The expansion of social networks and the growing centrality of the online world have opened new spaces for interaction, but also created fertile ground for gender violence in digital environments. Acts such as stalking, harassment, and humiliation — once mostly confined to physical spaces— now appear in more sophisticated ways in the virtual world, with real, profound, and lasting impacts on the victims’ lives.
Psychologist Karoline Miranda explains that digital violence is, above all, a continuation of human violence.“It was inevitable that, with the advancement of technologies, violence would move to the digital age. Psychology perceives what human beings use as violence to exclude others.”
For Karoline, the difference between legal and psychological perspectives reveals how digital violence evolves faster than the understanding of its effects. While Law focuses on crimes, punishment, and accountability, Psychology examines what violence does to individuals and how they react.
Karoline summarizes this contrast: “In Law, the perception of violence is much more tied to sanction. In Psychology, we look at what that violence does to the human being.”
Dehumanization on Screen
The online environment creates a sense of distance that trivializes aggressive behaviors. Offensive comments, exposure, humiliation, image manipulation, and constant surveillance become “normal,” as if the emotional impact were smaller, but it is not.
“We gradually diminish our sensitivity to others, as if everything becomes too trivialized”, says the psychologist.
This dehumanization intensifies when the aggressor hides. With fake profiles and multiple avatars, anonymity becomes a shield for those who commit digital violence against women. Still, even behind anonymity, it is possible to identify who is hiding, explains lawyer Thiago Henrique Martins Ferreira, a specialist in digital crimes.
“The ‘Marco Civil da Internet’ (Brazil’s Civil Rights Framework for the Internet) requires application and connection providers to store access data for a determined period. With a court order, this information can be requested. Even if the aggressor uses a fake profile, the records allow identification of the computer or device used to make the publication”, explains the lawyer.
When Digital interactions Become Abuse
Among the most recurring forms of digital violence against women are:
- Digital control: demanding passwords, tracking location, and monitoring online activity.
- Cyberstalking: persistent virtual harassment.
- Exposure of intimacy: leaking photos, audios, or private messages.
- AI-driven image manipulation: creation of abusive deepfakes.
- Coordinated attacks: haters, bots, and disinformation campaigns.
From a psychological perspective, all these behaviors share the same core: the disruption of women’s autonomy and the attempt to control their identity and image.
What if the aggressor deletes everything?
A common question is whether the crime disappears once the aggressor deletes the post. It does not.
“Even if the criminal deletes the content, it is possible to recover it through judicial expertise or a request to the providers”, explains Thiago.
Application providers (such as social networks) are required by law to store user data for six months, while connection providers must keep it for one year. This allows tracking access, timestamps, and identifying who made the publication.
The Psychological Impact
Even if the violence happens “on the screen”, the brain doesn’t interpret these images as fiction or distance. According to the psychologist, digital aggression carries the same emotional weight as face-to-face violence. “The image that our eyes process is real. What we see, we see as real.”
This means that aggressive comments, threats, and online harassment can generate anxiety, a feeling of constant surveillance, loss of self-esteem, fear, isolation, and trauma. In many cases, the victim doesn’t even know where the aggression comes from, which deepens the feeling of vulnerability.
“Digital violence creates a real psychological impact. The victim begins to live in a state of alert, as if they were being watched, and this compromises their routine, self-esteem, and even the way they relate to others.”
Humanizing the digital world, Karonile explains, means remembering that there is a person on the other side, and that online violence doesn’t vanish when the cell phone is turned off.
For the lawyer, the main flaw is still the lack of digital education in schools and in the basic training of young people.
“I usually say that technology is neutral. What defines its use is the preparedness of those who are dealing with it”, he says. For him, while digital training is not treated with the same seriousness as other areas of education, cases of online violence will continue to grow.
Gaps still exist in the law
Despite the advances, legislation still leaves significant gaps regarding violence against women.
“The Maria da Penha Law (Brazil’s main legal framework for protecting women from domestic and gender-based violence) still does not include digital violence as a specific category of aggression”, points out Thiago.
A bill has already passed the Brazilian Senate and is under analysis in the Chamber of Deputies; however, this absence currently creates a legal void. Even so, within Brazil’s current legal framework, victims can still seek protection through precautionary measures, civil actions, and criminal proceedings.
The most important thing is to know what immediate measures should be taken if the crime occurs.
Thiago recommends three essential actions: take a screenshot of the post link, record the screen using another device to prove the content was active, and show the material to someone you trust, who can later serve as a witness.
Digital violence, although it is often treated as something distant, has real and immediate impacts – especially for women, who continue to be targets of attacks. Protection cannot fall solely on victims. Effective prevention relies on digital education, public policies, and platforms that prioritize user safety.
Until that happens, every exposed case reveals the same urgency: transforming the virtual environment into a space where freedom does not come with risk.
The article above was edited by Isabella Simões.
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