Addressing Online Violence Against Women and Girls in the Commonwealth Caribbean and the Americas: The Role of Bystanders

The purpose of this report is to map the prevalence of online violence against women and girls, with a particular focus on so-called innocent bystanders and the state of laws, institutions, policies and practices within the Caribbean and Americas region
of the Commonwealth (Canada).

Cyberviolence against women and girls in the Commonwealth countries of the Caribbean and Americas (Canada) is recognised as a serious problem, and measures are being taken to address it. The prevalence of cyberviolence in terms of its root causes and impacts is gender based, with a disproportionate impact on females and marginalised individuals where there is also intersectionality of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, poverty, disability and other socioeconomic factors. Similar types of violence against women and girls often occur in both offline and online spheres or originate in one sphere and carried through into the other. In the most serious cases, cyberviolence can lead to physical assaults and even suicide.