What's the connection between VAW and ICT?
Both ICT and VAW affects our capacity to completely enjoy our human rights and fundamental freedoms. Acts of violence against women in the material world are replicated and perpetrated in various ways online. At the same time, ICT can be critical tools to connect with help and to take action against VAW. Take Back The Tech! responds to this connection by calling for everyone to take control of technology to end violence against women.
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Both ICTs and VAW affects our capacity to completely enjoy our human rights and fundamental freedoms. There is an increased recognition of the connection between VAW and ICTs. For example, the websites can be a useful place for women in violent relationships to get information and help. However, tools like spyware and GPS tracking devices have been used by abusers to track and control their partner's mobility.
Domestic violence is an abuse of power in a personal, intimate or familial relationship, where one partner attempts to control and dominate the other through actual or threatened violence, or through control of her finances, mobility and social life. In this context, ICT can be used both by survivors to connect to help, and by abusers to deepen their control.
Online harassment (sometimes also called cyber stalking or online abuse) means using ICT to track and harass someone, causing emotional distress and fear for their personal safety. This might include transmitting threats or false accusations, repeated and unwanted communication, and more. Sometimes, these threats have escalated into physical spaces.
The Protocol on Trafficking in Persons covers a wide range of activities, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, and organ removal. There is currently limited information about how ICT and trafficking are connected beyond its obvious use for communication. However, it seems ICT can work for traffickers in at least six ways.
Communications technology and militarism are deeply intertwined. The ability to control channels of mass communication is crucial in the propagation of conflict, and women often suffer as a result. At the same time, where access to mainstream media is heavily controlled, women have used new ICT ingeniously to document VAW in situations of conflict.
Information and communication rights are essential preconditions for women to fully exercise their civil and political rights – to organise, network, make their knowledge and ideas visible and advocate for gender justice. Communication rights includes the right to information, expression, privacy, democratic governance, participation in culture, language, creativity, education, peaceful assembly and self-determination.
List of resources, research and briefing papers that explore the intersection between the internet and violence against women, women's rights, sexuality and sexual rights.
