Disrupt Harm: Accountability for a Safer Internet | IGF 2023 Open Forum #146

Moderator – Alexandra Robinson

Women and girls are subjected to significant levels of online harassment and gender-based violence, as highlighted by the analysis. This underscores the urgent need to prioritize their safety in digital spaces. Alexandra Robinson emphasizes the importance of addressing this issue through a combination of law, policy, and civil society movements.

There is a growing awareness in the international community regarding the prevalence of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. The Commission on the Status of Women dedicated a session to the intersection of gender and technology, and global outcomes documents now incorporate language on gender-based violence. These developments indicate an increasing focus on addressing this issue at a global level.

Several countries are taking action by implementing laws and policies to combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence, demonstrating their commitment to protecting the rights of women and girls. This positive step toward achieving gender equality and ensuring the safety of women online.

In addition, there is support for the progression of policy and legal systems concerning gender-based violence, highlighting the need for robust frameworks to effectively address and prevent such violence. This recognition of the importance of institutions and mechanisms to disrupt online harm experienced by women is encouraging.

In conclusion, the analysis highlights the high rates of online harassment and gender-based violence faced by women and girls. It emphasizes the significance of prioritizing their safety in digital spaces and the role of law, policy, and civil society movements in addressing this issue. The international community’s increasing awareness of technology-facilitated gender-based violence and implementation of relevant laws and policies offer hope for meaningful change. Achieving gender equality and combating gender-based violence require continued efforts and support for the progression of policy and legal systems.

Karla Velasco

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and its member organisations are actively involved in addressing various aspects of women’s rights, sexual rights, and feminist movements. Their work spans approximately 40 countries, mainly in the global south. A significant achievement of APC and its members is the successful recognition of online gender-based violence as a violation of human rights in 2022. This recognition is a result of their continuous efforts and advocacy.

APC aims to create a gender-inclusive internet that goes beyond providing access to the online world. They highlight the importance of understanding the challenges faced by women, as well as individuals from diverse genders and sexualities, online. Critical issues that APC addresses include online gender-based violence and technology-facilitated gender-based violence. They believe that discussions on these topics should not only raise awareness but also focus on the response and remedy for victims and survivors.

Intersectionality is another key focus for APC. They assert that a gender-inclusive internet should consider factors such as race, gender, identity, sexuality, class, and ethnicity. By highlighting these aspects, APC aims to create a comprehensive and inclusive digital space that addresses the needs and concerns of all individuals, regardless of their social backgrounds.

APC promotes a vision of transformative justice, emphasising values such as pleasure, sexuality, joy, and freedom of expression. They believe that promoting a more positive and empowering narrative around gender issues online can lead to societal transformation that respects and upholds the rights and dignity of all individuals.

One important observation is that APC urges the discussion to move beyond acknowledging and condemning online gender-based violence towards implementing measures that provide support and remedies for victims and survivors. They call for comprehensive discussions and actions on victim support and advocacy to ensure that those affected receive the necessary assistance and justice they deserve.

In conclusion, APC and its member organisations play a crucial role in advancing women’s rights, sexual rights, and feminist movements. Through their advocacy and initiatives, they have been instrumental in recognising online gender-based violence as a human rights violation. APC’s emphasis on a gender-inclusive internet, intersectionality, and transformative justice demonstrates their commitment to creating a more equitable and empowering digital world. Their call to prioritise victim support and remedies further reinforces their dedication to addressing the needs and challenges faced by individuals affected by online gender-based violence.

MARTHA LUCIA MICHER CAMARENA

The analysis highlights a concerning issue in Mexico, where digital violence is affecting women, adolescents, and girls. Startling statistics reveal that three out of ten women internet users in Mexico have become victims of cyberbullying. Furthermore, a staggering 74.1% of women victims of digital violence are between the ages of 18 and 30.

What’s more alarming is that the majority of the aggressors responsible for these acts of digital violence are known individuals, with former partners being the main culprits, accounting for 81.6% of the cases. This indicates that digital violence is not a random occurrence but often involves individuals with intimate or prior relationships with the victims.

Recognising the seriousness of this issue, the call for legislation to provide safety for women in digital spaces has been raised. One positive aspect is the existence of the Gender Equality Committee in the Mexican Senate, chaired by a prominent figure who is actively working towards this cause. The committee has successfully enacted important reforms that define digital violence and establish regulations for protection orders in cases of digital violence.

However, despite these positive steps, challenges remain in the judicial system, public ministries, and amongst judges. These institutions and individuals pose significant obstacles to achieving gender equality. Lack of adequate understanding, biases, and systemic issues still prevalent in the judicial system hinder progress in addressing gender-related issues effectively.

On a more positive note, the analysis also highlights significant progress made in the realms of gender equality and women’s rights over the past three decades. This progress is evident considering the participation in the Beijing 1995 Conference, which focused on gender inequality and highlighted various gender-related topics. Notably, these topics were once considered ‘crazy’ but are now internationally recognised areas of concern and focus.

In conclusion, the analysis sheds light on the issue of digital violence affecting women, adolescents, and girls in Mexico. Legislation is urgently needed to ensure their safety in digital spaces. Although advancements have been made in this regard, challenges in the judicial system and among public ministries persist, hindering progress towards gender equality. Despite these challenges, notable progress has been achieved in gender equality and women’s rights, with gender-related issues now receiving international attention and recognition.

Audience

This analysis explores several crucial topics related to gender-based violence, social justice, and the intersection of digital technologies. The speakers discussed the various risks and opportunities presented by the internet in combating gender-based violence and promoting social justice.

One speaker highlighted the work of NGO Diretos Digitales, which operates at the intersection of human rights and digital technologies. They argued that the internet is a place of both risk and opportunity. On one hand, it allows for greater visibility and the potential for addressing social justice issues. On the other hand, it also exposes individuals to risks and potential harm, particularly in relation to gender-based violence.

Another speaker focused on the need for sensible legislation, enforcement, and understanding to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence. They emphasized that standardizing such legislation is currently under discussion. However, they also noted that the legislative aspect alone is not enough to combat this issue effectively.

In connection with this, the importance of legal frameworks that consider the privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information of survivors was raised. The speakers argued that it is not just the rights of offenders that should be considered, but also the rights and protection of those who have experienced gender-based violence.

Furthermore, an intersectional approach, which takes into account contextual and social differences, was advocated. The speakers acknowledged that social problems disproportionately affect individuals in vulnerable situations. Therefore, any efforts to address gender-based violence and promote social justice must consider these differences and work towards a more inclusive and equitable solution.

Lastly, the analysis included a notable call for age-based protections, particularly for adult women, within the legal system. It was highlighted that while there are existing protections for children up to the age of 18 in the speaker’s country, violence against adult women is often normalized and they are not always recognized as victims. This observation emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach to tackling gender-based violence and ensuring justice for all individuals affected by it.

In conclusion, this analysis highlights the multifaceted nature of gender-based violence and the need for comprehensive strategies to combat it. It underscores the importance of legislation, legal frameworks, and an intersectional approach in promoting social justice and addressing the risks and opportunities presented by digital technologies. Additionally, it raises awareness about the need for age-based protections, especially for adult women. By considering these factors, society can take meaningful steps towards creating a safer and more equitable environment.

Julie Inman Grant

The analysis explores several crucial aspects of online harassment and the urgent need for effective measures to combat it. One notable observation is the disapproval of the term ‘revenge porn’, which is deemed to trivialize and victim-blame. Instead, there is an argument to adopt the term ‘image-based abuse’ to better convey the seriousness and harm caused by such actions. This emphasises the importance of using language that accurately depicts the nature and impact of online harassment.

Another significant finding is the intersectional nature of online harassment. The analysis highlights that indigenous Australians experience twice the amount of online hate compared to other groups. It also reveals the different challenges faced by urban and rural indigenous populations, as well as culturally and linguistically diverse communities. This underscores the necessity of understanding and addressing the unique vulnerabilities and perspectives of these groups to effectively tackle online harassment.

The analysis further emphasises the importance of co-designing preventive solutions with vulnerable communities. It stresses the need to consider diverse experiences and vulnerabilities when designing mechanisms to prevent online harassment. This promotes a more inclusive approach that is better equipped to address the specific challenges faced by different groups, thereby increasing the effectiveness of preventive measures.

Furthermore, the analysis highlights the successful implementation of deterrent powers in curbing online abuses. It indicates a 90% success rate in removing abusive content, which is a positive outcome. Moreover, it suggests that women who sought help had positive responses, affirming the effectiveness of these measures in providing relief and protection to victims.

Finally, an important observation from the analysis is the willingness of the eSafety Commissioner to collaborate internationally. Recognising that online harassment is a global issue, the Commissioner acknowledges the importance of a global approach to addressing it and ensuring a safer online environment for all. This demonstrates the recognition of the need for partnerships and information sharing to effectively tackle online harassment.

In conclusion, the analysis underscores the need for a comprehensive and inclusive approach to combat online harassment. It highlights the importance of using appropriate language, understanding the intersectional nature of online harassment, co-designing preventive measures with vulnerable communities, implementing effective deterrent powers, and collaborating internationally. These insights provide valuable guidance in tackling the complex issue of online harassment and ensuring a safer online environment for everyone.

Juan Carlos Lara Galvez

The internet is a space that presents both risks and opportunities. In the context of social justice and combating gender-based violence, the internet has provided a platform for giving visibility to social demands. It has allowed for the amplification of voices and the dissemination of information related to these issues. This is a positive sentiment as it signifies the potential for social change and progress.

To effectively address technology-facilitated gender-based violence, legal frameworks should take a balanced perspective. This means considering the rights of individuals, including privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information of survivors. This approach recognizes the need for sensible legislative efforts and standards that uphold these rights while addressing the issue of gender-based violence. It is a positive stance that acknowledges the importance of striking a balance between protecting survivors and ensuring their rights are respected.

In addition, an intersectional approach is necessary to address the contextual and social differences that exist within gender-based violence. This understanding recognizes that certain issues disproportionately affect people in situations of vulnerability. It highlights the need for a comprehensive and inclusive approach that takes into account factors such as race, class, and sexuality. In particular, it acknowledges that women also face such issues in the public sphere, further emphasizing the importance of an intersectional perspective. This stance is positive and highlights the significance of considering various dimensions of identity and vulnerability in addressing gender-based violence.

However, it is important to note that legislation alone cannot fully resolve complex social issues. While legal frameworks are a crucial component, enforcement and understanding throughout the system are equally important. This neutral sentiment indicates that a comprehensive solution entails not only enacting laws but also ensuring their effective implementation and creating a deeper understanding of the underlying causes and dynamics of gender-based violence. It is a reminder that a multifaceted approach is needed to address the complexity of these social issues effectively.

In conclusion, the internet has the potential to serve as a platform for social change and combating gender-based violence. Legal frameworks should take a balanced perspective, considering the rights of individuals, while addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence. An intersectional approach is necessary to address the contextual and social differences that exist within gender-based violence and other social issues. However, it is essential to recognize that legislation alone is insufficient in resolving complex social issues and that enforcement and understanding are crucial factors in achieving meaningful change.

Eiko Narita

The analysis highlights several important points related to internet governance and the fight against harm online. One of the main arguments is the significance of multi-stakeholder conversations in this endeavor. These conversations involve various stakeholders such as governments, regulatory bodies, civil society organizations (CSOs), businesses, and rights-based organizations. By including diverse perspectives and expertise, multi-stakeholder conversations can lead to more effective strategies and solutions for combating harm on the internet.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) are specifically emphasized as crucial entities in internet governance. Their role in giving voice to ground realities is recognized, and organizations like PC and Audrey are mentioned as examples. These CSOs play a vital part in ensuring that the internet remains a safe and inclusive space for all users.

Accountability in online digital technology crimes is identified as a significant challenge. The analysis highlights that holding individuals accountable for online crimes is much more difficult than accountability for crimes against humanity such as genocide. This observation sheds light on the complexities associated with addressing online crimes and the need for robust systems and mechanisms to ensure accountability.

The importance of continuing to use platforms like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is emphasized. These platforms provide spaces for interaction and the amplification of important voices. By engaging in ongoing discussions and collaborations through platforms like IGF, the momentum in addressing issues related to internet governance can be sustained.

Additionally, the analysis includes the UNFPA’s efforts to end gender-based violence. It is stated that the UNFPA is actively working with governments and policymakers in this regard. Their commitment to tackling this issue aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality.

Another noteworthy observation is Eiko Narita’s stance on cybercrime and online harassment. Narita emphasizes that if something is not acceptable to do in person, it should not be tolerated online either. This highlights the importance of creating a safe and respectful online environment and holding individuals accountable for their actions.

Overall, the analysis underscores the importance of multi-stakeholder conversations, the crucial role of civil society organizations, the challenges in accountability for online crimes, the significance of continuing to use platforms for interaction, the efforts of the UNFPA in combating gender-based violence, and the need to address cybercrime and online harassment. These insights shed light on the complexity of internet governance and the ongoing efforts to create a safer and more inclusive internet for all.

Sherri Kraham Talabany

Women and girls in Iraq and across the Middle East face significant risks of online violence, which are exacerbated by the high internet penetration in the region and social conservatism. This online violence poses serious threats to their safety and well-being. Approximately 50% of women and girls in Iraq have either experienced or know someone who has experienced online violence, highlighting the prevalence of this issue.

The consequences of online violence in Iraq are not limited to the digital sphere but often result in real-life tragedies, such as honor killings and increased rates of suicide. This demonstrates that the impact of online violence extends beyond virtual interactions, causing physical harm and loss of lives. Urgent interventions are necessary to address this issue effectively.

To tackle this pressing concern, a nationwide task force has been established in Iraq. This task force focuses on human rights-based legislation and policy to combat Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV). Its objectives include enhancing access to safe and confidential reporting facilities for victims and survivors, as well as promoting skilled investigations into cases of online violence. The task force also aims to train local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to better understand and respond to these unique crimes. These efforts represent positive steps towards providing support and justice to victims of online violence.

Tech companies play a crucial role in addressing and combating online violence. They are urged to establish survivor-centered, rights-focused redress systems that take into account how online violence in the Middle East can lead to real-world harm. Understanding the manifestations of online violence across the region is essential for developing appropriate responses suitable for the unique environment. Tech companies should proactively contribute to creating a safer online space for women and girls in the Middle East.

When formulating internet governance frameworks, it is vital to consider the unique challenges faced by women in the Middle East due to online violence. These challenges should be integrated into emerging policies or regulations concerning internet governance. Broad governance mechanisms must be incorporated to address the specific considerations and situations encountered by women in the Middle East. By doing so, a more inclusive and supportive online environment can be created, prioritizing the rights and safety of women.

In conclusion, women and girls in Iraq and across the Middle East face significant risks of online violence, with high internet penetration and social conservatism exacerbating the issue. The establishment of a nationwide task force in Iraq dedicated to addressing TFGBV represents a positive step towards combatting online violence. The involvement and commitment of tech companies are crucial for establishing survivor-centered redress systems and developing appropriate responses to effectively tackle this issue. Furthermore, integrating the unique challenges faced by women in the Middle East into internet governance frameworks is essential to create a safer and more equitable online space.

Moderator – Alexandra Robinson:
This is working? It’s working? Okay, thank you. Okay, it feels quite awkward sitting, but hi everybody. Thank you for joining today. My name is Alexandra Robinson. I’m the Gender-Based Violence Technical Advisor for the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA. And today we welcome everyone to our event on Disrupt Harm, Accountability for a Safer Internet. So ending gender-based violence and harmful practices is at the center of what UNFPA do. And increasingly in a digital world, we realize that we can’t achieve that without ensuring that all women and girls are safe in all spaces, including online spaces and through their use of technology. So we are hosting the event today to explore those mechanisms through which law and policy and civil society movements are operating to disrupt that harm. experienced by women in online spaces and technology. And we’re gonna hear from a really amazing panel. I feel really privileged to be sitting here with such phenomenal people. But we will hear from a range of different perspectives, their wealth and experience across their work in doing exactly this and disrupting harm. We’ll then open for a Q&A both with online, we have an online presence, so we’ll have a Q&A with you in the room, but also with Q&A for people online. So, and we’re a relatively small room, so please don’t be shy in taking the microphone and asking. With that, I will turn to our first panelist, who is Senator Mata Lutia Misheka Morena, known as Malu Mishe. She is a staunch feminist. She is the Morena Senator for Guanajuato. She is a mother. She has been a federal representative on three occasions. Currently a legislator in the Congress of Union representing the state of Guanajuato. And she will speak specifically around the legal measures and regulations implemented in Mexico for the prevention and response of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Thank you, Senator.

MARTHA LUCIA MICHER CAMARENA:
Thank you. Thank you, Alexandra. Thank you for inviting me. Nice to meet you, and thank you very much for this invitation. Good afternoon. I am Mata Lutia Misheka Morena, a Mexican Senator, and today I want to share the current situation of women, adolescents, and girls regarding information and communication technologies. I now want to address an important and troublesome issue, digital violence, which, according to the UN, three out of 10 women internet users in Mexico have been victims of cyberbullying that is approximately 10 million women. In addition, the National Front for Sorority and Digital Defenders, a Mexican civil society organization, an NGO, has indicated that 19 out of every 100 victims of digital violence are women, pointing out that 74.1% of women victims of digital violence are between 18 and 30 years old, 72.3% are university students, and 81.6% of the aggressors are a known person, mainly former partners. Among the main behaviors reported by this violence are dissemination of intimate content without consent, threats of dissemination, harassment, and or sexual harassment, exhortion, sexual assaults not related to sexual intimacy, distribution of child pornography, production of intimate content without consent, dissemination of personal data offering sexual services without consent, and identity theft. The main formats in which digital aggressions occur are intimate photo sharing groups or websites, direct message, creation of fake profiles, and attack from fake profiles. Currently, I chair the Gender Equality Committee in the Mexican Senate, a legislative space that has allowed me to create, contribute, and adapt legislation to current times. Thus, we are not only concerned, but we have also dealt with legislating important reforms that provide safety of women in digital space. Well, the reform, and it was approved in unanimity. How do you say unanimity? Everyone, uh-huh, see. The reform entails the following. Define digital violence as any malicious action carried out through the use of information and communication technologies by which images, audios, or real or simulated videos of intimate sexual content of a person without their consent without their approval or without their authorization are exposed, distributed, disseminated, exhibited, transmitted, market, offered, exchanged, or shared with costs psychological and emotional harm, as well as damage any area of the person’s private life or own image. It also includes those malicious acts that cause damage to the intimacy, privacy, and or dignity of women which are committed through information and communication technologies. Second, regulates protection orders for digital violence cases in which the public prosecutor’s office or judge will immediately order the necessary protection measures, introducing electronical or ingriding the companies of digital platforms, the media, social of website space, pages, individuals, or companies to interrupt. block, destruct, or delete image, audios, or videos related to the investigation. And third, adds the crime of violation of sexual intimacy punishable by a penalty of three to six years in prison to anyone who discloses, shares, distributes, or publish image, videos, or audios of intimate sexual content of a person who is a legal age without the person’s consent, approval, or authorization, as well as anyone who videotapes, audiotapes, photographs, prints, or develops image, audios, or videos with intimate sexual content of a person without their consent, without their approval, or without their authorization. Well, I am convinced that one of the best ways to achieve women, adolescents, and girls’ safety is to provide an applicable legal framework to face situations that cause serious harm to their lives. Never take one step back on women’s rights. Thank you very much.

Moderator – Alexandra Robinson:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I think that set the stage for the entire event very well. I will now introduce the other panelists who’ll be speaking with us today. We have Sherry Karam Talabani, who is sitting right next to the senator, who is the executive director of the SEED Foundation. Sherry is a human rights lawyer and has over 20 years of experience as a policymaker, program manager, and advocate for gender and human rights and social justice. And today, she’ll be speaking to us specifically around contemporary legal frameworks and political discourses on technology facilitator, GBV, in Iraq. And then sitting on the other side of Sherry, we have Carla Velasco Ramos, the policy advisor coordinator at the Association for Progressive Communications. And Carla has many years of experience in internet access, gender and technology, and with the APC, plays a crucial role in convening CSOs, tech companies and online platforms to address TFGBB. And then we will be speaking with our eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, one of the only intergovernmental regulatory bodies in the world committed to keeping citizens safer online. The eSafety Commissioner has extensive experience in the non-profit and government sectors and has spent two decades working in senior public policy and safety roles in the tech industry, including at Microsoft, Twitter and Adobe. And as the Commissioner, plays an important role as the global chair, an important global role as the chair of the Child Dignity Alliance’s technical working group, a board member of the We Protect Global Alliance, and the Commissioner also serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety and on their Exide ecosystem governance steering committee on building and defining the metaverse. I’m not sure. And finally, we will conclude our panel discussion with Juan Carlos Lara, who is the Executive Director at Derechos Digitales, an organization working at the intersection of human rights and digital technologies, where he is a lawyer by training and has experience in legal and policy analyst and research on data privacy, surveillance, freedom of expression and access to knowledge in the digital environment. So with that, I will now turn to you, Sherry. Thank you for being with us.

Sherri Kraham Talabany:
Thank you for hosting us. I think at the conference so far, we’ve seen everything at a 10,000 foot level and I really So, you’ve been talking a lot about government structures and platforms, and I really wanted to drill down on some of that. Thank you. Surprisingly, I’m not very tech-savvy myself. So what I really wanted to do is drill down on what online violence means in Iraq, but I think also across the Middle East, because I think it’s an area where we see very high internet penetration, but also very high rates of gender inequality, extremely conservative norms, which creates unique vulnerabilities of people who already have high vulnerabilities, and it exacerbates those. So unique vulnerabilities to TFGBV, and with real-life disastrous consequences for women and young girls. We see TFGBV endemic and increasing across the Middle East and Iraq. So Iraq is the fourth worst country in the world when it comes to women’s peace, security, access to justice, women’s rights, and their safety. And that’s according to the Women, Peace, and Security Index, and it relates to their participation in every aspect of life. We have the highest rate of intimate partner violence in the world, 45% of women face violence in their home, so women aren’t safe at home. And we have conservative norms that shape and constrain how women and girls, what they can do, and how they behave, and we see adolescents and young women with extremely limited freedoms and spending a lot of their free time online. We have the largest gap globally. It shows up in the economic sphere, in political participation, in education and health attainments, in their very survival, and we have very limited protections in place. At the same time, Iraq is very well-connected. Seventy-five percent of the population are active on the Internet. Almost everybody has a cell phone. The gaps between women and men exist for sure, with the biggest gap in connection with rural women, and with women lagging behind in terms of digital literacy. Nonetheless, 50 percent of women and girls in Iraq say that they have faced and experienced TFGBV or know someone who has experienced it. In this context with these social and cultural dynamics, women and girls are extremely vulnerable to online violence, with the high likelihood that this violence shows up offline as well. So what are we worried about? Much as what the senator just described, harassment, abuse, exploitation, trafficking. We also see these phenomenon lead to murder, honor killings, and increased rates of suicide. So what do we see? We see image-based abuse, just what you just described, private photo or image or film, sometimes real and sometimes manipulated, used to exploit sextortion, used to traffic, used in every economic strata in our society for women and girls. Besides the violence that women and girls face from the perpetrator, or the person that’s abusing them online, we also see them face extremely high rates of violence in their home life as a result of this threat and of this violence. So if their families find out, it could lead to honor-based violence and murder, and it has, and we have many cases of this. Harassment, threats, and defamation. It’s against women and girls generally, but it’s especially a risk for women in the public space, academics, politicians. NGO leaders, and women of every walk of life, and it’s intended to inhibit and constrain women and girls’ participation. And so we see them being harassed and intimidated online. We’ve seen a spate of murders of social media influencers for dressing what is perceived to be provocatively smoking, and punishing them for going outside social norms. So it’s violent, and it’s scary, and it’s intended to keep women’s representation and participation low, and it’s very effective at that. We have other challenges with predatory practices, including of children through gaming, child porn, child trafficking rings, but these are less documented and well-known. And of course, the most obvious and horrific abuse is that we saw women sold like chattel by ISIS online, and that fostered the trafficking of women during the ISIS crisis, which continues even to today online. So what do we need to do to address it? My organization two years ago started a nationwide task force. I think it’s the only nationwide task force called the TFGBB Task Force, and you can find out and connect to our task force here. We’re focused on human rights-based legislation and policy across the Middle East and Iraq. Legislation to protect against these harms is often used to decrease public expression, free media, and the response tends to be rules that inhibit and criminalize public expression. So we need to focus on the crime, but not on expression. We need increased access to safe and confidential reporting, along with investigations and protections from designated agencies with clear mandates and skilled personnel. So we don’t have that in Iraq today. We don’t have a designated—we do have some legislation, but we don’t have a designated agency, and we certainly don’t have— investigations that are skilled or experienced. We also need skilled and experienced NGOs that understand this unique kind of crime and how it impacts women and girls across Iraq and of course the Middle East. And this requires serious training capacity building which we are undertaking. And then finally we need to focus on the tech companies. They need to have proper redress that is both survivor-centered, rights-focused, including child’s rights-focused that understands how this type of online violence manifest into real-world violence across the Middle East in a unique way and develop appropriate safe responses for the environment that we face. So to close, we really need a regionalized local response in whatever internet governance architecture that emerges from these forums, whether it’s the Global Digital Compact or other thread, we need to address in these broad governance mechanisms the unique violence and considerations that we face across the Middle East. Thank you.

Moderator – Alexandra Robinson:
Thank you so much, Sherry. And really to build on your work as a CSO in Iraq, I’ll now turn to the Association for Progressive Communications who have demonstrated a longstanding ability to mobilize communities and community organizations around the issue of addressing tech facilitator GBV. I wondered if you could speak to the role of APC in shaping those movements, but also perhaps talk to some of the voices that you think might be missing from those movements.

Karla Velasco:
Yes, thank you. So I am Carla, and I’m the Policy Advocacy Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Program, which is part of the Association for Progressive Communication. So today I’m going to speak on behalf of WRP and APC. The Association for Progressive Communications is a network organization, it’s a member’s organization. We have around 70 member organizations that work in approximately 40 countries around the world, mostly of them in the global south or in the majority world. So the work that we do with our member organizations since APC’s inception, which was almost 30 years ago, is through the women’s rights program to work on women’s rights, sexual rights, and feminist movements. And back then when we started working with the women’s rights programs, a language like online gender-based violence was something that didn’t even exist, right? So it is a celebration for us that 25 years after we get to see these issues in the agenda and we get to see that different governments are taking these very important issues into account and these are being mentioned right now at the Internet Governance Forums, at the Global Digital Compact, and in the different feminist foreign policies that are currently pushing this subject, right? So for us, it has been a major achievement to have this. In 2022, the term was successfully recognized as a human rights violation, and it was thanks to the work of member organizations together with APC and with other organizations from the feminist movements, and it has been a successful work for us to be able to find a pathway between feminist organizations and digital rights organizations, right? Because that’s also a very big struggle right now. So for us… it is very important to bring into the digital space the voices of women and people of diverse genders and sexualities and the things that are very important and crucial right now is that even though there is a discussion between online gender-based violence and technology facilitated gender-based violence, we need to go beyond the discussion of the term and we really need to discuss the response and remedy to victims and survivors where they are. So for example, one of the things that I want to highlight here is that we hear in many of the discussions the phrase, yes access and digital skills for women and girls as a possible solution to the problems that we have for gender and my urgency here is to please go beyond that, you know, because access is only part of the problem. But what we really need to look at is the usage of the internet and how women and people of diverse genders and sexualities are connected, the issues that we face online and how we have differentiated effect when we are using the internet, right? And how that crosses intersectionality and how that crosses where we come from, where are we connecting from and it intersects with race, gender, identity, sexuality, class, ethnicity. So we need to take all of these things into account. So once you look into or beyond the gender gap, you get to see that there’s a lot of complexities around that and we really need to focus on this and this is what the members are currently asking for us to do, right? To bring the conversation beyond that, to bring technology-facilitated gender-based violence, to bring gender disinformation into the discussion, but also to change a little bit the narrative because we always think about the negative things and we always see the negative effects and impacts that we have. But for example in APC, we have a vision of transformative justice. So we really, the proposal that we have here and that we also show in our feminist principles of the internet is how through bringing values such as pleasure, sexuality, joy, freedom of expression, we get to change the narrative of how we see these issues that we are currently facing as women and people of diverse genders and sexualities. So my time is up. Thank you very much.

Moderator – Alexandra Robinson:
Thank you, Carla. And with that, I think, you know, another pathway around how we achieve those safe spaces for women and girls to enjoy technology and online spaces, we have Commissioner Iman Grant. It would be lovely to hear from you about what does a regulatory body look like and how is that disrupting harm so that women can have a transformative experience online.

Julie Inman Grant:
Well, thank you. I’d also like to play off the really important discussion that has already been had and congratulate everyone for not using the term revenge porn. When I was announced as eSafety Commissioner, I was asked to set up a revenge porn portal and I said, yes, I will, but no, I will not call it revenge. Revenge for what? And porn, not for the titillating purposes. We can’t be using language that trivializes or victim blames. So it’s so good to see that in many languages, in many contexts, that image-based abuse is being adopted as a much more empowered terminology. I think it’s really important. The role that we have actually gives me a legislative role to coordinate all online safety activity across the Commonwealth, but also to be the educator and the regulator for online safety. Now, I think it’s really important, we’ve heard this, there is no one-size-fits-all. So when we’re talking about prevention and education, it’s really important to establish an evidence base and understand how the most vulnerable communities are being impacted and how it might be manifesting differently. So for instance, in Australia, indigenous Australians are twice as likely to receive online hate than the broader general population. And the way the indigenous communities use technology is different. They tend to share devices, they tend to share passwords. It’s a very familial base, but that also means that there are more imposter accounts and takeovers and lateral violence. But you also can’t say there’s a one-size-fits-all for Indigenous communities. The experiences of urban Indigenous people are different from those in rural and remote communities. By the same token, in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, when we looked at technology-facilitated abuse, not only are they experiencing the harm and the mental and emotional distress that the everyday Australian is experiencing from technology-facilitated abuse, they often have low digital literacy, low technology literacy. The man controls the technology in the home. There are additional threats of deportation. There may be mistrust of police and government organizations, and just general disenfranchisement from the community. And then when we look at those with intellectual disabilities, these women are afraid to tell the truth. They’re afraid that they will not be believed. And it’s often their carers or their partners that control their technology and threaten to cut them off from their peers and their friends. And they may not have the capability of knowing where to report to or where to get help. So we do have the intersectional nature that we have to make sure that we understand we need to co-design solutions for prevention with these communities. When we get to the protection side of things, to echo the senator’s comments, because we take complaints from the public around child sexual abuse material, around image-based abuse, around youth-based cyberbullying and adult cyberabuse, every single one of those forms of abuse is gendered. The average age for girls being bullied used to be 14. We’re now getting reports from girls as young as 8 or 9 years old. I’ve just issued end-user powers against a group of six 14-year-old boys who are sending rape and death threats to another 14-year-old girl. We’re helping women in Iran and Pakistan with… Australian Connections get their image-based abuse materials down because they’re at risk of honor killings and you know a terrible shame that we don’t experience it the same way in the Australian context and so we’re now issuing some remedial directions against some of those people. So using these deterrent powers and naming and shaming does have an impact. We have a 90% success rate in terms of getting this content taken down and I can tell you that so many women that come to us that’s what they want. They’ve been to the police and they were told why’d you take the image in the first place why didn’t you just get off the internet. So again we need to we need to learn from each other so that we can develop solutions that will work in every jurisdiction and every context and my time is up but I just want to offer that we’re willing to work with all of you to help share our learnings. Thank you. I

Moderator – Alexandra Robinson:
will turn to our last panelist now Juan Carlos to speak to the significance of some work where UNFPN Diretos Digitales are doing jointly around what rights-based law reform looks like to address to address TFGBB and why this is

Juan Carlos Lara Galvez:
an important piece of work. Yes thank you very much. Thank you to NFPA for the invitation to participate in this. I am now saluting you all from Diretos Digitales. We’re an NGO working in the intersection of human rights and digital technologies working in Latin America and I speak also on behalf of my wonderful colleagues who are working in this effort to provide guidance for for law reform. I’d like to begin by highlighting the fact that as a civil society organization based in the global majority we understand that the internet is indeed a place of risk but it’s also a place for opportunity. that the digital realm has meant and has allowed for more spaces to give visibility to social demands, to social justice demands, and also for the demands of combating and preventing gender-based violence, especially that which is facilitated by technology. At the same time, I do wish to acknowledge like the significant contributions to this panel which are a big summary of the amounts and the diversity of the violence that women, gender non-conforming people, LGBTQIA plus people face daily on the internet. But at the same time, the work that the digital is conducting is trying to address the fact that we need sensible legislation, legislative efforts, standards are being discussed right now. However, how that applies to the internet and to the complexity of the social backgrounds of these types of violence is a very complex problem and the legislative side of it is only one part of it. And we need to take it into consideration in its right way to balance the rights and of course to provide the solutions that the legislation by itself is able to provide. We need to also understand that complex social issues are not going to be just solved by virtue of enacting new laws, but that we also need enforcement and we need a level of understanding throughout the system that should be reflected as well. So we need to develop legal frameworks that addressed technology facilitated gender-based violence from the perspective of balance and also taking into consideration that the privacy of the survivors themselves, their freedom of expression, their access to information are relevant also for them. It’s not just a matter of the rights of the people who are committing the offenses. So because these are social problems that disproportionately affect people in situations of vulnerability and women also in the public sphere, we need to defend an intersectional approach that addresses contextual and social differences. and also that there are groups

Audience:
that are being taken care of in the legal system. So there’s almost protection to children up to the age of 18 in my country at least. And then from 18, you’re a woman and your harm is normalized, violence against you is normalized and you’re not even considered a victim. So those are my two statements, thank you.

Moderator – Alexandra Robinson:
Thank you very much, Angela. Very quickly on the global stage, I think we’re lucky to have Ellen here from Young Women, but last, you know, in March, the entire Commission of Status of Women was dedicated to gender and technology. And I think there was a really strong focus around technology facilitated gender-based violence, integrated into global outcomes documents and language. So I think at a global level, there is certainly movement around building international language and policy. And I think at a national level, we’re very much seeing, you know, movements around different countries implementing laws and policies. I will pass to the senator.

MARTHA LUCIA MICHER CAMARENA:
Si, bueno. Let me tell you that I was in Beijing in 1990. No, it’s 95. 1995. And everyone told us that we were, que estamos locas. Locas, crazies. They told us, you are crazy. They didn’t want us to talk about violence against women or this kind of issues about penalties and now, yo veo que hemos avanzado mucho, si lo puedes decir. Pero muchísimo. Hace 30 años, este tema era del brujas. Era un tema prohibido. Y ahora, vamos muy avanzadas. Pero yo creo que el reto es los juzgadores y los ministerios públicos. Creo que ahí es donde tenemos que trabajar. So the senator is sharing that she has seen a lot of progress in the last 30 years and that we should definitely take that into account. It has completely shifted. For 30 years, so that’s something to to remember and that the problem now is the judiciary system public ministries and judges This is the the most important problem As she shared just now

Moderator – Alexandra Robinson:
Thank you. I we do have to wrap up now, but I will ask Eiko Narita the Representative of our Japan UNFPA office to to close us out today I’ll stand up so you can sit here because I think there’s a

Eiko Narita:
Well, well, thank you so much I’m six is a great number here, but I thought I would be the lucky seven barging in to close this session but it’s really, you know excellencies and you know, all these leaders and Wonderful colleagues and also friends, you know within the community for being here to this really rich conversation around, you know Disrupt harm accountability for safety say for Internet Since we keep talking about the importance of multi-stakeholder Conversations over the last couple of days. I mean, what does that really means? And I think you heard that here right more specifically, you know, we need to come together across governments, you know regulatory bodies CSO’s businesses and rights-based organizations to really Collaborate more efficiently to be able to disrupt this harm over the internet that we see so so frequently I think we also have to acknowledge at this moment the all and the power of civil society organizations I think it’s really important that they’re here today at IGF and You know, especially including those led by a PC and Audrey I Think what I was talking to Alex earlier this afternoon and say, you know, they they belong here, right they they are Entities that belong here to really make that voice be heard from the ground because that’s really important We’re not just talking sort of in theory. So, just going over what we discussed today, we learned about the experiences of one of the only intergovernmental regulatory bodies, the eSafety Commissioner of Australia, and also from the legislative scenarios of Mexico, all these steps taken, and from feminist digital rights activists whose global work inspires really all of us, and from community leaders in Iraq, one of the toughest countries to really handle and face this gender-based violence issue, not only online, but on the ground in person. And I think what this event did was to really put a human face over topics that are often so high up in the technology world, and I think that’s really important that we put this human face to it. And I think it’s interesting for me because we use this online digital technology, the accountability of it is unlike other crimes, like crimes against humanity, like genocide. They’re accountable. Who do we put accountability to it? When we have things like AI, suddenly that accountability is really much more difficult to put a finger to. So, at UNFPA, we’re really working hard to try, and as one of the transformative goals, to end gender-based violence. And as Maria Ressa mentioned earlier, if it’s not okay to do it in person, then it’s not okay to do it online either. So, I think we work with governments, policymakers like ourselves, and I just want us to finally maybe say that you’re all here in your own positions, whether civil society or not. I think it’s good for us to continue to use this platform as a way to interact and also continue the momentum of movement so that this becomes a place of exchange and also… amplifying the voices of what is really important. So with that, I know I have to do this. I have to extend my gratitude to everyone who made this event possible. Special thanks go to our Honorable Senator Camarena and also Julie Eman Grant, Sherry Karaham Talabani, Juan Carlos, Lara and Carla Valesquez Ramos, and also Alex, Stephanie and Eva, our team from UNFPA, and to all of you who have come here today to really make this conversation very rich. So thank you so much.