What is VAW?

VAW, or violence against women, means any act that results in harm and disproportionately affects women. The root cause of VAW lies in unequal power relations between men and women in almost all facets of life. Some examples of VAW include domestic violence, rape and sexual harassment.

The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines VAW as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life".

VAW was recognised as a violation of fundamental human rights in 1993, less than two decades ago, officially through the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations General Assembly. Women's movements across the world are continuously bringing to light new dimensions and different forms of VAW.

ICTs, or information communication technologies, broadly means tools and platforms that we use for our communication and information needs. Some examples include radio, mobile telephones, television broadcasts, and the internet.

Sometimes ICTs are understood in "old" and "new" forms. Simply put, "older" forms of ICTs are where information is transmitted in analogue format like radio, and "newer" forms of ICTs are those transmitted in digital formats like wireless technology.

In reality, the distinctions are not absolute, and there are many kinds of ICTs that move from one to the other. The important point is that ICTs carry different meanings and value in different contexts, and impact upon societies significantly in different ways.

Both ICTs and VAW affects our capacity to completely enjoy our human rights and fundamental freedoms. There is an increased recognition of the connection between VAW and ICTs. For example, the websites can be a useful place for women in violent relationships to get information and help. However, tools like spyware and GPS tracking devices have been used by abusers to track and control their partner's mobility.

There are at least two ways to see how ICT impact power relations:

• Representation
  ICTs are able to transmit and disseminate norms through representations of "culture" and social structures and relations. Often also acting as media, images reinforce notions of "difference" between men and women by normalising stereotypes of gender roles as reality.

However, this dynamic is not straightforward or simple, as cultures are not homogeneous or static. The increased diversity of content producers on the internet also allows an array of representations that affect gender relations in complex ways. The strands of gender, sexual, cultural, and racial discourses communicated through ICTs must be unravelled to assess their role in affecting culture and norms.

• Communication
  The speed, vastness and relative ease of use, especially of "new" ICTs reduce distance and time between people. This can have a great influence on social relations. ICTs can allow survivors of VAW to seek information and assistance, but can also endanger survivors if utilised without an understanding of their dimensions. Local strategies by organisations can be compromised by ICTs through issues of privacy, misrepresentation and misunderstanding.

On the other hand, organisations have utilised the capabilities of ICTs to network across great distances and mobilise immediate action on urgent situations of VAW. By examining how ICTs have been employed, women's movements can shape stronger connections with greater understanding of their potential and limitations.

More information and examples on how VAW & ICTs are interconnected, including example of case studies, can be read through APC WNSP's research papers here.