We have compiled a glossary of terms related to sexual violence, campus sexual misconduct, and technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV), to help you understand the definitions of these terms.

If you have any terms you would like us to add, please let us know via the Contact Us form, or email us at casmidaproject@gmail.com.

C

Consent

Affirmative, informed, voluntary and ongoing choice by an individual with legal capacity; can be withdrawn at any point of sexual activity (National University of Singapore, n.d.).

Contrapower Harassment

A form of harassment which subverts traditional power dynamics – e.g. someone with less societal power harasses another with more societal power (e.g. a student harassing a professor) (King, 2018).

Cyber bullying 

Bullying tactics that take place online, but have ‘real life’ repercussions. Cyber bullying is a form of online harassment, and can be sexually discriminative in nature (Powell & Henry, 2017).  

Cyber rape (or ‘virtual rape’) 

Cyber rape is simulated sexual violence, and refers to situations where a person’s avatar, or digital representation of themselves (typically video or photograph), is subjected to simulated sexual violence. It is an example of technology-facilitated sexual violence (Powell & Henry, 2017, p. 91). 

Cyber-flashing 

A form of sexual harassment by which someone receives unsolicited images direct to their mobile phones via open Bluetooth connections or file-sharing services. The aggressor is thus in close proximity – close enough to be within the Bluetooth or wireless file exchange of the victim’s device – while the identity of the aggressor may not be immediately apparent (Powell & Henry, 2017, p. 39). 

Cyberstalking  

An extension of offline forms of stalking using electronic or digital means. Like offline forms of stalking, cyber-stalking typically involves behaviors that are unwanted, repetitive, intrusive, threatening and harassing (Powell & Henry, 2017, p. 184).  

D

Doxxing  

Finding, disseminating and publishing people’s personal information without their consent (Powell & Henry, 2017, p. 92).  

I

Image-based Sexual Abuse (IBSA)

Non-consensual taking or sharing of nude or sexual photographs or videos of another person (McGlynn, 2020).

R

Rape
noun.

Un-consensual sexual intercourse (e.g. through anal/vaginal penetration) (“Sexual Assault”, n.d.). 

Revenge porn

Circulating sexually explicit photographs or digital content of one’s past sexual partner without consent (Goldstein, 2020).

S

Sexual coercion

Pressuring or tricking someone into sexual activity despite sexual partner’s lack of desire for said activity (“Sexual Coercion,” 2021).

Sexual harassment

Any unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour that makes a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated (“Sexual Harassment”, n.d.).

Social norms theory

Theory that suggests that people behave according to the way that they, often incorrectly, perceive others to behave. People prone to peer pressure are more likely to engage in emulating social norms (Perkins, 2003).

T

Technology-facilitated Sexual Violence (TFSV)

A form of violence perpetrated in which communication technologies is used to facilitate sexual harassment – e.g. cyberstalking, image-based sexual exploitation (“TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED SEXUAL VIOLENCE”, n.d.).

Techno-feminism

Idea of a mutualistic relationship between gender and technology in which technology fuels gender relations yet is also shaped by the latter (Wajcman, 2009).

U

Upskirt
(noun, verb)

Practice of taking un-consensual photographs up someone’s skirt that are sexual in nature (Ministry of Justice and The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP, 2019).

V

Victim-blaming  

In the context of sexual harassment, it refers to shifting trauma/focus/responsibility to the victim instead of harasser (Roberts, 2016).

Voyeurism

Intentional observation of victim doing a private (whether sexual or not) act without his/her consent (“The Crime”, 2020).

Web and Media Articles

AWARE. (n.d.). TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED SEXUAL VIOLENCE. https://sacc.aware.org.sg/technology-facilitated-sexual-violence/

Goldstein, M. J. (2020, October 29). Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/revenge-porn-nonconsensual-porn/2020/10/28/603b88f4-dbf1-11ea-b205-ff838e15a9a6_story.html

I.R.B. Law LLP. (2020, December 1). The Crime of Voyeurism. https://irblaw.com.sg/learning-centre/voyeurism/

Kayleigh, R. (2016, October 5). The Psychology of Victim Blaming. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/10/the-psychology-of-victim-blaming/502661/

National University of Singapore. (n.d.). Code of Student Conduct. https://nus.edu.sg/osa/resources/code-of-student-conduct

Office of Women’s Health. (2021, February 15). Sexual Coercion. https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/other-types/sexual-coercion

Mcglynn, C. (n.d.). Image-Based Sexual Abuse. https://claremcglynn.com/imagebasedsexualabuse/

Ministry of Justice and The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP. (2019, February 11). Upskirting: know your rights. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/upskirting-know-your-rights

RAINN. (n.d.). Sexual Assault. https://www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-assault

RAINN. (n.d.). Sexual Harassment. https://www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-harassment#:~:text=What%20is%20sexual%20harassment%3F,Employment%20Opportunity%20Commission%20(EEOC).

Richards, C. (2019, December 9). Best music of 2019: Lana Del Rey sings lullabies about the end of America. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/best-music-of-2019-lana-del-rey-sings-lullabies-about-the-end-of-america/2019/12/06/6e82c5ec-15d8-11ea-a659-7d69641c6ff7_story.html

 

Academic Articles / Books

A. King, B. (2019). Contrapower Harassment: An Unanticipated Experience in Academia, Journal of Political Science Education. 15(2), 264-269. DOI: 10.1080/15512169.2018.1476254

Australian Human Rights Commission. Working without fear: results of the sexual harassment national telephone survey. Sydney, NSW: Australian Human Rights Commission; 2012.

Berkowitz, A. D. (2003). Applications of social norms theory to other health and social justice issues. In H. W. Perkins (Ed.), The social norms approach to preventing school and college age substance abuse: A handbook for educators, counselors, and clinicians (pp. 259–279). Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

DeKeseredy, W. S., Schwartz, M. D., Harris, B., Woodlock, D., Nolan, J., & Hall-Sanchez, A. (2019). Technology-Facilitated Stalking and Unwanted Sexual Messages/Images in a College Campus Community: The Role of Negative Peer Support. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019828231 

Mohipp, C., & Senn, C. Y. 2008. Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Contrapower Sexual Harassment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(9), 1258–1276. 

Powell, A. & Henry, N. (2017). Sexual Violence in a Digital Age. Palgrave Macmillan.  

Wajcman, J. (2009). TechnoFeminism. Polity Press.