The Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK), in partnership with the Policy Organisation, is advocating for safer digital space use, particularly for women, to minimise the high levels of abuse on digital platforms.
AMWIK Executive Director, Queenter Mbori, says the internet remains a double-edged sword for women as it was a space brimming with opportunities yet rife with challenges such as online violence, exclusion, and gender inequality. "The digital space offers a great opportunity for women, particularly in media and public spaces, by providing an enabling environment where they can advance their courses and advocacy," said Mbori. "On the other hand, the digital platform is also a hub for abuse and Technology Facilitated -Gender Based Violence. (Technology Facilitated -GBV)," she added, while speaking during a training on the future of work aimed at empowering women for a digitally resilient future.
Technology-facilitated GBV could be defined as acts of Gender-Based Violence that are committed, abetted, or aggravated, in part or fully, by the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as phones, the internet, social media platforms, and email.
Common forms of Technology Facilitated-GBV attacks include trolling, doxing, body shaming, abusive comments, revenge porn, hacking, impersonation, sextortion, deep fakes, digital domestic abuse, and online recruitment for exploitation that are motivated by the sexual or gender identity of the target or by underlying gender norms.
