STRENGTHEN SOLIDARITY: SHARE YOUR STRATEGIES FOR COUNTERING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The issue of technology-related violence against women and girls has reached the mainstream. Finally, media outlets are writing about it, state actors are debating it and internet platforms are exploring ways to address it. But the most important conversation is happening between women who engage with the internet and those who have faced such violence. The most valuable insights and ideas come from you.
“The past summer I had gone on a cruise with a close friend. She and I met two brothers, who had taken an interest in us. After much dancing and drinking together, I began to feel sick. One of the brothers helped me back to my cabin, taking care of me as I became almost physically impaired. I eventually passed out.
Mobile phones have often been forwarded as an affordable solution to enabling internet access, especially for those from developing. According to recent research, there are currently 6 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, which is equivalent to 87% of the world’s population.
Even as the internet opens up new spaces for public and political engagement for women and girls, their rights come under attack. Women's rights activists and feminists have had their websites hacked, faced hate-speech and targetted harassment. These are seldom monitored in internet rights spaces. Defend our right to communicate freely and safely online. Map it. Make it visible. And demand for change.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion centred the importance of the internet in enabling a broad range of human rights. We have seen this through the multiple, strategic and creative ways that feminist and human rights activists have mobilised for action through online spaces.
Rape and sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the world mainly due to shame, stigma and trauma Victims are often blamed for somehow "provoking" the violence, subjected to intense interrogation, and repeated violation of their rights. We are all responsible for defining the spaces we occupy - both online, offline and political.
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Rape and sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the world. According to the UN, estimates of reported cases range from only 3% out of all rape cases in South Africa, to 16% of all rape cases in United States. This means that out of 100 women who are raped, up to 97 of them are keeping silent about the violation.
