`Unmochon': A Tool to Combat Online Sexual Harassment over Facebook Messenger

Document Title

"Unmochon": A Tool to Address Online Harassment on Facebook Messenger

Document Information

• Subject Area: Online harassment prevention and response, women's rights, social networks and technology design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• Keywords: Online harassment, social media, Facebook, Messenger, solidarity, feminism, Bangladesh, Unmochon, transformative justice, shame, image authenticity

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Problem:
  Many women in the Global South, when reporting online harassment, often submit screenshots and evidence to relevant institutions. However, these pieces of evidence are frequently dismissed due to doubts about their authenticity.

• Significance:
  Online harassment on social media is a common and serious issue. Victims not only face psychological pressure but also risk further social exclusion due to victim-blaming and stigmatization in conservative cultures. Existing technological tools and reporting mechanisms are inefficient and lack adequate support in addressing this problem.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  Through surveys and in-depth interviews with female victims of online harassment in Bangladesh, the authors found that the authenticity of evidence submitted by victims is often questioned, and existing tools lack cultural applicability. Additionally, women often need to conceal their victim identity to avoid further humiliation and threats. These challenges motivated the authors to explore innovative designs to help victims obtain and share credible evidence on social media platforms.

Solution

• Proposed Method:
  Based on the "Shame-Justice Model," the authors developed a tool called "Unmochon," a Windows application designed to capture evidence of Facebook Messenger chats while ensuring the authenticity of the evidence. The tool also helps victims hide their identities and securely share evidence.

• Innovations:

  • Provides a mechanism to verify the authenticity of evidence.
  • Supports anonymous reporting to protect victims' privacy.
  • Introduces an integrated platform combining community review and automated support to enable public oversight of harassment behavior.

• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:

  • Browser Plugin: Allows users to capture screenshots within the chat interface and save the URL at the time of capture to ensure screenshot authenticity.
  • Server Design: Screenshots are stored on a server, which verifies the consistency of screenshot data and adds a "Verified by Unmochon" stamp to ensure the credibility of the image.
  • Managed Facebook Group: Used for posting reports, with administrators reviewing report content to prevent spam while facilitating the dissemination of reported information.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:

  • Developed the "Unmochon" tool and tested its effectiveness in verifying screenshot authenticity and protecting user anonymity.
  • Surveys and user feedback indicated widespread approval of the design, with victims believing it effectively resolves disputes over evidence authenticity.

• Advantages Over Existing Solutions:

  • Unlike traditional methods requiring complex legal evidence submission, Unmochon offers a simplified, user-friendly interaction experience.
  • Compared to tools that solely block harassers or enable anonymous blocking, Unmochon supports victims in publicly reporting harassment on social media, providing mechanisms for social oversight.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • Victims expressed positive feedback regarding the tool's ability to meet authenticity verification needs but noted that providing evidence alone is insufficient to address complex social challenges such as victim-blaming and biases on social media.
  • Feedback also highlighted potential risks of misjudgment and misuse in the community reporting mechanism through Facebook groups.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • Limitations:

    • The experimental phase employed a biased participant recruitment method, excluding third-gender individuals and users from diverse cultural backgrounds.
    • The prototype tool only supports Facebook Messenger and does not cover other commonly used communication platforms such as Imo or WhatsApp.

  • Future Directions:

    • Expand the Unmochon tool to support more social platforms.
    • Enhance the display of information to make reports more contextually rich.
    • Explore direct evidence submission functionalities in collaboration with legal institutions.
    • Systematically optimize the user interface to accommodate mobile users' needs.

Design and Social Impact Recommendations

The authors suggest that future designs should more deeply integrate gender justice, diverse cultures, and social value systems. Beyond focusing on the effectiveness of the technology itself, efforts should aim to create a broader ecosystem for institutionalized prevention and support against online harassment. This direction holds critical value for building a safer internet environment in the Global South.