Resources

Violence against women (VAW) that is mediated by technology is increasingly becoming part of women's experience of violence and their online interactions. In the same way we face risks offline, in the streets and in our homes, women and girls can face specific dangers and risks on the internet such as online harassment, cyberstalking, privacy invasions with the threat of blackmail, viral 'rape videos' and for young women in particular, the distribution of 'sex videos' that force survivors to relive the trauma of sexual assault every time it is reposted online, via mobile phone or distributed in other ways. VAW that is committed, abetted or aggravated through the use of ICTs and in online spaces are part of the continuum of violence against women and is a significant barrier to women's and girls' ability to take advantage of the opportunities that ICT provide for the full realisation of women's human rights and development. Read APC's Women's Rights Programme statement to the CSW 57th Session.

The Internet Governance Forum in Baku (6-9 November 2012) was a space in which different interests collided. APC revisits by releasing “IGF 2012: The good, the bad and the ugly“. Gender is of course part of this analysis. The report stresses that only one workshop dealt with gender issues specifically, and speakers in main sessions and workshops were still mostly male. "When we look closely, it is apparent that the issues relevant to gender at the IGF cover just about everything that the IGF does," the report says. "Gender should become a cross cutting thread that is recognized as important, alongside the currently accepted cross-cutting themes of capacity building and development".

This paper gives an analysis of women and men’s differential access and use of the mobile phone and how through it gender stereotypes are reinforced. During a four year study in Zambia, it emerged that although there were clear advantages that have come as a result of mobile phones some negative social impacts which reinforce gender stereotypes and power relations and subsequently result in violence against women have remained largely un-documented. The paper therefore makes the case that despite the clear advantage of the mobile phone; it is also providing a new focal point for social conflict and violence in relationships.

The Learning Resource Kit for Gender-Ethical Journalism and Media House Policy is the outcome of a project launched in July 2011 to promote fair gender portrayal within media houses and the journalistic profession. The kit draws from the insights of media practitioners, educators and communication researchers from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, North America and Pacific. It brings together practical guidelines to enhance women’s representation in media content and encourage dialogue within media structures and self-regulatory bodies together with civil society groups.

This publication seeks to identify the relationship between freedom of expression and internet privacy, assessing where they support or compete with each other in different circumstances. The book maps out the issues in the current regulatory landscape of internet privacy from the viewpoint of freedom of expression. It provides an overview of legal protection, self-regulatory guidelines, normative challenges, and case studies relating to the topic.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) create new scenarios, new ways for people to live, and these reflect real-­life problems. Women need to assert their rights here with determination and without delay. Women may not have been an active part of policy-­making conversations when internet governance started, but the rapid pace of change online means they need to participate now to ensure that the future of the internet is shaped taking into account women’s rights. <br /> <br />Leading up to the year 2015, the United Nations is planning a series of consultations to help shape the post-2015 agenda with support from Civil Society coalitions including the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, CIVICUS and the Beyond 2015 Campaign, which have been organising Civil Society engagement in post-2015 discussions. <br /> <br />This paper was developed by the Women´s Rights Programme as part of the global thematic consultation "Addressing inequalities - The Heart of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Future We Want for All".

This study lays out the elements of a comprehensive security strategy for cyberspace. It aims to address the cybersecurity threats that plague national, personal and social security while protecting and preserving open networks of information and communication. The study was published as part of Global Information Society Watch 2011 that investigated how governments and internet and mobile phone companies are restricting freedom online and how citizens are responding to this using the very same technologies.

Too often, counter-terrorism measures include a violation of human rights and place state security ahead of a broad-based definition of individual human security, which would include economic security, respect for human rights and freedom from disease. In this context, from October 20 - 23, 2011 Cordaid and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) convened a conference of global civil society actors to develop a collaborative strategy for civil society engagement in implementing the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy.

The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD IC) has expressed deep concern regarding the safety of five staff from the Uganda sex worker organization, Women’s Organization Network for Human Rights Advocacy (WONETHA). On May 7, police authorities raided WONETHA's small office and arrested two staff and three members. The staff members face ongoing harassment and criminal charges. This is among others an attack on WONETHA and sex workers' freedom of association, assembly, speech and expression.