What is tech-facilitated GBV?
One of the severe impacts of TFGBV is the exacerbation of the gender digital divide an extensive reach, it disproportionately affects women and girls. As several studies have shown, ‘women are more likely to be targeted because of their sex and gender identity, to experience more severe forms, and are also more likely to face serious and longer- lasting negative impacts.’(Quote from UN Women and Ladysmith analysis.)” “Technology-facilitated GBV (TFGBV) is an act that is committed using information communication technologies or other digital tools that results in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political, or economic harm or other infringements of rights and freedoms. Whilst tech-facilitated violence has
One of the severe impacts of TFGBV is the exacerbation of the gender digital divide. How does it do this? UN Women notes that, “the majority of the estimated 2.9 billion people who remain unconnected to the Internet are women and girls.” And those who experience multiple inequalities are the least likely to have access to the internet– doubling down on inequity. This means that they do not have access to many of the advantages of the digital world – access to information and services, to educational and employment opportunities, to communities for support and sharing, and even access to spaces that can be leveraged to organise movements, including around gender equality and gender justice. At the same time those who are online and do have access, are experiencing new forms of gendered inequality, oppression, and violence, and the intimidation of being attacked online leads to us questioning/self-censoring what we say online – many women talk about disengaging with online activities altogether. This is often called the chilling effect of online violence – how TFGBV impacts the engagement of women in public life through fear, humiliation, shame, and silencing. By silencing us, and stopping us from engaging in public life online, TFGBV creates a withdrawal from spaces of engagement and resistance, thereby exacerbating inequalities and power relations in the offline world.
So, what is the impact?
For many women, especially women in public life, threats of violence online can lead to them fearing for their safety offline – in the physical world – and can compromise their ability to do their jobs. Research is showing more and more that offline violence starts online. Every day we hear stories about women and girls who have been victims of non-consensual pornography, sextortion, or deepfakes, of being abused online or threatened with rape and even death. We hear about the misuse of tracking devices and the increase in surveillance and coercive control within households. We know that women who are at greater risk of offline violence are also at greater risk of online violence, including: women with disabilities, young women and girls; women in public life; LGBTQIA+ people; racialised, minoritised, and migrant women.
November 2023 | Collective Action Magazine
36
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease