Annual International Conference on Internet Harassment and Bullying (ICIHB 2026)
October 9 @ 8:00 am – October 10 @ 8:00 am
Dates: 9th–10th October 2026
Venue: RCC-Toronto Downtown
80 Cooperage St, Toronto, Ontario M5A OJ3
Theme: Digital Justice: Gender, Safety and Cyber Security
Understanding Internet Harassment
Harassment in online spaces has become an increasingly urgent subject of public debate and global concern. Pervasive challenges such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking, hate speech, online sexual harassment, and the normalization of harmful digital behavior have exposed the breadth, complexity, and seriousness of abuse occurring across digital platforms.
Online harassment is not confined to any single demographic group. Individuals across all ages, genders, professions, and social identities experience abuse in digital environments. Harassment manifests through hateful language that demeans individuals based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, religion, disability, or social position. It also includes the spreading of rumors, impersonation, threats, intimidation, and the non-consensual sharing of private or sensitive information such as personal addresses or intimate images.
These behaviors result in multiple forms of harm, ranging from emotional distress and psychological trauma to reputational damage, economic insecurity, and threats to personal safety. Developing a comprehensive and global understanding of internet harassment is critical to creating ethical, inclusive, and safer online spaces that respect dignity and human rights.
The Digital Reality We Face.
In an ideal society, communication between individuals and communities would be mutual, respectful, and grounded in empathy. However, digital spaces often reflect and amplify existing inequalities, power imbalances, and harmful social norms.
The rapid expansion of access to internet-enabled devices—particularly smartphones, tablets, and social media platforms—has significantly increased online participation across all age groups. While digital connectivity offers many benefits, it has also created environments where harassment, abuse, and violence can occur anonymously, repeatedly, and beyond traditional institutional oversight.
Cyberbullying, cyberstalking, online sexual harassment, and hate speech often take place outside physical spaces such as schools or workplaces, making detection and accountability more difficult. For educators, employers, families, and policymakers, the challenge lies in addressing behavior that is pervasive yet frequently hidden, anonymous, or normalized.
Cyberviolence has intensified globally, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, as more aspects of daily life shifted online. It is often gender-based and disproportionately affects women and girls, while also impacting men, professionals, activists, and vulnerable populations. Cyberviolence undermines gender equality, restricts participation in public life, and violates fundamental human rights.
Why Cyberviolence Cannot Simply Be “Turned Off”
Cyberviolence differs from face-to-face abuse in both scale and impact. Online abuse can occur at any time, cross geographic boundaries instantly, and remain accessible indefinitely. Victims may be re-traumatized repeatedly as harmful content, threats, or images are shared, viewed, or referenced without their consent.
Digital technologies are increasingly misused by abusive partners, stalkers, and perpetrators to monitor, control, and intimidate victims. Surveillance tools and location-tracking applications—often marketed for safety or parental monitoring—can be weaponized to invade privacy and restrict autonomy, particularly for women and girls.
The inability to disengage safely from digital spaces can lead to heightened anxiety, fear, depression, and long-term trauma. For many victims, leaving online platforms is not a realistic option due to work, education, family, or social obligations, making sustained support and systemic solutions essential.
We Cannot Ignore Hate and Cyberviolence
Reducing online hate is a critical component of addressing broader patterns of gender-based violence and social inequality. Exposure to hateful narratives that portray women or marginalized groups as inferior or undeserving of dignity contributes to real-world discrimination and violence.
Research consistently shows that hatred directed at women online increases the risk of physical violence against women offline, just as racially motivated hate speech correlates with increases in racially motivated violence. These risks are compounded for individuals who experience multiple forms of marginalization, including Indigenous women, Black women, women of colour, immigrants, religious minorities, and persons with disabilities.
Cyberviolence is therefore not only a digital issue but a social, mental health, and human rights concern requiring coordinated and intersectional responses.
About the Conference
The Annual International Conference on Internet Harassment and Bullying (ICIHB) brings together experts, practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and individuals with lived experience to deepen understanding of online harassment and cyberviolence and to explore practical, ethical, and policy-based solutions.
The conference recognizes that while children and youth are significantly affected, cyberviolence impacts individuals across the lifespan. Adults, professionals, activists, educators, and community leaders are increasingly targeted, often with serious personal and professional consequences.
ICIHB provides a platform for dialogue that acknowledges the realities of underreporting, fear of retaliation, and barriers to accessing justice. The conference seeks to elevate voices that are often silenced and to promote survivor-centered, trauma-informed approaches to prevention and response.
Online Harassment and Cyberviolence: Key Statistics
Evidence from Canada and internationally highlights the widespread nature of online abuse:
- 25% of youth aged 12–17 years report experiencing cyberbullying within a given year.
- 25% of young adults aged 12–29 years report experiencing online sexual harassment, including threats, unwanted messages, and harassment via digital platforms.
- 52% of individuals report having experienced some form of cyberbullying, including hate speech and online threats.
- 55% report witnessing bullying or harassment on social media, contributing to the normalization of abusive behavior.
- 11% report that private or embarrassing images were taken or shared without consent, affecting both youth and adults.
These figures demonstrate that cyberviolence is not isolated or episodic but embedded within everyday digital interactions across age groups and communities.
Why Join Us
This conference aims to draw global attention to the growing challenge of internet harassment and cyberviolence. Without meaningful intervention, these harms will continue to escalate, with long-term consequences for mental health, safety, equality, and social cohesion.
Participants will benefit from:
- Deepened understanding of cyberviolence from theoretical, policy, and lived-experience perspectives
- Engagement with global case studies and best practices
- Opportunities to build collaborative partnerships and advocacy networks
- Dialogue aimed at influencing legislation, policy reform, and ethical digital governance
The conference seeks to contribute to a safer digital future for all, with particular attention to those most affected by online harm.
Who Should Attend
The conference is open to all, including:
- Legislators and policymakers
- Social activists and human rights advocates
- Women’s and children’s organizations
- Educators and school administrators
- Internet regulators and service providers
- Mental health and social service professionals
- Victims and survivors of cyber abuse
- Young women, men, and community leaders
What to Expect
Participants can expect rich and informed discussions on:
- The nature and impact of cyberviolence
- Ethical and legal responses to online abuse
- Mental health and psychosocial support strategies
- Prevention, education, and digital citizenship
The conference will bring together speakers with academic expertise and lived experience to foster meaningful dialogue and collective action. Strong advocacy efforts will focus on influencing legislation and institutional responsibility.
Program Overview
The detailed program will be shared by the organizers in due course. Key thematic areas include:
1. Theoretical Approaches to Online Violence
- Definitions and conceptual frameworks
- Cyberbullying in schools, workplaces, and communities
- Terminology: cyberbullying, cyber mobbing, internet harassment
2. The Role of Emotions and Digital Behaviour
- Emotional dimensions of online violence
- Impact on victims, witnesses, and responders
- Media narratives and emotional amplification
- Technology-mediated distancing of empathy
3. Intersectional Approaches
- Power dynamics in online harassment and hate speech
- Targeting of marginalized and privileged groups
- Online attacks against feminist and human rights advocates
- Mutual aid and support networks
4. Prevention and Response Strategies
- Education and institutional roles
- Digital literacy and digital citizenship
- Psychosocial skill development
- Youth empowerment and advocacy
- Legal and policy responses
- Responsibilities of social media platforms
Closing Statement
The Annual International Conference on Internet Harassment and Bullying (ICIHB) stands as a critical platform for addressing one of the most pressing challenges of the digital age. By centering dignity, safety, mental wellbeing, and ethical responsibility, the conference seeks to move beyond awareness toward sustained action and meaningful change.
Focus. Protecting Minds, Dignity & Mental Wellbeing
We Win as One.