Who are the unspoken?

“Sometimes we are just followers, forgetting that words can turn into threats and threats even if only online, can have a serious impact.”

For a long time, many Malaysians defined online harassment or cyber-harassment in this way: as something unspoken, something unserious, something to be hidden or be ashamed of. Silence, although understandable, has its cost.

In a survey carried out by PeopleACT, more than half of the respondents (50.4 percent) have experienced one form of online harassment at least once in their life. Women suffered online sexual harassment (20.9 percent) at least two times more than men (9.8 percent). Women also experienced online death or rape threats (4.8 percent) and stalking (16.4 percent) more than men (3.3 percent and 13.1 percent respectively).

The results do not stop here. In Malaysia, cyber threats and invasion of privacy have emerged against Internet users who either expressed sensitive views or who are vilified if they committed a wrong.

Speak up for the #unspoken

Recognising that online harassment is a social problem, PeopleACT together with two inspiring poets Elaine Foster and Nazreen Mohamed have worked together to form a social response using spoken word poetry to address this.

The poem addresses multiple subjects related to cyber-harassment and cultivates a critical lens necessary to unlock the conversations, stigma and hate surrounding online harassment in Malaysia.

We use poetry to help give a voice to those who have been silenced. Have you been harassed online? Share this video and comment to tell us!