Who is cyberbullying

Victim and perpetrator characteristics as reported by victims

Introduction

Using data from the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS), this product primarily explores the prevalence of cyberbullying among young adults (aged 18 to 29), as reported by victims. It includes victim and perpetrator ^{Footnote 1} data organized by victim-perceived gender, sexual identity, and race characteristics. The product also includes a short section on police-reported accused data from the 2022 Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR).

Key terms

Cyberbullying^{Footnote 1}

Any behaviour performed through electronic or digital media by people or groups that repeatedly communicates hostile or aggressive messages intended to inflict harm or discomfort to others.^{Footnote 2}

Perpetrator

In the context of cyberbullying, a perpetrator is a person who performs single or multiple acts of inappropriate online behaviour to inflict harm or discomfort on another person.

Victim

In the context of cyberbullying, a victim is a person who has suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage, or economic loss as a result of being cyberbullied.^{Footnote 3}

Findings^{Footnote 4}

According to victims, almost two-thirds of cyberbullying perpetrators were men.

Image description

Horizontal bar chart showing the gender of the perpetrator in incidents of online inappropriate behaviours against young adults, as reported by the victim, in 2018.

64.0% of victims reported having a perpetrator that was a man, 18.7% reported the perpetrator being a woman, 4.1% reported having both men and women as perpetrators, and 13.1% of victims did not know the gender of the perpetrator.

Women were more likely to report being cyberbullied by men (72.7% versus 13.1% by women). Men were also more likely to report being cyberbullied by men (44.8% versus 30.7% by women).

The proportion of women who cyberbullied men (30.7%) was higher than those who cyberbullied other women (13.1%).

Image description

Two horizontal bar charts showing the gender of victim and perpetrator in incidents of online inappropriate behaviours against young adults, in 2018.

Among victims who were men, 44.8% reported having a perpetrator that was a man, 30.7% reported the perpetrator being a woman, 5.6% reported having both men and women as perpetrators, and 18.9% of victims who were men did not know the gender of the perpetrator.

Among victims who were women, 72.7% reported having a perpetrator that was a man, 13.1% reported the perpetrator being a woman, 3.4% reported having both men and women as perpetrators, and 10.7% of victims who were men did not know the gender of the perpetrator.

Across all age groups, victims reported that the majority of those who cyberbullied them were men.

The data suggest that perpetrators who are men were more likely to target victims across all age groups. By contrast, perpetrators who are women, were more likely to target victims aged 18 to 21.

Image description

Three horizontal bar charts showing the age of victim and gender of perpetrator in incidents of online inappropriate behaviours, in 2018.

For victims aged 18 to 21, the majority of perpetrators were men at 65.0%; followed by women at 22.4%; gender 'don't know' at 9.8%; and both men and women at 2.8%.

For victims aged 22 to 25, the majority of perpetrators were men at 61.6%; followed by gender 'don't know' at 17.1%; women at 16.2%; and both men and women at 5.1%.

For victims aged 26 to 29, the majority of perpetrators were men at 66.1%; followed by women at 17.1%; gender 'don't know' at 12.4%; and both men and women at 4.4%.

Victims who are members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community were more likely to report that they were cyberbullied by men compared to non-2SLGBTQIA+ victims.

The data also suggest that perpetrators who are women were less likely to target members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Image description

Two horizontal bar charts showing the sexual identity of the victim and gender of perpetrator in incidents of online inappropriate behaviours against young adults, in 2018.

Among 2SLGBTQIA+ victims, 75.2% reported having a perpetrator that was a man, 6.9% reported the perpetrator being a woman, 4.4% reported having both men and women as perpetrators, and 13.6% of 2SLGBTQIA+ victims did not know the gender of the perpetrator.

Among non-2SLGBTQIA+ victims, 61.3% reported having a perpetrator that was a man, 21.3% reported the perpetrator being a woman, 4.1% reported having both men and women as perpetrators, and 13.3% of non-2SLGBTQIA+ victims did not know the gender of the perpetrator.

Over half of cyberbullying victims reported that their perpetrator was someone known to them.

Image description

Horizontal bar chart showing the victim's relationship to perpetrator in incidents of online inappropriate behaviours against young adults, in 2018.

55.2% of victims reported that their perpetrator was someone known to them, compared to 44.8% who did not know their perpetrator.

Someone known includes friends, neighbours, acquaintances, teachers, professors, managers, co-workers, classmates, family members, current or former spouses, common-law partners.

Someone not known includes strangers or persons known by sight only.

However, victims who are members of a racialized group were more likely to be cyberbullied by someone they did not know.

Image description

Butterfly chart showing the victim's relationship to perpetrator in incidents of online inappropriate behaviours against young adults, by victims who are members of a racialized group, in 2018.

Among victims who are a member of a racialized group, 43% reported that their perpetrator was someone known to them and 57% reported that they did not know their perpetrator.

Among victims who are not a member of a racialized group, 59% reported that their perpetrator was someone known to them and 41% reported that they did not know their perpetrator.

Spotlight: Findings from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey^{Footnote 8}

Overall, the number of boys and girls accused of police-reported cybercrime was greatest between 2020 to 2022 compared to previous years.

Image description

Bar chart showing the number of youth aged 12 to 17 accused in police-reported cybercrime incidents, by gender, and number of cyber-related violations, from 2014 to 2022.

Between 2014 and 2016, 1,668 boys and 756 girls were accused in police-reported cybercrime incidents.

Between 2017 and 2019, 2,615 boys and 1,022 girls were accused in police-reported cybercrime incidents.

Between 2020 and 2022, 2,761 boys and 1,136 girls were accused in police-reported cybercrime incidents.

Although girls continue to experience more police-reported violent cybercrime incidents than boys, the number of crimes against boys was highest in more recent years.

Image description

Bar chart showing the number of youth aged 12 to 17 accused in police-reported violent cybercrime incidents, by gender, and number of cyber-related violations, from 2014 to 2022.

Between 2014 and 2016, 974 boys and 3,431 girls were accused in police-reported cybercrime incidents.

Between 2017 and 2019, 1,453 boys and 5,039 girls were accused in police-reported cybercrime incidents.

Between 2020 and 2022, 3,062 boys and 6,581 girls were accused in police-reported cybercrime incidents.

The bottom line

These data show that, among young adults surveyed, the majority of cyberbullying perpetrators were men. These data also reveal that experiences of cyberbullying for victims vary when comparing characteristics such as gender, sexual identity, race, and relationship to the perpetrator. More research on cyberbullying and victim characteristics is needed to better understand the relationship between victim and perpetrator characteristics and experiences of cyberbullying for young adults.

Date modified:

2025-03-24