Emerging forms of violence on the internet impact on women's rights, declares APC at the Human Rights Council

APC calls on stateⁱs to repeal laws which criminalise online freedom of expressionⁱ and to cease interference with freedom of expression by means which violate international human rightsⁱ standards. The Statement emphasises that women’s human rights must be respected and protected and their rights to freedom of expression and association must not be restricted. The Statement is part of a set of recommendations submitted to the Human Rights Council ⁱin preparation for its seventeenth regular session (30 May – 17 June 2011).

The Statement urges states to acknowledge that restrictions (whether due to state, family or cultural reasons) to women’s use of the internetⁱ, including but not limited to blockingⁱ and filtering internet content related to women's sexuality, adversely affect women and girls rights to participate in cultural life and the full exercise of their citizenship within the evolving information society.

Watch the recording of the oral statement read by Marina Maria, a member of the Brazil EroTICs research team.