Don’t you feel safe on the street, talking on your cell phone, or using your social networks? Report the stalker!
“If you trust me, give me the password to all your social networks”, “Share that photo with me, so no one else sees it”, “If you break up with me, I’ll post the intimate photos we have”, “Every place you go, share your location with me on WhatsApp so I know where you are”. Violence or harassment manifests itself in many ways. Bullying is also violence.
“I need to know who you hang out with, what you do and who you hang out with.” If your partner tells you this, it means a toxic relationship, insecurity, and low self-esteem. The virtual media through which bullying occurs are mainly Facebook (73%) and WhatsApp (40%). It is followed by text messages (24%), Instagram (19%), among others.
You can have days, months or years, with whom you can be the love of your life, but if the virtual harassment comes from your partner, your world turns black, situations become really uncomfortable and everything that was peaceful becomes stormy and toxic. This type of violence can also manifest itself as manipulation, producing emotional damage and harming personal development up to very serious psychological problems that can lead to suicide.
Virtual harassment figures
A total of 821 complaints of virtual harassment, mainly against women, were filed between January and November 2019, according to a report by the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations. Eighty-seven percent of the victims (718) are women and 12 percent are men (101). In addition, the frequency of virtual harassment is 49% daily, 27% intermittent, 15% weekly and 8% monthly.
Recommendations
Whatever the case, one should avoid exchanging personal information such as photographs or other data, which can then be published without authorization. What may begin with bans or shouting may end with beatings and even death. For these reasons, it is important to focus on having a healthy relationship and learn to identify the signs in time to stop the violence.
The prevention campaign “Violence disguised as love” uses phrases that we often interpret as a demonstration of love, concern, and protection but that actually justify the violence that men inflict on women. Women must identify in time the warning signs and control situations during infatuation so that they cut off their partner relationships when these are unequal and not based on trust or mutual respect.
Identify the aggressor and report him. If you live in a violent situation or know of a case, go to: Centro Emergencia Mujer (CEM), Línea 100, Chat 100, Centro de Atención Institucional Frente a la Violencia Familiar (CAI), Policía Nacional del Perú, Centro de Salud Mental Comunitaria, ALEGRA – Ministerio de Justicia. For more information click here.