Cyber sexual harassment against women and impact on health. A cross-sectional study in a representative population sample.

Background: This study focuses on the frequency of cyber sexual harassment (CSH) and examines its link with five health impact indicators (self-perceived health, medication, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and use of health services).

Methods: Analyzing the data provided by the 2019 Macro-survey on violence against women in Spain, two items of which refer to CSH. It was conducted in Spain on a representative sample of 9568 women aged over 16 years old.

Results: A total of 9.15% of the women surveyed had experienced CSH at some point in their lives. Being under 25 years old, having higher education, not being in a relationship, having no religious beliefs and having a certified disability are sociodemographic characteristics associated with a higher risk of CSH. Women who have experienced other forms of gender-based violence also show an increased risk. Female victims of CSH reported higher rates of suicidal ideation (20% versus 9.79% in non-victims of CSH) and suicidal attempts (7.20% versus 1.74% in non-victims of CSH).

Conclusions: These findings have significant implications for the design of preventive health polices, which should incorporate strategies to address CSH as part of the continuum of multiple interrelated forms of gender violence that affect women and girls throughout their lives.