Defining Cyber Sexual Harassment Experiences and Unraveling Frame Ambiguities

Cyber sexual harassment (CSH) encompasses a spectrum of sexually aggressive or harassing conducts such as unwelcome sexual solicitation, which are delivered through digital platforms. It is a prevalent but poorly understood issue. On the one hand, extant research reports prevalence rates range from 1% to 59% globally. On the other hand, some studies show that over a third of victims struggle to correctly define their victimization as CSH. Critically engaging with Goffman’s concepts of frames and frame ambiguity and based on in-depth interview data with university student victim, this research scrutinizes the interpretive processes of CSH victims and examines the contexts and challenges hindering the timely definition of victimization experiences. First, ambiguity manifests in the sexual harassment frame, wherein factors such as inadequate sex education, perceived hierarchy of sexually harassing behaviours, the unclear boundary between public and private spheres, and a lack of consensus about what constitutes privacy in cyberspace complicate victims' ability to apply such a frame to interpret their encounters. Secondly, victims often struggle to comprehend the nuanced interactional dynamics during CSH encounters. The absence of sexual interests, the intertwining of sexual and non-sexual communications, and the masculine subcultural norms in the cyber space introduce multiple and (often) conflicting interpretive frames, engendering ambiguity as victims try to reconcile these differing perspectives. Third, ambiguity arises from the roles of perpetrators and victims in CSH encounters, with the overlap between friends and perpetrators and unclear victim roles impeding clear definitions of the situation. Our findings point to a heightened need to deepen understandings of the cultural, relational, and gender contexts impeding victims of CSH to define their victimization in a timely manner. Theoretical and conceptual insights of the findings for frame analysis and policy implications of the findings will be discussed.