Date of Publication

2022

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts Major in Communication Arts

Subject Categories

Film and Media Studies

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Communication

Thesis Advisor

Norman Zafra

Abstract/Summary

Damage by a Thousand Clicks is a multimedia package on cyber sexual harassment. Three young Filipinas — Leesa, Thalia, and Ysabel (names have been changed) tell their stories of surviving cyber-sexual harassment. Moving past taboos, they recount their experiences in pursuit of catharsis and in hopes of shedding more light on the issue. The project aims to empower these survivors and bring more gravity to the issue. By uplifting their stories, the project validates their narratives and their emotions, sending a resounding message: we believe you.

In 2020 alone, there were 130 media-sourced reports of cyber-sexual harassment in the Philippines, a 165% increase from the highest record in 2015 at 45 cases (Foundation for Media Alternatives.) Women first encounter online harassment between the ages 12 to 20, with 7 out of 10 Filipino girls having experienced cyber-sexual harassment (Plan International.) Beyond the statistics are those that have gone unreported and unnoticed: society has desensitized women to oblivion where they don’t recognize sexual harassment, and when they do, they are disgraced for it.

The project utilized the elements of creative non-fiction and multimedia production to humanize the stories of survivors and report the broader context of the problem. By taking on singular testimonies of typical hard-news subjects using a human angle, the audience gets to see —and hopefully empathize— how deeply harassment affects an individual, as well as recognize harassment being played out.

Apart from the three survivors, the multimedia package also features three experts (a social worker, a psychologist, and a lawyer), offering multiple perspectives on cyber-sexual harassment. We then created three narratives based on the survivors' stories, and produced three informative videos. The project is publicly available at https://www.1000clicks.online/

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Physical Description

66 leaves

Keywords

Computer sex; Sexual harassment

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Embargo Period

7-10-2022

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