In depth
Trafficking in Women: female objectification
By Vera Vieira
A conservative estimate is that 42 million people are prostituted worldwide, of which 90% are exploited by pimps, and every year 2 million people are added to this number. Latin America has 10% of trafficking in persons for sexual activities - nearly half of the victims are children and youth under 18 years. Human trafficking is considered the third most profitable form of crime in the world,…
In depth
Your presence as a political statement: the story of Coraline Ada
By Evelin Heidel - Scann
Interview with Coraline Ada Ehmke, best known for her exemplary work in setting up the Contributor Covenant - a code of conduct for open source projects. Coraline's life story is an inspiration for all those working for the rights of those marginalized, and their experience in free and open source software cultures. In this interview she describes the ways in which her transition has affected her…
In depth
Curfew on Solidarities: Interviews with Kashmiri activists on censorship and lockdown
By Namita
Social media is both the space for building a new language to speak about Kashmir in terms of occupation, resistance, settler colonialism or separatist movements, and it also is a technology of control for the Indian government. Banning certain websites and people and blocking the internet for periods extending to weeks is seen as completely acceptable ways of dealing with the "Kashmir crisis…
In depth
Not just a thematic area: Sexual rights, gender, health and rights of defenders at the United Nations HRC 2016
By Namita
Pluses were the 32nd session of HRC acknowledging that women face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, online violence got a mention and so did indigenous women human rights defenders. Negatives were how far is all this from the realities of sexuality and gender based discrimination and violence.
In depth
Feminism online in West and Central Africa: Identities and digital colonisation
By Caroline Tagny
This article examines the challenges that women's rights and sexual rights activists face in online feminist organising and participation in internet governance decision-making processes in West and Central Africa. It focuses particularly on linguistic barriers, and the expression of sexual or gender non-conforming identities in a context of digital colonisation in the sub-region.
In depth
Data: The new four-letter word for feminism
By Anita Gurumurthy
The discourse of data in network capitalism has unleashed an ethical crisis of self and society. As the all-pervasive grids of surveillance and big data ideology take over control of social behaviour and democratic politics, women seem to be increasingly disciplined by state authority and neoliberal capital alike. Can feminism offer a way out?
In depth
The Do-It-Yourself Feminist Internet: Cyber feminist actions from Latin America
By Florencia Goldsman
Informed by resistance, dissident identities, intersectional approaches, issues of sexuality and universal access to the internet, we seek a collective answer to the question: Is a feminist internet possible? This reflection is a joint undertaking with Latin American women activists advocating freer and more equitable technologies and working to saturate the net with feminist content and…
In depth
The reality of getting online in Jamaica: How mobile phones and social media lead to violence against women
By GenderIT.org
According to the research report “Violence against women and the use of information and communications technologies in Jamaica”, there is insufficient recognition of the relationships between information and communications technologies and violence against women in the country, and VAW in its many forms continues to be a serious problem. To know more about the Jamaican context and the research,…
In depth
Balancing rights and interests: Best practices to counter online abuse and violence
By Flavia Fascendini
The IGF Best Practice Forum on Online Abuse and Gender-Based Violence Against Women took place in Joao Pessoa, Brazil in November 2015. Representatives of civil society, academia and the private sector went through some of the key highlights and recommendations from the BPF but opened it up at different junctures for inputs and responses.
In depth
From sensitisation to changing women's lives: Understanding tech-related violence in the DRC
By Bianca Baldo
In this article, Bianca Baldo interviews Françoise Mukuku and Patience Luyeye from Si Jeunesse Savait. In partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), they carried out the research mapping technology-related violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the interview, they elaborate on some of the findings, gaps in legislation, ambiguous role of…
