Despite efforts to advocate for women’s rights, including Quebec’s investments in combating domestic violence, there is a sense of ‘rolling back’—from bills meant to cut federal funding for causes such as the Women’s Program to public figures experiencing harassment online.
Quebec Solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal and author India Desjardins have spoken out about the online hate they have received for simply existing as women in a public position. They are not outliers; many women who speak out—especially on polarizing issues—face violent insults. In response to this problem, Ghazal has proposed a system outside of involving police forces: A 24/7 hotline to help cyberbullying victims.
The mishandled issue of cyberbullying reflects a broader pattern where hate against women is dismissed. With the rise of the manosphere—male-centred online communities promoting anti-women ideologies—it is important that women are not silenced.
Although social media is often regarded as a space for self-expression, many women censor themselves or leave online discourse out of fear. A Canadian survey found that 4 out of 10 women who experience cyberbullying choose to completely remove themselves from social media. Harassment is not only an emotional attack; it is also an active filter that asserts who has the right to speak and influence others.
Because institutions shape what speech is acceptable, they also have a responsibility to address online misogyny. However, rather than assuming that a resolution is outside of the realm of possibility, universities such as McGill must take concrete steps to address online misogyny. This could include expanding their Code of Student Conduct to explicitly cover harassment in digital spaces, implementing clear reporting mechanisms for students targeted online, and establishing dedicated support systems, such as trained staff or hotlines, to respond to these complaints. While enforcement may be complicated by anonymity, universities can still investigate cases tied to identifiable students and set institutional standards to make such behaviour unacceptable.
Some may argue that it is too difficult to respond to these online attacks given the anonymity of users and the huge amount of content in the digital space. Yet, as the popularity of the manosphere demonstrates, online misogyny has consequences that extend beyond individual harm; it can lead to severe psychological harm, loss of economic opportunities, and even physical violence against women. Although implementing effective responses is challenging, Ghazal’s proposed hotline points to alternatives to institutional inaction and overreliance on policing by offering a support-based approach for survivors of harassment.
Universities, however, cannot afford to treat this issue as external to their responsibility. Young adulthood is both the age at which many men are drawn into misogynistic online spaces and the age at which women are most likely to experience gender-based violence, placing universities at the centre of this dynamic. At McGill, reports of misogyny in academic spaces, student governance, and campus life demonstrate that these harms are not confined to the digital sphere and shape students’ everyday experiences. But unlike social media platforms, universities have the ability to impose meaningful consequences through their codes of conduct and to provide direct support to affected students.
Universities, media outlets, and public agencies have failed to act because online misogyny is often treated as background noise rather than as an issue requiring intervention, but the link between online harassment and real-world violence, where misogynistic content normalizes hostile behaviour toward women, cannot be overlooked. Universities and media outlets have the resources to take action and should strive to change these norms rather than reproduce them.
Online misogyny is not inevitable, but rather a problem that institutions have yet to take seriously. As long as it is dismissed by institutions, the burden will always fall on women to simply endure it. Institutions must recognize their roles in sustaining misogynistic systems of oppression and implement concrete policies to properly support women.