social media

In Ghana sexual assault is vastly under-reported and there is a huge barrier in the police procedures for reporting of crimes. In this article based on multiple interviews, the author explores what role technology can play in addressing this, and can public discourse and visibility around sexual assault lead to change?

Social media and technology is transforming democracy and particularly how voting takes place. In Nigeria a bill was proposed to lower the age of running for public office. Here are short interviews with candidates for public office and for the office of the President, including young women, and their take on Nigeria, representation of women, social meida and its role in politics and movements…

What does content moderation on social media actually entail - how much artificial intelligence and human labour is being used, who is responsible for decisions around the removal of content or about what complaints to ignore? An insider from social media companies shares 5 concise insights on how social media giants actually work. 

Can technology-based solutions improve the quality of life for people with disabilities? Srinidhi Raghavan interviews various women who talk about how mobile phone usage has benefitted them in terms of communication and social interaction, but also about their real concerns around privacy.

The annual Forum on Internet Freedom, Africa brings together people from across the African continent to to deliberate on gaps, concerns and opportunities for advancing privacy, access to information, free expression, non-discrimination and the free flow of information online on the continent. But what about gender perspectives? 

Non consensual circulation or sharing of intimate intimages or non consensual pornography is becoming increasingly prevalent. Here Bonface Witaba shares few studies on this viral social phenomenon, what steps have been taken and are likely to be taken in the context of Kenya, on a global scale and by social media companies to address the problem.

Dalit-Bahujan women in India have increasingly started using the internet and social media to articulate their positions and politics. This article explores how women have combated sexual harassment and exploitation, especially when it takes place in spaces that are considered progressive.

How do we use social media in activism? Do we reflect on our practices, on the instrumental ways of referring to people and communities that is used in reports and publications? Here is a story that looks at the use of Whatsapp by activists and what it means about unacknowledged hierarchies and barriers even within progressive spaces.

This paper explores what online violence against women is; what can be done to stem and ultimately eliminate it; and whose responsibility it is to do so. It does this by building upon the issues identified in two research projects, namely the research on state accountability to eliminate violence against women by the Due Diligence Project (DDP) and the research on corporate and state remedies…

We welcome the commitments made by Facebook, Google, TikTok and Twitter to tackle online abuse on their platforms. However, without ensuring that the systems they create do not reproduce and amplify existing inequalities, built-in safety tools will only mitigate harms on the surface.