"Online sexual harassment" is at the center of the international Safer Internet Day (February 11) - and in Austria, 38 percent of 11 to 17-year-olds have already been confronted with it. This is according to a study on the subject presented on Monday in Vienna. Older teenagers and girls were most often affected by lewd comments in forums or requests for intimate pictures, explained Barbara Buchegger from Saferinternet.at.

Sexual Harassment on the Internet is Not Uncommon for Adolescents

These harassments mostly occur on social networks like TikTok or Instagram (72 percent), according to those already affected. The 405 participants were also asked if they had ever been harassed with intimate and sexual questions. "It was exclusively about questions that were perceived as uncomfortable," clarified Buchegger.

28 percent reported having experienced something like this - the proportion of female individuals (39 percent) was also higher here. Participants were also asked how they would react to online harassment. Responses included statements like "you just have to live with it, it's best to ignore it." Such behavior can protect those affected, but this attitude can also be perceived as resignation, according to the educational director of the EU initiative Saferinternet.at.

Need for Prevention and Education

The study found that there is a need for prevention and education. On one hand, there is a lack of knowledge about the legal consequences of sending nude photos under Section 207a of the Criminal Code ("pictorial sexual depictions of minors"). However, it is also important to act preventively as early as possible, as 52 percent of respondents shared the opinion that even elementary school children are affected by sexual harassment online - according to Buchegger, this is "a very clear mandate that this must also be a topic in elementary school."

Regarding nude photos, a focus of this year's survey, it was also pointed out that their exchange is also part of self-determined sexuality for adolescents. However, respondents are not always aware of the extent to which such images are then voluntarily sent. 44 percent of the 55 respondents affirmed this voluntariness, but 34 percent were unsure. Additionally, six percent of respondents reported having been secretly filmed in an intimate situation, such as during sex, in the bathroom, or while changing clothes. Birgit Satke, head of Rat auf Draht, reported from her experience that there are repeated cases of bullying in connection with nude photos - and often the only way out is to change schools.

Victims Are Getting Younger

"A particularly large number of counseling requests come from sextortion victims, especially from male children and adolescents. They are also increasingly being blackmailed with AI-generated content. It is noticeable that the victims are getting younger," summarized Satke the development. The majority of boys take action in the case of sexual harassment: "The frequency of unpleasant contacts being reported is high at 74 percent," stated Stefan Ebenberger, Secretary General of the Internet Service Providers Austria (ISPA). However, it is negative that reporting is often seen as not very helpful. More than half of the respondents (53 percent) want more information on how to protect themselves from sexual harassment online - and not from the internet, but parents and schools were most frequently mentioned by far.

(APA/Red)

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