Beyond the screen: understanding TFSV

Every day we spend a great deal of our lives online: connecting with friends, sharing ideas, forming and building relationships. Technology makes it easy to share parts of ourselves; but the same spaces that help us stay connected can also be misused to cause harm. As our reliance on digital tools has grown, technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) has become a serious and rising concern on Canadian college and university campuses. Now more than ever, it is crucial to understand what TFSV looks like, why it matters and where to find support.

What is Sexual Violence?

Sexual violence is an umbrella term that covers a spectrum of harmful behaviours and attitudes that actively target an individual’s sexuality, gender identity or gender  expression (Salvino et al., 2017). The World Health Organization defines sexual violence as “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting” (WHO, 2002).

Sexual violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, by anyone, although young women experience the highest rates of sexual violence in Canada.

Sexual violence is never about love, passion or desire. It is rooted in power and control, and can be perpetrated through many means, including physical force, verbal manipulation, coercion, threats, or pressure (YWCA Canada, 2020).

What is Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence?

Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV), also called Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), refers to any form of sexual violence that is carried out through the use of technology. This can happen through phones, social media, messaging apps, dating apps, gaming platforms or anywhere we connect online. It can involve devices like phones, tablets, or digital cameras and webcams. TFSV is part of the same spectrum of gender-based and sexual violence we see offline; the difference is that it happens through technology.

TFSV can happen anytime, anywhere and often anonymously. It can be obvious or subtle (or sometimes it may not feel serious at first but it still crosses boundaries. It happens anytime someone uses digital platforms to pressure, control, harass or violate your consent. These aren’t minor annoyances; they are red flags that should never be tolerated.

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The impact of TSFV on students

Technology is woven into almost every part of student life, but it can also be misused to cause harm. Digital platforms give people unprecedented power to shame or harm others: things can spread fast, reach huge audiences and often go unpunished (Henry and Powell, 2018). TFSV is now one of the fastest-growing forms of gender-based violence on Canadian campuses. The reality is that most students have either experienced it themselves or know someone who has.

Recent research shows just how widespread this issue is: more than 4 in 5 Canadian undergraduate students, roughly 80%, report experiencing some form of online sexual violence. That includes everything from unwanted sexual messages, explicit comments, and harassing emails to online stalking, coercive behaviour, and receiving unwanted explicit photos.

These are forms of violence. Even through a screen, the impact is just as real and serious.

For many students, the harm can affect mental health, friendships and relationships, academic performance and their overall sense of wellbeing. Students describe feeling anxious, ashamed, isolated or unsafe, both online and in real-life spaces on campus. Worse still: because digital violence can follow someone across platforms and devices, it can feel like there’s no real off switch. Once something is online, it can feel impossible to escape or control who sees it or where it ends up.

Who is affected by TFSV

Anyone can experience TFSV. Unfortunately though, the harm isn’t experienced equally; certain groups are targeted far more often. Women aged 15–24, 2SLGBTQIA+ students, Indigenous students and racialized students experience disproportionately high rates of digital harassment, online sexual violence, and image-based abuse (YWCA: "Not Online. Not On Campus."). These students not only face higher levels of violence but may also encounter more frequent or more severe forms of it.

What to do about TFSV

You don’t need to have the “right” label for what you experienced.

If something online makes you feel unsafe, pressured, embarrassed or "off" somehow, it is worth paying attention to. Many students will minimize their experiences because they were not physical. In reality, TFSV can seriously impact someone’s life.

Help is available

If you have experienced any form of digital violence, intimidation, manipulation or cruelty, you are not imagining it and you are not blowing it out of proportion. Remember that statistics show a huge portion of Canadian students have been there too.

If anything crossed your boundaries or made you uncomfortable:

• Talk to someone you trust (e.g. a friend, peer, campus support)
• Reach out to a specialist like Fanshawe’s SVPC for support, even to ask questions
• Get help sooner rather than later – support is available even if you don’t want to make a report. You deserve to feel safe, online and offline. 

Experiencing TFSV or any form of sexual violence or gender-based violence can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to navigate it alone.

Supports at Fanshawe College

Technology-facilitated sexual violence is real, harmful and far more common than many realize… but you are not alone, and what happened to you is not your fault.

You deserve to feel safe, respected and supported – online and offline.

Fanshawe offers supports, no matter how big or small the situation feels. Students have access to confidential, trauma-informed supports, whether the incident happened on campus, off campus, online or even before you became a student here. You do not need to file a formal complaint to access help or support.

Reach out when you feel ready, and we can help discuss your options for medical care and counselling, before or after disclosing an incident, and also for reporting if you choose to do so. You will not be pressured to do any of these things. Whether you chose to pursue care or provide a statement, or not, you will be provided with information to help support you. 

You are not alone

Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected—online and offline. If something doesn’t feel right, please reach out, ask questions or simply talk to someone you trust. Remember that support is available, and you don’t have to handle it on your own. Help is here, confidential and ready when you need it. 

Additional resources and learning

Community Resources

Anova, London Ontario | Resource for all survivors of sexual violence (women’s shelter, sexual violence counselling, workshops and more)

• 24/7 crisis support line: 1-800-265-1576 or 519-642-3000

Assaulted Women’s Helpline – 24/7 support in Ontario (confidential and anonymous)

• 1-866-863-0511 or 416-863-0511
• #SAFE (#7233) on Bell, Rogers, Fido or Telus mobile phone

Atlohsa Family Healing Services | Indigenous led programs and services (holistic healing, shelter, education support)

• 24/hr crisis line: 1-800-605-7477

Learn more about TFSV

• Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) | Gender-Based and Sexual Violence Support and Education
• Simon Fraser University | Technology-Facilitated Sexualized Violence
• Tech Safety Canada | Legal Protections for TFGBV: What Laws Apply to You?
• The Conversation | Canadian schools need to address digital sexual violence
• Computers in Human Behaviour (via Science Direct) | Technology-facilitated sexual violence among sexual and gender minority youth
• Ending Violence Association of BC | Intersectional Resources to Prevent Sexualized Violence
• BCcampus Open Publishing | Power Dynamics and Boundaries: A Sexualized Violence Prevention Workshop for Graduate Students
• Western News | Expert insight: Tackling digital sexual violence in Canada requires updated policies

References

• Henry, N., & Powell, A. (2018). Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence: A Literature Review of Empirical Research. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 19(2), 195–208. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26638194
• Salvino, C., Gilchrist, K., & Pang, J. (2017). “OurTurn: A National Student-Led Action Plan to End Campus Sexual Violence”. Students’ Society of McGill University, online, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bc4e7bcf4755a6e42b00495/t/5c2fa6921ae6cf 5f6c71821b/1546627650779/OurTurn+Action+Plan.pdf.
• Snaychuk, L. A., & O’Neill, M. L. (2020). Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence: Prevalence, Risk, and Resiliency in Undergraduate Students. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 29(8), 984–999. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2019.1710636
• World Health Organization. (2022). Sexual violence. Violence Info. https://apps.who.int/violence-info/sexual-violence
• YWCA Canada. (2020). Not Online. Not on Campus. https://ywcacanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Not-Online.-Not-On-Campus.-Report-FINAL-06-30.pdf