Doxing, gaslighting and upskirting as forms of psychological harassment

Is doxing – the public sharing of personally identifiable information about a person or organization, usually via the Internet – the right way for Internet users to do justice? Doxing is aimed at people who, for example, have hurt and persecuted someone. This is, however, an easy way to start a non-stoppable hate that goes beyond the perpetrator’s fault or unintentionally hurts an innocent person. In addition, seemingly legitimate doxing is often just trolling or an excuse to stalk another person online and can be a serious and punishable form of harassment.

Gaslighting is a term used to describe a form of emotional abuse in which one person gradually manipulates another to gain control over them. Over time, the victim stops trusting their judgments, becomes fearful, and loses self-confidence. According to Penny East, a spokeswoman for the charity SafeLives, gaslighting is now a common tactic used by psychic abusers. The term “gaslighting” comes from the 1944 movie “Gaslight”, in which the protagonist manipulates his wife into believing she has lost control of reality.

Upskirting, a type of harassment when people take pictures of body parts hidden under other people’s clothes, will be banned by law in Japan. The law against “photographic voyeurism” will also ban the secret filming of sexual acts. The bill is part of a more extensive revision of Japan’s sex crime laws that will also expand the definition of rape.