Interview with HateAid

Digital violence – the official term for various forms of harassment and discrimination against other people online – is omnipresent in the work of SOS Humanity. In addition to many encouraging comments, more and more hate and misinformation is being spread under our posts, which is why we have been receiving counselling from HateAid since 2021.
Founded in 2018, the non-profit organisation HateAid advises those affected by digital violence and advocates for basic democratic rights in the digital space at a political level.
We interviewed HateAid’s counsellor Kathi on the topic of digital violence in connection with political work.
Your ‘Our Internet’ campaign advocates that we need to take back the Internet. Has there ever been an internet without hate?
I believe that hate and violence have unfortunately always existed. Through the campaign, we want to draw attention to the fact that human rights also apply digitally and that users have the right to move freely on the internet without fear. Our aim is to prosecute offences appropriately and, above all, to ensure that the perpetrators suffer the consequences. In our counselling, we have noticed that digital violence has increased in recent years. Attackers are often less inhibited about committing violence online than in analogue form. Presumably because they do not see the other person’s immediate reactions. More and more digital violence can have fatal consequences for our social coexistence and democracy. Last February, together with other organisations, we published a study entitled ‘Lauter hass, leiser Rückzug’ (Loud hate, quiet retreat), which revealed alarming results: 57% of German internet users aged 16 and over stated that they are less likely to express their political opinions online for fear of digital violence.
How is digital violence linked to current political discourse?
Especially since the coronavirus pandemic, people are feeling more existential fears and have the feeling of being in a collective crisis. I would say that people are generally spending more time at home on their smartphones and at the same time the political situation is always very dynamic. It is important to mention that the analogue and digital worlds cannot be clearly separated. This is a world in which we live that has both a digital and an analogue dimension. And what happens in analogue, including politically, is presented and discussed digitally. Debates are increasingly shifting to the internet. Social networks are therefore one of the most important debate spaces of our time.
Which groups of people are particularly affected by online violence?
According to studies, people who belong to a marginalised group or even several marginalised groups are the most affected. In many cases, these are people who also experience violence and discrimination in analogue life. These include, for example, people with a visible migration background, young women and people with a homosexual or bisexual orientation. This was also shown in last year’s study “Lauter Hass, leiser Rückzug (‘Loud hatred, quiet retreat’). Image-based sexualised violence is also an increasingly common form of digital violence. It includes, for example, intimate images published against the will of the people depicted, but also the sending of dickpics or the unauthorised creation and distribution of AI-generated, fake nude photos. Women are almost exclusively affected by this form of digital violence. According to the study, almost every second woman, i.e. 42 per cent, has already received an unsolicited nude photo.
At the same time, however, it must also be said that, in principle, all people can of course be affected by digital violence online, but some are hit harder and in a particular way.
How do you advise those affected who turn to you?
Emotionally stabilising counselling is the first and most comprehensive pillar of our counselling work. We look at what the person needs in order to be able to act again and to make a decision that feels good and right for them at that moment. We also offer safety counselling. We look at how we can increase security in both the analogue and the digital world. The third pillar is communication counselling, where we offer support if, for example, a person wants to publish a statement, engage in counter-speech or write a message to the perpetrator. We also offer funding for legal costs in individual cases. Based on our experience, we look at whether we can forward the case to a cooperating law firm and then cover any costs. Conversely, if, for example, damages are incurred, these end up in our fund and we finance new cases from this fund.
What specifically would you like to see politicians do to tackle digital violence?
On the one hand, that social media platforms are held more accountable when dealing with digital violence. Politicians and the judiciary must take those affected seriously and recognise digital violence as a serious problem in order to prosecute them consistently. After all, the best law will not help if it is not enforced.
What are measures against digital violence that political organisations, including us as a search and sea rescue organisation, can implement?
Firstly, it is important for those affected to collect evidence in the form of legally compliant screenshots. There are a few things to bear in mind: The date and time when the screenshot was taken must be documented. But also: the date and time when the hateful content was posted. Then it is also important to report the content or, if applicable, the accounts via the platform itself. As an organisation, it can also be helpful to draw up a netiquette, i.e. a set of rules, that you can refer to if you want to moderate and counter-speak in your own comment columns. There is also the option of taking legal action. Content can be reported to the police, for example. This is also possible via online reports to the police.
What do you think about the statement that digital violence is unavoidable if you express yourself politically on the internet?
Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are, of course, extremely valuable assets and, just like diversity, are very important for our democracy. There can only be a lively, diverse discourse without hate and discrimination. I also think it’s always important to think about the analogue sphere. There, too, we can discuss and debate on an equal footing without being violent. I would like to see this also work in the digital world.
[The interview was conducted and recorded by Ilka Lühling and Annika Meyer on 7 January 2025.]