Twitter worst social media platform for online threats against women, report finds

Women and girls are more likely to experience abuse and threats on Twitter, or X as it is now called, compared to other social media platforms, according to new research from the Open University.

Women report facing threats or misogynistic comments more often on Facebook but they also use the platform more often. Academics found that, when considering the amount of time spent on each platform, Twitter users were more likely to see or experience harm during their time using the site.

The vast majority of incidents – some 82 per cent – involved text-based threats or written abuse. But 33 per cent were also image-based and 45 per cent were sexually explicit, a survey of over 7,000 women found.

Women told researchers that their sex, gender identity and their personal views were the main things that were targeted in online harm.

Shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, Alex Davies-Jones MP, said that “women are already restricting and modifying our behaviour online due to the threat of abuse”.

Bullying and other harassment was more likely to move offline for women who experienced it on Snapchat, and least likely for Twitter users.

Female Snapchat users said that their experience of online violence negatively impacted their attendance at school.

Academics at the Open University, who conducted the research into violence against women online, said that young women, particularly those under 25, were bearing the brunt of abuse.

The study, which was led by Professor Olga Jurasz, estimated that one in four young English women from the ages of 16-34 have experienced online violence. This rose to one in three for LGBT+ women in England.

Meanwhile, 69 per cent of women who experienced abuse online in England reported it, primarily to the social media platform where it happened. However most people were not satisfied with the response of the tech companies.

Only nine per cent of women reported what had happened to the police, with many citing a lack of faith in police as a reason for not doing so.

One participant in the survey said: “Based on my experience it does nothing. Last time I reported to the police they politely asked my stalker not to call me anymore. Or so they said. Quite frankly that didn’t stop him if that’s what the police did.”

Another person told researchers: “The line is blurred between online violence, and it feels like it isn’t a ‘crime’ more just a part of life.”

Another said: “The police said it is a civil crime and they couldn’t do anything. The online platform said the evidence wasn’t going against community standards.”

One man, who was part of a survey of men’s views of online violence towards women, said he did not report some abuse that he saw because “as a casual user of the internet it has become so common that I move past online comments or posts to not give them attention”.

Cindy Southworth, Head of Women’s Safety at Meta, said: “We’ve worked with women’s safety experts to develop rules against gender-based hate, sexualised language, and threats of sexual violence, and we work to proactively identify and take action on this content.

“We’ve also built tools to help prevent women from having to deal with abuse in the first place, like the ability to turn off messages from anyone you don’t know, and filter abusive messages and comments so you never have to see them.”

A Snapchat spokesperson said: “There is absolutely no place for violent or threatening behaviour on Snapchat. When we find this type of content, we move quickly to remove it and take the appropriate action on the offending account.

“We have easy to use, confidential reporting tools, work with police to support investigations and if someone reports a life-threatening situation, we escalate it immediately to the police.”

X, formerly Twitter, have been contacted for comment.

A government spokesperson said: “Tackling violence against women and girls is a priority for this government and we are determined to stamp out all of its forms, with £140m committed to improving frontline services and supporting victims up to 2025.

“Our groundbreaking Online Safety Act is cracking down on abusers who use technology to enable their sinister crimes.”