One important difference between sexual harrassment in real life and virtual reality is the degree of physical control the victim has in the situation. Obviously in RL rape situations, this control is absent but the physicality is very much present. If a person receives an email or a phone call, they have the control to hang up or delete it, as well as block the number or address from any further attacks. In virtual reality, these attacks may not have the same physical effects on the victim as in real life, but often its the emotional and mental effects that are the most damaging.
In a real life situation, the victim may or may not know their attacker, but their presence is still there. In virtual reality and instances over the phone, etc, there is an element of mystery because the victim is left wondering who the attacker was and why they were targeted. Although the effects are purely mental in virtual reality, they are still very strong. Dibbell describes the "ambiguous nature of online discourse," and highlights the tension between "the reasoned deliberation of text and the emotional immediacy of conversation." The argument lies in one's view of the online experience as "only words on a screen" or that "words can have powerful and deeply felt effects."