Resources

These materials were produced by the Foundation for Media Alternatives from the Philippines as part of APC's MDG3: Take Back the Tech! to end violence against women project between 2011 and 2012. You can find useful materials for awareness raising and training on the subject of violence against women mediated through information and communication technologies, also called eVAW..

The final meeting of the ‘Gender and Citizenship in the Information Society’(CITIGEN) research network was organized by IT for Change in Bangalore in February 2012. The CITIGEN research programme studies whether marginalised women benefit from new information and communication technologies and whether the internet and mobile phones strengthened their active citizenship. The final meeting of the CITIGEN programme was an occasion for the network members and partners to take stock of the work done and to reflect upon the questions framing the research endeavour.

The submission to the UPR process elaborated by the Women´s Legal and Human Rights Bureau, Inc from the Philippines addresses the issue of women’s access to justice in the country, which highlights technology-related violence against women (VAW) as an emerging form of VAW. The submission also looks at the gaps and challenges in available domestic remedies to survivors of violence and abuse against women online, criticizing that existing laws on VAW do not guarantee the prosecution of technology-related VAW. It further highlights the importance of women’s access to the internet and their representation in policy processes as integral to their right to access to justice.

This joint submission from APC, CALS, CIVICUS, Gender Links, Highway Africa Chair in Media and Information Society, IDASA, ODAC, Right 2 Know, SANGONet, Section27, and SERI focuses on freedom of expression, the right to information, freedom from censorship; freedom of the press, the right to privacy, and the importance of affordable access to the internet in South Africa. The submission criticizes women's underrepresentation in media ownership, and highlights the importance of safe public internet access for women, specifically marginalised women, e.g. unemployed women in rural areas.

In the submission, the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) is particularly concerned with making the internet an effective tool to exercise rights to information in India. DEF believes that the internet plays a major role in accessing information and thus a tool for social and economic development. This submission outlines India’s progress and specific areas of concern: information technology law and policies, the right to information and internet access, and internet governance. The submission also highlights the need for a rights-based approach to internet-related policy development so it promotes women’s communication rights and sexuality rights.

This joint submission has been prepared by the APC Women’s Networking Support Programme in consultation with Instituto Nupef and is endorsed by Sexuality Policy Watch. The submission focuses on human rights and the internet in Brazil. It highlights areas where Brazil is doing well, specific areas of concern, and makes five recommendations for follow-up and implementation. The submission focuses on the women’s human rights to sexual and reproductive health information and citizens’ rights to free expression and privacy.

APC’s submission for Ecuador to the UPR process, with support from CIESPAL and Radialistas Apasionadas y Apasionados, focuses on issues of access to the internet and highlights the critical importance of the internet for human rights, as well as social and economic development. Although the first UPR of Ecuador did not include reference to internet-related human rights issues, the events of 2011 showed that the UPR must include the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms on the internet, particularly freedom of expression and freedom of association.

The women's movement has always had the ability to make the invisible visible and grant it a political character. This toolkit encourages women and their organisations to engage in political discussions regarding internet development with a vision of inclusion, fairness and respect for women's rights. The authors' vision is that the toolkit be used to raise awareness and encourage participation in a new environment where women cannot and should not be absent.

Drawing on findings from APC's MDG3: Take Back the Tech! project with women's rights organisations in twelve countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 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.