internet rights

Like any tool, ICTs can be tremendously useful, but dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. This is doubly true for activists and women's rights defenders. Jennifer Radloff and Erika Smith speak to participants from one of our secure online communications for women human rights defenders workshops who share their own experiences with ICTs and what they've learned from the training.

When did you first realise how your freedom of expression or association could be violated online? When did you first "make the connection" between human rights and internet rights as a women human rights defender? The "Connect Your Rights campaign" campaign and GenderIT.org is calling for submissions of blogs, poems, digital stories, artwork and other visuals to help others make the connection.

This edition of GenderIT.org is dedicated to women human rights defenders. Those working on women's and sexual rights often face challenges not only in the public space, but in their personal space, from their family and partners, as well. In this edition, we examine what new dimension brings ICTs into this struggle, how they are used to mobilize around women's and sexual rights, and the risks…

The Commentary to the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders maps the rights protected in the Declaration and explains in what parts of the document are they protected, unpacks what each right entails and which are the common restrictions and violations of those rights, and lastly highlights good practices and recommendations regarding those rights. It pays particular attention to the specifics of…

Flavia Fascendini looks at the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders -- which, for the first time in history, focuses on the situation of women's human rights defenders. Drawing on the report's findings, she talks to South-East Asian women's activists about the unique security risks they face online.

This Declaration recognises the legitimacy of human rights work and the need for these activities and those who carry them out to be protected. It articulates existing rights contained in the major human rights instruments, such as the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly, as they apply to the situation of human rights defenders. It also outlines that not only States, but also…

Women's human rights activist Edna Aquino remarks on how ICTs have impacted her work, presenting both new opportunities and new risks. In her interview with new GenderIT.org writer, Maya Ganesh, Edna argues that activists using ICTs must be mindful of alienating women with the use of excessive jargon, and must always be keenly aware that there are inherent risks in online communications. However…

GenderIT.org contributor Mavic Cabrera-Balleza interviews Mary Jane Real, outgoing coordinator of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition about the use of internet and information and communication technologies by women human rights defenders, the opportunities they present as well as the digital security risks women human rights defenders confront. Real goes on to share her…

In the second part of the interview with c5 and anonymous, the trainers from the secure online communications workshop provide strategies for mitigating some of the dangers for women's human rights defenders. While examining the practices of policy-makers, internet intermediaries and every day users, they conclude that security means more than just awareness -- it requires behavioural change.

Jennifer Radloff, GenderIT.org contributor, and Running Toddler, a participant of a recently hosted workshop in secure online communications for women human rights defenders, interviewed the workshop's trainers, c5 and anonymous. In this first part of the interview, the trainers talk about their experience in training activists and human rights defenders to use technology securely, and the…