UN Special Rapporteur decries online violence against women

Ms Dubravka Šimonović, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences, emphasised online/ICT-facilitated violence against women and girls in her statement to the 38th session of the Human Rights Council. Her report aims to ‘start the process of understanding how to effectively apply a human rights-based approach and human rights instruments to prevent and combat online violence against women as human rights violations’. Recognising that emerging modalities of violence of women share common roots with other forms of violence against women, she pointed out that ‘The definition of violence against women should be inclusive of all acts of gender-based violence against women and girls which are committed, facilitated or aggravated by use of ICTs, as well as including threats of such acts.’ Šimonović called for new laws and recommended that states should ensure a regulatory framework that includes women’s human rights instruments that prohibit gender-based violence online, as well as other points. The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) welcomed the report, supporting mention of the role of Internet intermediaries and highlighting that ‘responses to content that reinforces violence against women should be rooted in human rights norms and require clear definitions, consistent with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, and legitimacy, for what constitutes harmful content’.