Between control and the exposure of intimacy
An analysis of virtual rape and gender-based violence in digital environments
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22484/2177-5788.2026v52id5844Keywords:
Virtual rape, Technobiopower, Aggressive VoyeurismAbstract
This article analyzes the dynamics of virtual rape, focusing on contemporary forms of sexual violence mediated by digital technologies. Drawing from a communication-based approach and digital sociology, it investigates how platforms and technological artifacts function as agents of surveillance, coercion, and exposure, enhancing practices of domination and control over the bodies of girls and women. The study mobilizes concepts such as technobiopower (HARAWAY, 1991), aggressive voyeurism (CONTRERA, 2010), and pornotopia (PRECIADO, 2018) to understand how the threat of public exposure becomes a mechanism of submission and humiliation, naturalizing the violation of victims' privacy and dignity. Through the analysis of 35 cases reported by the Brazilian press between 2017 and 2023, it becomes evident that virtual rape is not a deviation, but rather an update of historical gender-based violence, now amplified and automated by the digital ecosystem. The empirical analysis shows that men are responsible for the majority of the crimes (94.12%), while most of the victims are girls and women (74.36%), reinforcing the central role of gender inequality in these contexts.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Júlia Silveira
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