- The Rainbow E-Safe association launches a quarterly perception study to generate the first statistical data on cyberbullying towards the group.
- The questionnaire consists of 42 questions divided into 8 thematic blocks that evaluate for the first time the digital-legal literacy of the participants.
- Participation is completely anonymous, online and aimed at people residing in Spain who are over 16 years of age.
The protection of the collective in virtual environments takes a fundamental strategic turn with the creation of an unprecedented statistical tool. The Rainbow E-Safe association has officially announced the launch of the Rainbow Digital Barometer, becoming the first periodic perception study on digital violence LGTBIQ+ in Spain. The initiative, which is already fully operational on the network, was born with the firm purpose of monitoring and measuring incidents. of hate that occur behind screens, an area that to date lacked systematic measurement mechanisms in the country.
The statistical gap that makes virtual harassment invisible
The absence of periodic measurement tools in the national territory causes virtual attacks to be diluted within the general crime records. The annual reports issued by the Ministry of the Interior, the LGTBI+ State Federation (FELGTBI+) or the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) itself compile in a generic way the reported incidents or global victimization statistics. However, none of these documents capture the daily reality and the specific perception of the group within the internet environment.
This lack of specific data prevents the design of effective public policies that stop harassment. The president of Rainbow E-Safe and computer forensic expert specialized in digital violence, Pablo Campos, insists forcefully that what lacks official metrics suffers from systematic institutional abandonment. The new barometer has been designed to remedy this lack, providing technical rigor through the collection of direct, reliable and continuous data over time.
A technical x-ray of the legal training of the group
The technical approach of the Rainbow Digital Barometer transcends the limits of a conventional opinion survey. Its methodological structure consists of a questionnaire of 42 questions carefully organized into 8 specific analysis blocks, evaluating in a pioneering way the level of digital and legal knowledge of diverse citizens.
The study will audit whether potential victims understand that a simple screenshot lacks evidentiary validity in a court of law if it is not duly certified. Likewise, the degree of knowledge of basic expert tools such as time stamping or the digital notarial act will be analyzed, and whether the population correctly identifies specific crimes typified in Spain such as outing (outing without consent), harassment, image-based digital violence (IBSA), stalkerware or the speech of hate.
Evaluation of the regulatory framework and reporting barriers
The demographic analysis will place special emphasis on the level of implementation of Law 4/2023 (popularly known as the Trans and LGTBI Law) and the punitive scope of article 510 of the Spanish Penal Code. The investigation will allow us to discover what technological self-protection measures users apply in their daily lives and what structural limitations or fears prevent them from filing complaints at police headquarters after being victims of attacks.
The association’s management team argues that the expected results will reveal a deep gap between the cybercrimes suffered and the technical capacity of users to document evidentiary evidence correctly. This disconnection directly justifies the three lines of action that the entity regularly develops: direct intervention with affected people, specialized training of professionals and social awareness.
A monitoring project with a vocation for permanence
The management of Rainbow E-Safe clarifies that this barometer does not respond to a specific awareness campaign, but is established as a quarterly sociological project. Each of the periodic editions will generate its own, rigorous and perfectly comparable data, which will be published openly and made available to human rights organizations, legal offices, media and state administrations.
To participate in the Rainbow Digital Barometer, users must access the entity’s official platform (rainbowesafe.com), where they will find the form enabled. The response process requires an estimated time of between 12 and 15 minutes, strictly guaranteeing the absolute anonymity and voluntariness of the participants. The only requirements established are being over 16 years old, being part of the LGTBIQ+ group and residing within the Spanish State.
