The Invisibility of Gender-Based Violence in the Social Network

Abstract

The increase in cases of cyber-violence against adolescent women calls us to analyse and combat the phenomenon from a critical approach. In particular, it is necessary to differentiate this form of gender-based violence from other forms of violence against women, taking into account the characteristics of the adolescent phase as well as the invisibilisation of the phenomenon by young people. Through the analysis of 36 semi-structured ethnographic interviews, applied to adolescents belonging to the region of Valparaíso, Chile, a content analysis of the experiences and/or perception of the phenomenon of gender-based cyberbullying is carried out, prioritising a critical interpretative perspective. The main findings include the normalisation of violent phenomena in the perception of young people, the invisibilisation of acts of cyber-violence and an increase in cyber-violence in relationships between adolescent women.