Abstract
In this article I examine from a legal point of view some of the consequences for women, and hence for society in general, of online sexist and misogynist abuse in a Swedish context. I argue that one effect is that women’s living space online is demarcated and ultimately, that it threatens women’s possibilities to participate in public debate online. An everyday life perspective and the continuum of sexual violence, both part of a feminist legal perspective, are used as a theoretical framework to show how online abuse is silencing women. The situation demands action from the state, in order to safeguard freedom of expression and, consequently, democracy. I argue that in this particular situation, two basic aspects of freedom of expression collide: the one most emphasised, the prohibition of censorship, and the less acknowledged aspect, i.e. a diversity of voices. Deficient ways to handle sexist and misogynist online abuse leads to indirect censorship where women’s voices are silenced. Hence, the state must take action not to fail to guarantee justice for all. There are many initiatives addressing problems of online abuse, both internationally and nationally. In this article I seek to capture and examine the Swedish policy and legal regulation (criminal law and freedom of expression) in this area to sketch the legal situation, to highlight ongoing initiatives and pointing out lacunas and obstacles that needs to be dealt with to guarantee a diversity of voices.
Highlights
In this article I examine from a legal point of view some of the consequences for women, and for society in general, of online sexist and misogynist abuse in a Swedish context
In the research on online abuse it is clear that women are, to a large extent, the target of abuse of a sexist character and this is a form of violence against women
The violence demarcates women’s living space in a similar way, as men’s violence against women delimits women’s freedom of movement in physical space. She avoids certain places and certain discussions that she knows come with a greater risk of sexist abuse. This means that the online sexist abuse reproduces gendered power structures in terms of inequalities in digital space
Summary
Freedom of Expression and a Diversity of Voices In this article, the concept of justice is closely linked to the Nordic conception of justice as equality, democracy and welfare (Pylkkänen 2009; Svensson 2020), with a specific focus on equality and democracy in terms of women’s possibilities to take part in public debate, i.e. in democratic discourse. The aspect of diversity of voices as part of freedom of expression is an important argument in a discussion on the implications of sexist and misogynist abuse online. Through the lens of an everyday life perspective, it is possible to show that women develop strategies to avoid certain places and topics due to online abuse and that this, in effect, demarcates their living space and their possibilities to take part in public debate online. The constant fear that women carry with them through life of being sexually assaulted in a public space makes them plan and prepare, sometimes avoiding certain places or refraining from doing certain things (Wendt Höjer 2002) This safety awareness must not be a conscious or constant part of women’s lives but more of an unconscious automatic behaviour. She is carrying her own experiences of contempt and a shared memory and knowledge of insults that other women have experienced
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