Women’s Awareness of the Cyberbullying Risk in Digital Media During the Enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO)

Abstract

Malaysia is the 9th country to record the most active social media usage worldwide, which is attributed to almost 80 % of its total population. The enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) following the threat of COVID-19 pandemic since 18 March 2020 has introduced Malaysians to the new norms, including the use of digital media and online applications for various purposes and needs. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) reported a sharp increase in demand for broadband and internet traffic flow since the implementation of MCO due to business activities, learning, conferences, meetings and so on, which are conducted from home. In the meantime, a total of 3,075 cyber security incidents were reported only in the period of between March 18 and July 31 in 2020 with 109.4% increase over the same period in the previous year. Based on statistics, almost 60% of the cyberbullying victims are reported to be women. Thus, this study aims to analyse the exposure of women to the risk of cyberbullying in digital media during the enforcement of MCO. The study was quantitatively conducted using a survey design in which a set of online questionnaires (Google Form) was distributed to 296 respondents in Melaka, all of them are women. It is summarised from the study findings that the types of cyber harassment experienced by respondents include taunting and humiliating remarks in digital media (40.2%), digital accounts were hacked (28.3%), sexual harassment (32.4%), and physical harassment (16.5%). Therefore, awareness of the rights and responsibilities of digital media users shall be enhanced to establish a harmonious and safe digital ecosystem in society.