Cyberresistance: Publication of educational materials and research findings on cyberviolence and digital gender inequality in childhood

​Client: University of Deusto and Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities
Date: 2023 – 2026
Services: Research

Description:

In the course of its Cyberresistance proyect, Opciónate and University of Deusto have published new educational materials and the executive summary of the comparison among Gran Canaria and Euskadi´s research findings focused on cyberviolence and digital gender inequality in childhood. The investigation was developed in collaboration with the University of Deusto and funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under the Knowledge Generation Projects programme.

The research aimed to analyse how girls and boys aged between 5 and 13 experience, learn and interact within digital environments. Developed between 2023 and 2026 in the Basque Country and Gran Canaria, the project paid special attention to gender inequalities, cyberviolence and the opportunities to promote care practices, resistance and critical digital citizenship from childhood.

Through qualitative, participatory and inclusive methodologies, the process involved children, families and teaching staff, and encompassed discussion groups, listening spaces and collective work sessions. This approach enabled the project to explore digital experiences from the real-life perspectives of participants themselves, incorporating an intersectional, feminist and coeducational perspective throughout the entire research process.

Among its key findings, the study revealed that access to digital devices, platforms and social networks begins at increasingly early ages and that gender inequalities are already reproduced in childhood through technology use, online content consumption and forms of digital interaction.

The research also identified the persistence of sexist stereotypes in video games, social media and digital platforms, as well as different forms of symbolic violence, exclusion and cyberviolence that particularly affect girls and adolescents.

Simultaneously, the project highlighted the self-care, support and resistance strategies developed by families, teachers and children, emphasising the essential role of educational communities and families in building safer, more critical and more equal digital parenting practices.

As a result of the project, University of Deusto developed new educational materials and teaching resources aimed at encouraging critical reflection and providing practical tools for supporting children and adolescents in digital environments.

The materials address issues such as gender stereotypes in social media and video games, exposure to violent or sexist content, online exclusion dynamics and the role of adults in digital education.

Through practical activities, participatory dynamics and coeducational strategies, these resources encourage reflection on everyday digital practices and provide useful and accessible tools for educational, family and community contexts.

This project reinforces Opciónate’s commitment to generating applied knowledge and practical tools to address the current challenges of digitalisation from a feminist, critical and rights-based perspective, promoting safer, more inclusive and more equal digital environments for children and adolescents.

The materials and executive summary can be downloaded free of charge at:
https://cyber-resistance.deusto.es/, and in the materials section of our website:
https://opcionate.com/es/materiales/