Intersections. According to a New Study, African-American and Hispanic Internet Users Are More Likely to Experience Internet Harassment. And Young Women Experience More Severe Forms of Harassment.
by superselected · Online Harassment, Pew Research, The Internet ·

Women Internet


In light of recent news, a new study released by the Pew Research Internet Project, reveals that African-American and Hispanic Internet users are more likely to experience online harassment. The study also revealed that young women experience “more severe forms of online harassment.” This news should come as no surprise to most women of color who are active internet users, especially those on social networks. Women were also more likely than men to experience harassment on online gaming platforms.

Pew Research Internet

When Twitter CEO Dick Costolo conducted a Q&A session via the hashtag #AskCostolo back in July, several users took him to task over Twitter’s seemingly lax policies for handling users who use the platform to harass and threaten other users. Naturally, the majority of these users were women, people of color, or both.


The findings by Pew Research also revealed that those who experience online harassment usually have to take the matter into their own hands, with mixed results.

Some 40% of those who have experienced online harassment took some sort of action in response to their most recent incident, ranging from direct confrontation to engagement with law enforcement.

When asked if they felt that any of the steps they took were effective at making their most recent situation better, three-quarters of those who responded to online harassment said they did. A quarter were still not satisfied.

While internet users are diverse, the individuals that create online platforms and social networks, and the culture surrounding them, are still pretty homogenous. This clearly has an effect on the nature of social networks and the protections that they offer.

Read the entire study here.