Stranger-perpetrated harassment was identified decades ago to describe the pervasive, unwanted sexual attention women experience in public spaces. This form of harassment, which has evolved in the modern era, targets women as they navigate online spaces, social media, texting, and online gaming. The present research explored university-aged women’s experiences (n = 381) with online male-perpetrated sexual harassment, including the nature and frequency of the harassment, how women responded to the harassment, and how men reportedly reacted to women’s strategies. Trends in harassment experiences are explored descriptively and with thematic analysis. Most women reported receiving sexually inappropriate messages (84%, n = 318), sexist remarks or comments (74%, n = 281), seductive behavior or come-ons (70%, n = 265), or unwanted sexual attention (64%, n = 245) in an online platform, social media account, email, or text message. This sexual attention from unknown males often began at a very young age (12-14 years). The harassment took many forms, including inappropriate sexual comments on social media posts, explicit photos of male genitalia, and solicitations for sex. Although most women reported strong negative emotional reactions to the harassment (disgust, fear, anger), they generally adopted non-confrontational strategies to deal with the harassment, electing to ignore/delete the content or blocking the offender. Women reported that some men nevertheless persisted with the harassment, following them across multiple sites online, escalating in intensity and severity, and leading some women to delete their own social media accounts. These results suggest the need for early intervention and education programs and industry response.

几十年前，陌生人实施的骚扰被确定为描述女性在公共场所经历的普遍的、不受欢迎的性关注。这种形式的骚扰是在现代演变而来的，针对的是女性浏览网络空间、社交媒体、短信和在线游戏时的骚扰方式。本研究探讨了大学年龄女性 (n = 381) 在网上遭受男性性骚扰的经历，包括骚扰的性质和频率、女性对骚扰的反应，以及据报道男性对女性策略的反应。骚扰经历的趋势通过描述和主题分析进行探讨。大多数女性报告收到不当性信息（84%，n = 318）、性别歧视言论或评论（74%，n = 281）、诱惑行为或挑逗（70%，n = 265），或不受欢迎的性关注（64 %, n = 245) 在在线平台、社交媒体帐户、电子邮件或短信中。这种来自未知男性的性关注通常始于很小的时候（12-14 岁）。骚扰有多种形式，包括社交媒体帖子上的不当性评论、男性生殖器的露骨照片以及性招揽。尽管大多数女性报告对骚扰有强烈的负面情绪反应（厌恶、恐惧、愤怒），但她们通常采取非对抗性策略来应对骚扰，选择忽略/删除内容或屏蔽骚扰者。女性报告说，一些男性仍然坚持骚扰，在多个在线网站上跟踪她们，强度和严重程度不断升级，导致一些女性删除了自己的社交媒体账户。