Silenced Voices: Understanding Sexual Harassment on Anonymous Social Media Among Bangladeshi People

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the findings on the use of Anonymous Social Media (ASM) in Bangladesh based on an anonymous online survey of 291 participants and semi-structured interviews with 27 participants. Our study shows a wide prevalence of sexual harassment on anonymous social networks in Bangladesh, the relationship between a closely-knitted communal culture and anonymous harassment, and the lack of infrastructural support for the victims. These findings advocate for a safe and supportive online environment for its users, especially for women who are the primary victims of profanity or defamation in Bangladesh.

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Index Terms

• Information systems

  • Information systems applications

    • Collaborative and social computing systems and tools

      • Social networking sites

• Theory of computation

  • Theory and algorithms for application domains

    • Algorithmic game theory and mechanism design

      • Social networks