Voices from Digital Spaces: Technology Related Violence against Women

"The complex relationship between violence against women (VAW) and information communication technologies (ICTs) is a critical area of engagement for women's rights activists. ICTs can be used as a tool to stop VAW, while on the other hand VAW can be facilitated through the use of ICTS. However few women's rights activists are working actively on this issue."

This paper explores the links between the internet, cell phones, and violence against women and illustrates that technology-related violence impacts women as seriously as other forms of violence. It draws on findings from Association for Progressive Communications (APC)'s MDG3: Take Back the Tech! project, which used ICT in an effort to help meet Millennium Development Goal #3 (MDG3) - promote gender equality and empower women - by working with women's rights organisations in 12 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The purpose of this paper is to assist women's rights groups working to end VAW to understand some of the implications of the intersection between these violations and ICTs. It also aims to encourage these groups and other key actors to invest in policymaking processes and advocacy work in this area.

The authors begin by exploring gender-based differences in ICT access, use, and control, including access to education, connection costs, lack of physical infrastructure, poverty, time availability, and cultural attitudes. They then examine the connections between ICTs and VAW; for example, perpetrators of violence use mobile phones and the internet to stalk, harass, and monitor women's movements and activities. They also use ICTs to collect and distribute intimate and sexual photos and recordings of women without their authorisation. ICTs allow perpetrators to commit violence anonymously and at a distance from the women they are targeting.

"Women who experience this abuse are also likely to withdraw from online and offline social networks and active participation in political, social and economic life." Yet, according to the report, ICT policies and laws are for the most part gender-blind and do not account for technology-related VAW. In addition, in legislation protecting and fulfilling women's rights, "ICTs are rarely mentioned."

The second part of the paper, Sexual Violence and Unauthorised Distribution of Intimate Images of Women, unpacks one example of technology-related VAW. It also looks at specific measures adopted by policymakers and other actors to recognise, redress, and prevent this type of VAW. One challenge outlined here: "While new and innovative measures need to be developed to deal with VAW, we need to be aware of the form these solutions take. For instance, measures that take a protectionist approach to women's online safety can increase censorship by state or non-state actors and, in turn, limit women's freedoms. For example, recent policies to counter child pornography have led to search engines filtering sexually related content and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) related terms in Arabic regions. This can restrict women's and sexual minorities' right to expression and access to information."

Finally, the paper presents a set of recommendations for policymakers, ICT intermediaries, media, ICT users, and organisations working on VAW on how to address the challenges and gaps identified to stop technology-related VAW. In brief, these recommendations include:

• States need to create, implement, and monitor laws and policies that respond to technology-related VAW. "Developing these laws requires a holistic perspective that assesses and balances all women's rights....Different stakeholders also need to be involved and women's participation ensured. Multistakeholder spaces such as the transnational Internet Governance Forum are good platforms for dialogues."
• Civil society organisations need to advocate for policymakers to take into account technology-related VAW and for women to participate in policymaking spaces. "Gender report cards on the ICT sector that monitor and assess women's inclusion in forums and bodies in this sector can be useful to challenging women's under-representation."
• Systematic reporting and monitoring of technology-related VAW is needed to support advocacy and feed into evidence-based policymaking. "These studies should include the perspectives and participation of women from different backgrounds, races, classes, sexualities and nationalities."
• Internet and mobile phone service providers need to ensure that women using their services understand what behaviour risks their safety and how to prevent and stop violence. For example, profiles for social networking sites can be set as "private" by default to restrict access by strangers to view, search, and comment on a user's profile.
• Media literacy initiatives need to work with ICT users and potential victims to change attitudes and behaviours. For example, APC builds the capacity of women human rights defenders through training on online secure communication and supports them to network via the internet and exchange experiences.
• People working in online and print media have a responsibility to not distribute insensitive information on victims/survivors of technology-related VAW.
• There is a need to assist organisations working on VAW to better support victims/survivors of technology-related VAW. "Front-line organisations need capacity building and practical tools on safe online communication and monitoring, reporting, and responding to incidents of technology-related VAW. ICTs can also facilitate care and support for victims/survivors through social networking and online communities....Furthermore, ICTs can be used in civil society solidarity campaigns to support victims/survivors of violence. For example, in Malaysia after intimate pictures of a female politician were leaked on the internet, a solidarity campaign used Facebook to mobilise support for her. This campaign played a role in preventing her from resigning her position after the incident."

Click here for the 87-page report in PDF format.
Click here in order to download the 9-page Executive Summary in English.
Click here in order to download the 10-page Executive Summary in Spanish.
Click here in order to download the 10-page Executive Summary in French.