Each March, governments and gender equality advocates from around the world gather at the United Nations to review the status of women and girls in all their diversity, and to make commitments to address their priorities. This year, for the first time, that global policymaking conference, known as the Commission on the Status of Women, will tackle the problem of online gender-based harassment and abuse, also known as technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
Gender-based online harassment and abuse
Plan International youth advocates and staff are excited to be at CSW to help shape the conference outcomes. Plan’s expertise on the topic stems from surveys and interviews with more than 14,000 girls in 31 countries. In our study, Plan found that 58% of surveyed girls have experienced harassment online. Even further, we found that girl activists face increased online harassment, particularly when speaking about feminism or gender equality, with 47% of respondents reporting being harassed for their opinions.
Unfortunately, existing laws and policies do not adequately recognize or address online harassment, abuse or other forms of violence. Cyberbullying, cyberstalking, unsolicited sending of obscene images, doxing and similar forms of online gender-based violence are not illegal in many jurisdictions. As a result, girls and women who report cases to the police frequently face inaction and are unable to access relevant support systems. Cases are not investigated, survivors are left with no redress or access to justice and perpetrators continue their actions and enjoy impunity.
Social media platforms’ own enforcement mechanisms also prove ineffective: Plan has documented that 35% of girls have already reported or blocked their harassers, but abuse persists due to serious flaws in corporate reporting and enforcement mechanisms, as well as algorithms and human moderation that frequently make erroneous review decisions.
At the last CSW conference, the Agreed Conclusions outcome document recognized these issues but failed to propose specific actions. Instead, governments agreed that, “the growing prevalence of violence against women and girls in digital contexts, especially on social media, and the lack of preventive measures and remedies underline the need for action … to prevent and respond to violence and harassment online and offline and other negative effects of technological development. It recalls that emerging forms of violence, such as cyberstalking, cyberbullying and privacy violations, are affecting a high percentage of women and girls and compromising, inter alia, their health, their emotional, psychological and physical well-being, and their safety.”
Gender-based digital divide
Across the world, women and girls increasingly face gender-based barriers that prevent them from accessing, using and designing technology and digital tools at the same level as boys and men. Girls are, on average, less likely than men to own a mobile phone, use mobile data or use social media apps. There is also a stark gender disparity in internet access, which limits the girls’ ability to access information, participate in public life and benefit from many opportunities that the digital environment and digital economy can bring.
This digital gender divide is also on the agenda for CSW this year. It is driven by economic gender inequalities; inequalities in education and digital literacy and skills; gender norms and stereotypes discouraging girls and women from accessing technology and digital environments; and concerns over safety and security. Girls, especially in low-income countries, are deprived of educational and technological opportunities to build their digital literacy and ICT skills, which are essential for economic success in an increasingly digitized economy.
Necessary actions
CSW Members States must act to reduce the digital gender divide and keep girls safe online through updating and reforming legislative frameworks, putting in place effective enforcement mechanisms and improving knowledge and capacities of law enforcement and other first responders. We need to ensure that survivors have the support they need, including access to justice and accountability. With this in mind, Plan has put forth the following recommendations for governments to consider this year at CSW. These priorities have been shaped by the voices and experiences of girls and young women.
Plan and youth advocates call on Member States’ governments to:
- Institutionalize and ensure meaningful and safe participation of girls and young women in all their diversity in policymaking processes concerning innovation, technology and online safety, as well as other decisions shaping their digital experiences and interactions and affecting their lives.
- Identify and address gaps in laws and policy frameworks that do not adequately recognize and address new technology-facilitated forms of gender-based violence, such as online harassment, abuse, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, unsolicited sending of obscene images and doxing.
- Bring legal clarity to the definitions and handling of all forms of online violence and clarify the responsibilities of internet platforms.
- Provide universal access to affordable and meaningful internet services for all girls and women, including those in low-income or rural areas, through improving infrastructure, extending network coverage, reducing costs and other measures to address the connectivity gap between genders, countries and regions.
- Increase educational enrollment of girls and young women in information and communications technology disciplines so they to gain advanced knowledge and skills to become ICT professionals and leaders so that they can actively participate in increasingly digitized economies as creators and designers of technologies, not only as users and consumers.
Implementing these recommendations will not only keep girls physically and mentally safer, but will also support their continued political participation, which is often hindered by harassment. With the importance of youth voice and youth participation in mind, Plan hopes that the considerations above will inform the outcomes of this year’s CSW.
