lives.

We must change our dialogue to ensure we are having the right conversation; the only conversation that will bring us to a safer, kinder, and more responsible online environment where people never suffer so much pain, trauma, and humiliation that they are driven to die as a means to escape it.

9 comments:

  1. I've read the last two columns this lady really has a handle. I've never heard online abuse called out quite like this as a virtual violent crime but what else? When you've got trollies on the attack trying to cause someone to kill themselves or some other way bring ruin to their lives that's just what it is yeah. If laws look at it that way the answers are obvious. You can't go around killing people or ruining the lives they built offline so why are the menacers allowed to do it whilst on? Shouldn't be able to get away with it. Hope to see the law catch up and bring some sense to things.

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    1. Could not agree more. We consider Anna Kavanaugh a pioneering presence on internet safety and accountability. Virtual Violent Crime is a perceptive and precise defining of the problem. Most everyone is advocating against this or that, misunderstanding that cyber-bullying for example is only one piece of a much bigger dilemma. Anna explains so well the universal scope of cyber abuse. Glad you're enjoying her column and I hope you come back every Monday to read her excellent commentaries. David Simms, The Global Institute for Cyber Safety and Standards

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  2. First-rate dissection of cyber-abuse! Sharing this colum where ever I can

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    1. Thanks and appreciated! David Simms, The Global Institute of Cyber Safety and Standards

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  3. I work with young adults trying to transition to the college years after trauma taken on in high school from bullying and bullying types of behaviors. This column is one of the most comprehensive writings I've seen on the clarifications of cyber abuse. Of the several excellent points Anna makes, perpetual rape of a victim is especially potent to me. New favorite link of mine and thanks bringing it to us.

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    1. I agree completely. Hope you will continue to post your insights in response to Anna's column as we publish it each week. David Simms, The Global Institute for Cyber Safety and Standards

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  4. A friend forwarded me the link saying I had to read this column and she was right. My daughter has been victimized by online harassment for over a year. We have her in therapy now to get her help with suicidal thoughts it's all brought her. Her dad and me feel helpless with none of the social sites responding to our emails for help. We'll keep reading and learning from you Anna THANK YOU for trying to help people like us.

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    1. Extended sympathies upon reading of the horrible situation your daughter faces. Good news she is getting the therapy she needs to deal with the end of life thoughts her situation is creating. We hope following this column you will find some further understanding that helps your family. Best wishes. David Simms, The Global Institute for Cyber Safety and Standards

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  5. Good on you! Your writing on this subject matter is all stars! Your column is broadening my understanding bringing me to think outside the box of my own borders and what I admit has been a limited understanding.

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