Internet, phones new frontiers for violence against women

Perpetrators of online violence against women are becoming more daring, with some tracking down their victims and subjecting them to physical violence.

Women, especially young ones, are running away from the internet, a platform that has become critical in advancing freedom of expressions and empowering people.

Many women who frightened to use the internet, are likely to lose out on the benefits offered by the platform like access to job opportunities, business, networking, knowledge enrichment, sharing of ideas among others.

Online violence in countries like Kenya, Uganda and Malawi is also being used to scare women from participating in processes that are pathways into decision-making positions.

So worrying is the violence that delegates at the recent 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women demanded the inclusion of this issue in the political declaration and the post-2015 development agenda.

Perpetrators of violence against women are said to be taking a more vicious approach online. They know they will subject their victims to tremendous emotional and psychological torture without being caught.

Police doing nothing

President of The International Association of Women in Radio and Television Racheal Nakitare said hiding behind pseudonyms and secure in the knowledge that this is one of the most difficult forms of violence to prove, the perpetrators act with impunity.

“Taking the violence happening online into the physical space is real and frightening in countries like Kenya. We need, as a matter of urgency, legal frameworks to help us deal with it,” she said.

Ms Nakitare and her team recently conducted a study which showed an increasing trend of technology based violence on platforms like the internet in Kenya.

Ms Jan Moolman, the Women’s Rights Programme project co-ordinator at the Association for Progressive Communications of South Africa, said recently that technology related violence was on the rise.

Mobile phone is probably the most widely used tool to perpetrate technology related violence on women.

A study by APC found that 22 per cent of the 1,100 cases interviewed reported repeated violence. About 33 per cent complained of emotional violence with 11 per cent reporting physical violence.

Women rights advocates say their biggest concern is that authorities in many countries seem helpless in dealing with this form of violence. Legal provisions on how to punish the offenders have not been developed.

In other cases, the law enforcement agencies show little or no interest in technology related violence.

According to the APC study, 47 per cent of survivors turn first to police or a state enforcement authority. But less than half of the cases reported are investigated.

This might be due the fact that many people, including the law enforcers themselves, perceive violence that takes place online as not real and less harmful. That means it does not command much attention compared to physical violence.

In many countries, police hide behind lack of laws to do nothing about these crimes. In Kenya, for instance, police say they have no legal framework on how to deal with technology based violence.

While the Kenyan law recognises Information Communication and Technology related offences, it is limited to cybercrime. There is no recognition and understanding of violence against women within it.

Other laws such as the Sexual Offences Act do not have references on technology based violence. Many of these laws were formulated when online violence against women was not a serious issue.

PRIVATE INFORMATION

But even in countries like South Africa where there are comprehensive laws on gender based violence, implementation remains a challenge, according to Ms Moolman.

At the global level, notes Laura Breton of Centro para el Desarrollo Agropecuario Forestal, matters are not better either. The violence is not getting the attention it requires.

Country reports on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, for example, are not capturing this type of violence.
“It would be strategic for us to push for the inclusion of this form of violence, in very elaborate way in the existing international, regional and national frameworks and instruments that protect women from violence,” Ms Breton said.

Without constructive response to the issue by governments and law enforcers, women rights advocates are turning to educating women on the perils of the internet and other technology platforms.

The idea is to empower women and girls with knowledge on internet safety so that they do not fear taking advantage of online opportunities but participate in this space with caution.

One area of focus is to encourage women and girls not to share their pictures or private information with people they do not know. These are the same people who turn around and use the information to harass them.

“A majority of the women do not know what they are exposing themselves to when they share images and information about themselves online. The key approach is to sensitise them on internet safety,” said Ms Nakitare.

ONLINE SAFETY

Ms Breton said the most important thing for women to know at the moment was how far to go on the internet in regard to sharing information and how to protect themselves on various technology-related platforms.

In addition to creating awareness, the advocates are pushing for formulation of legal regimes that protect women from technology based violence.

They are advocating for allocation of resources to and training of law enforcement agents to enable them deal effectively with this new type of crime.

However, many people feel that this strategy needs to be approached cautiously because governments might use protection of women on technology platforms as an excuse to formulate laws that curtail freedom of expression.

“Even as we push for new legal frameworks, we have to be cautious that politicians and other leaders might create laws that limit freedom of expression of women in the name of stopping violence against them,” warned Ms Breton.

Ms MOOLMAN AGREED.

“We need to argue our case clearly about safety of women online while, at the same time, provide space for women to freely express themselves,” she said.

This also applies to the private sector, especially internet service providers, who too are expected to put in place measures that protect women operating on their platforms.