What is Cyberbullying in Sexual Assault?

The digital age affects many aspects of life but knows What is Cyberbullying in sexual assault?

The current digital context does not alter certain basic elements of typical behavior, rather it has transformed it. Becoming a potential means of intimidation with a greater impact, lasting and harmful injury to purely legal property.

Therefore, the Cyberbullying acquires regulatory relevance for its impact and influence on life, mostly on women and girls. Nowadays, more and more cases of this nature have emerged, in this article you will know information about it.

Relevance of Cyberbullying in Sexual Assault

The social dimension of information and communication technologies (ICT), how it will develop in the future. As well as facilitating the exchange of images and audiovisual material of the acts of sexual objectification cause serious problems.

In one way or another, it increases intimidation from a distance, considering that ICTs have enhanced accessibility modes. Not only for adults, it also includes children and adolescents mostly, without a doubt.

This has been taken advantage of by people who seek as their sole purpose, the abuse and sexual exploitation. Targeting minors mostly, since they are the most vulnerable to criminal scenarios.

Cyberbullying is known in some contexts as electronic harassment, although regardless of the name used. For some the cyberbullying is bullying, a phenomenon that involves the use of electronic media with the intention of harming.

They engage in deliberate and repeated actions such as threats, harassment and more. They mainly use as primary means to incur the cyberbullying, the internet and its different sources of communication and connection. 

Cyberviolence and Cyberbullying in Sexual Assault

The differential elements that exist between cyberviolence or cyberbullying, in reference to violence or intimidation. Executed on the victim is an offensive situation of continuity or physical proximity, they would not be sufficient to produce normative classifications.

Specifically, different types of intimidation that make it impossible to subsume these behaviors in the typology of sexual assault. 

On the other hand, the Council of Europe Working Group speaks out regarding online harassment. In addition, other forms of online violence that exist particularly against women as well as children.

In a study carried out in 2018, called Mapping Study On Cyber Violence, points out cyber violence. Noting that it consists of the use of computer systems to cause, provide or threaten people.

Using violence that produces or may cause psychological, economic, physical or sexual harm or suffering, including exploitation. As well as taking advantage of individual circumstances, particularities or vulnerabilities.

Link to the 2015 report

The above is closely associated with the conclusions given in the report issued in 2015. Raised by the United Nations Specialized Commission on the cyber violence against women and girls, respectively.

These conclusions are related to the fact that the word “cyber” is used to determine the different ways that the Internet affects. It tends, with its access routes, to exacerbate, extend or disseminate both violence and sexual abuse.

Which includes the entire spectrum of behavior that starts with online harassment. Even the desire and action to cause harm such as physical harm, murders, suicides and sexual assaults.

In such a way, when fundamentally it is projected mostly in women and girls, cyberviolence remains understood in the concept. Of violence, conceptualization used in article 1 of the Declaration on the elimination of violence against women.

It was approved on December 20, 1993 by the United Nations General Assembly by Resolution 48/104. Mentioned, like any act of violence based on belonging to the female sex that some type of damage may result.

As well as some psychological, sexual or physical suffering for the woman, as well as the threats of said acts. The arbitrary deprivation or coercion of liberty, whether it originates in private or public life.

Doctrine issued by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court

On May 26, in STS 447/2021, a case was found directly linked to sexual assault. The facts point to the online bullying that the accused exercised towards a minor.

With the purpose of obtaining pornographic images of a minor recorded by herself, a scenario classified as offensive. Characterized by the physical distance between both parties, but this does not denature the action in terms of typicality.

In attention, it does not compromise reasons of proportionality, due to its location and sanction due to the typology of sexual assault. There is a doctrinal sector that maintains and supports that the sexual cyber violence could be, prima facie.

It is taken into account, with respect to what is carried out in the circumstances associated with the physical. But it's less intrusive and deplorable sexual intimacy by not generating direct physical contact with the aggressor.

Without this, there is also no risk of resorting to physical violence or the threat of violence. Which can become a direct attack on the physical integrity of the person in the position of victim.

In addition to this, it is asserted that the digital context provides multiple situational possibilities to activate very effective protection devices. They would be differential elements that would make it impossible to subsume the assumptions of sexual cyber violence in the typology of sexual assault.

As such they are currently regulated, but the cyber violence would not be enough, the suitability and harmfulness rate. Required to the typical violence that is applied in crimes of sexual assault, for its advocates.

Expand the protection of this type of exoneration of the conduct of sexual cyber violence, would attend in a disproportionate excess.