Caught in a nasty web: The growing problem of online abuse

The explosion in digital media has led to a growing problem of online abuse, which is frequently targeted at women, often with serious and damaging consequences.

WHEN journalist and mother-of-three Barbara Scully wrote a deeply personal piece about the emigration of her eldest daughter, the last thing she expected was a slew of online abuse.

In the piece, she mentioned that she had only accepted that her beloved daughter was really emigrating when the 20-something, who had worked since leaving school and had bought the car herself, sold her adored Peugeot Convertible. This was sufficient for the ‘trolls’ — the term used to describe people who post inflammatory messages online to provoke a reaction.