New: APC perspective on the future of the Internet Governance Forum

The genderIT.org team covered the Internet Governance Forum 2009, taking place from 15-18 November 2009, at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Hundreds of tweets were posted live during the event, aggregated here under the hashtag: #genderigf2009.

Read about what happened, and engage in further conversations on how to make gender a priority agenda in internet governance issues. 

Feminist Talk: GenderIT team blogging @ IGF 2009 

• New spaces: same old worries  
• Secret and sexy
  
• Video: Finally, another take on sexuality
  
• Video: Our children are in danger
• Video: Jehan Ara on privacy, agency & security
• Video: Who’s In? Who’s Out? Women's Rights at the 2009 IGF
• Cybersecurity: Do women count?
  
• Some Thoughts on Youth Participation at the IGF
• Possible Futures of the Gender Dynamic Coalition at IGF
• The privacy puzzle - part I
• Swimming in my crocs: IGF Day 1
  
• The Tyranny of Binaries: Child Protection, Sexuality and Safety Online.  
• The end of IGF? Mulling on its point and pointlessness.

Statements and Presentations

• Presentation of Graciela Selaimen, Instituto Nupef:Privacy, Openness, Online Advertising and Online Behavioral Targeting Advertising
  

Violence against Women and Information Communication Technologies: South Africa Country Report

Two key debates are examined in the paper by Shereen Essof: censorship versus freedom of expression and privacy versus surveillance. She looks at the practices of violence against women in a country with the world's highest reported rate of femicide and where there is little understanding of the strategic use of ICTs to support combating VAW as well as recognizing new avenues for perpetrating violence against women.

SMALL THOUGHTS AROUND....Violence against women and ICTs

One of the difficulties faced by women's rights advocates is the lack of adequate resources, information or analysis that explores communications and technology policies that prevent, minimise or address harm to women. Over the next two months, GenderIT.org will be publishing a series of papers that provide a snapshot and baseline on the law and policy on ICTs and violence against women (VAW) in 12 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The papers are part of the Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) project that connects ICTs, VAW and Millennium Development Goal Three (MDG3).

Violence against Women and Information Communication Technologies: Argentina Country Report: The kiss of life or death?

Cristina Peralta examines the situation in Argentina, where few cases of VAW using ICTs have been denounced. One study found that a small percentage of young girls had been contacted by unknown people via chat or Facebook before disappearing. Cell phones are also used for controlling women's mobility and have become one of the first artifacts to be destroyed by the partner during violent reactions, according to survivor testimony. However, most of the organisations that work on VAW issues primarily use ICTs for sharing information and networking. Some of them participate in observatories, that include VAW in the media as one of their concerns. This paper looks at these issues, and concludes with recommendations for civil society to help address these problems and formulate policy to deal with emerging challenges.