Los espectadores y espectadoras de la ciberviolencia de género

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to analyze the role of young people when they are observers of gender cyberviolence, identifying what characteristics of them may increase the likelihood of complicity with cyberagresor, and which ones to act with assistance to the victim. An online questionnaire survey was applied to a sample of 4536 adolescents from third and fourth courses of Compulsory Secondary Education from Spain (Catalonia, Aragón, Galicia, Andalucía, Islas Baleares and Islas Canarias). The analysis, using the decision trees technique, revealed that the variables that have a greater probability of influencing the actions of the cyberviolence observers are the sex, vulnerability characteristics, age, harassment and perception of the risks of social networks on the internet. Girls are more likely to act as defenders of the victim, a likelihood that increases when they feel they have some feature that makes them vulnerable to cyber-violence. Older, they are more likely to have the complicity profile with the aggressor, a likelihood that increases when the boys feel vulnerable, have experienced cyberbullying on some occasion, and perceive the risks that social networks have on the internet. Consequently, they are the ones that are less likely to act defending the victim. The results obtained encourage the need to undertake educational actions that help to alleviate the phenomenon of gender cyber violence, emphasizing the idea that they should not be focused on the two poles of the phenomenon, aggressor and victim, but also include observers. Actions should also be geared towards teacher training, as teachers are a key element in bringing about changes in the educational environment, where cyber-violence begins and expands.