Mapping Online Harassment: A Penang State-level Prevalence Study

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• While online spaces and digital life have become almost inseparable to modern global society, this rapid digital expansion also results in an increasing risk of online harms that can cause significant psychological, social, and economic consequences.
• Online harassment is a critical issue in Penang; the survey data reveals that nearly half of the respondents had been affected, with 62% of young female survivors enduring abuse as adolescents (17 years and younger).
• Young women are disproportionately targeted with sexualised forms of abuse such as cyber-flashing and grooming/catfishing. In contrast, young men face more technical or aggressive harassment, with account hacking and cyberbullying being the main forms of abuse.
• The harassment endured mostly leads to self-censorship (49.1% of young women thought twice before posting) and emotional consequences, including anger (51.9%) and an inability to trust others (43.5%), with these emotions present within both genders.
• Systemic barriers to justice and recovery are evident. The majority of younger survivors (57.4% of women, 63.9% of men) opted not to report the incident. Those who do, tended towards platform administrators rather than official authorities, indicating a lack of awareness and trust.
• The study also found that support mechanisms are seen to be fragmented, and there is low awareness of formal support systems. A multi-stakeholder taskforce is necessary to combat online harassment in Penang.