At the Feminist Internet Research Network (FIRN), we believe that feminist research is inherently personal, grounded in relationality and accountability to the collectives and communities we are a part of, work alongside and imagine as. We acknowledge research methods alone do not define the value or limitations of our work. Rather, it is how we approach, interpret and remain in relationship with the data – recognising the stories, complexities and lived realities within – that reveals the generosity or constraints of our knowledge. It is in this process of locating ourselves within the data – recognising our own positions, identities and power - that feminist research is distinctively powerful and generative.

This GenderIT edition provides important analysis of the critical insights that have emerged from the 10 research projects under the third cycle of FIRN. At the very core of the research are the heartbreaks and resilience of communities; they illustrate the complexities of TFGBV, how it intersects with the hierarchy of identities and belongings, shaped by various geopolitical, nationalist, and socioeconomic factors. In doing so, they expose the gaps within the dominant discursive framings of TFGBV and thereby, invite us to shift our thinking from restrictive and institutionally defined responses towards TFGBV, and to reimagine a different liveable future that celebrates diversity and prioritises care. Without a fuller picture of how TFGBV manifests, we risk investing our resources and labour into band-aid interventions that do not lead to systemic change.

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editorial

Reading ourselves: Feminist data analysis and relational praxis

Serene Lim & Tigist Shewarega Hussen

In this editorial, the authors reflect on how feminist research is not only about “expertise”; it is a practice of relationality, care and critically engaged meaning-making in connection with the people and movements at the heart of our research.

“Carving out our spaces”: Sharing takeaways from our research on the experiences of Black Brazilian women resisting TFGBV

Bárbara Paes & Ester Borges

This article provides an overview of how Black Brazillian women have been carving out their own online spaces, building strategies for resistance, connection and possibility – despite mainstream digital technologies being often laden with racism, sexism, and misogynoir.

“I am drowning under the weight of hatred”: The scope and nature of TFGBV in Tajikistan

Gulbakhor Makhkamova & Victoria Fletcher

Set against Tajikistan’s political and social structure, this article highlights how TFGBV exists as a continuum with offline violence, reinforcing patriarchal values and established gender norms that have power over women and are used to control them.

Disinformation, Social Manipulation and Expanded Authoritarian Digital Control in Egypt

Aya ElHusseini

Drawing from the research, this article addresses the complex interplay of political, economic and social structures driving state and non-state tech-facilitated violence in Egypt, highlighting its connection to the recent wave of arrests targeting TikTok content creators.

Threads of harm and Ethiopian queer resistance to digital violence

Martha Tadesse & S.A

This article weaves together the experience of LGBTQIA+ communities in Ethiopia – how they are impacted by OGBV, yet continue to exist and build community with creativity, resistance and strength.

Gender, Power, and Digital Spaces: Understanding Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence amongst students of South African Higher Institutions

Dr Aretha Oluw… & Alex Asakitikpi

This article highlights the key findings on university students’ understanding and experiences regarding TFGBV on social media and online dating platforms in South Africa.

Feminist digital forensics

Carl & Dany Araújo

As a feminist hacker organisation, MariaLab questions how digital forensics can be used to address TFGBV cases, with the aim of developing feminist helplines through the systematisation and improvement of consensual digital forensics.

Between survival and resistance: Digital rights of sex workers in Uruguay

Analía Lavin

This article reflects on how the increased digitalisation of sex work has provided opportunities for greater independence and safety, but it also exposes them to violence and surveillance and intensifies precarity by transferring costs and risk onto sex workers.

Witnesses, militants, martyrs: When technology meets borders

Sabiha Allouche & Ghiwa Sayegh

In the era of AI-automated annihilation, the authors bring us through the many questions on what and how a truly decolonial act looks like – what sabotaging the tools of colonial genocide and occupation, and embracing limitations as anti-colonial praxis, could look like.

A decolonial feminist exploration of Black women and gender non-conforming people’s experiences of technology-facilitated gender-based violence

Mikhael Adams & Floretta Boonzaier

The article reveals how Black women and gender non-conforming persons experience TFGBV differently due to historical and geopolitical factors, and how TFGBV is used to silence bloggers and journalists doing feminist works.

iHEAR TransNet: Intersectional experiences of TFGBV among the trans, non-binary and gender diverse communities in India

Eesha Lavalekar & Joshua Mark George

Adopting an intersectional and participatory approach, this article shares the stories of how transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse people experience TFGBV, what strategies they employ to resist and safeguard themselves, and what barriers exist in accessing support.
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