This recent case that illustrates the sexual harassment women face online is especially gut-wrenching.
Valentina Schulz is one of more than a dozen tweens competing on the Brazilian version of the MasterChef Junior cooking competition TV show. After a recent episode featuring the 12-year-old chef-in-training, sexual and downright appalling tweets about the contestant began appearing under the show's official hashtag.
"If she wants it, it's not pedophilia, IT'S LOVE," one tweet quoted by the BBC read.
A journalist and activist in Brazil took note, and started sharing stories of harassment she had faced as girl using the hashtag #PrimeiroAssedio, or "first harassment."
Juliana de Faria, who is affiliated with the feminist group Think Olga, told the BBC that after other women chimed in with their own experiences, she started to retweet those stories from the account for the feminist group. The hashtag has now been used more than 90,000 times, according to the BBC. The stories that follow are heartbreaking:
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11 anos.Avô de uma amiga.Olhares, mão na coxa e medo. Fugi dele por 15 dias. Insisto em achar que era coisa da minha cabeça.#PrimeiroAssedio
— Ana Luiza do Valle (@analurvalle) November 3, 2015"I was 11. A friend’s grandfather. Leers, hands on thigh, and fear. Avoided him for 15 days, insisting it was just my imagination."
Quando tinha 11 anos, o amigo do meu pai falou na frente dele que gostaria de casar comigo. #PrimeiroAssedio
— nathalia (@natfse) November 3, 2015"When I was 11 years old, my father's friend said in front of him that he would like to marry me."
8 anos, meu primo ficou colocando a mão dentro da minha calça e me obrigou a ficar em cima dele. #PrimeiroAbuso #primeiroassedio
— Grosseira (@worthreguix) November 3, 2015"8 years old, my cousin put my hand down his pants and then made me get on top of him."
12 anos, o marido da minha tia me puxou pra cima dele e apertou meu peito. #PrimeiroAbuso #primeiroassedio
— Grosseira (@worthreguix) November 3, 2015"12 years old, the husband of my aunt pulled me on top of him and touched my breasts."
8 anos. Prof do Coral da Igreja pediu ensaio na casa dele. Eu e uma amiga. Levou-nos ao porão e pediu pra tirarmos a roupa #PrimeiroAssedio
— Larissa Ilaídes (@lariilaides) November 2, 2015"8 years old. The choir teacher at church asked us over for a lesson at his house. Me and a friend. He led us to the basement and told us to take our clothes off."
No carro com o pai da minha amiga quando ele solta a seguinte frase
"Você ja se masturbou?"
#PrimeiroAbuso #PrimeiroAssédio
— Mirelly MX11 (@MirellyFerG) November 2, 2015"I was in the car with my friend's father when he just threw out the following: 'Have you already masturbated?'"
Refinery29 has reached out to the Brazilian TV network behind the show for comment. Sexual harassment and violence against women are issues everywhere, but the problem is especially pervasive in Brazil, activists say.
On average, 15 Brazilian women a day are killed solely because of their gender, according to statistics cited by the country's president, Dilma Rousseff. As Refinery29 reported last month, some women there are using street art to take a stand. Read and watch more about that trend here.
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