Editorial
A is for Agency
It’s been a great month for cyber-feminism. The #FBrape campaign succeeded in changing the social network giant’s policies on violence against women in record time. The global alarm over the NSA surveillance scandal created mass awareness over privacy and access to personal data. And Instagram launched hipster filters for videos. Perhaps not as breakthrough, but definitely encouraging of more…
In depth
Survey on sexual activism, morality, and the internet
Has the internet become an indispensable tool for feminist and LGBTQI advocacy? How savvy are sexual rights activists in handling the legal and technical issues that come along when they use the internet? How do they negotiate online threats and restrictions? Activists from around the world addressed these and other questions through a global online survey on sexual rights work and the internet.
In depth
How activism shapes your experience of being a citizen on the internet
What does it mean to use the internet freely and fully? What freedom do you have to express who you are, how you live your life, what you desire, dream and believe in on the internet? And how safely can you communicate, contribute, exist, navigate and be in the spaces online that can so powerfully connect you to communities and knowledges that build our sense of self? This article written by…
Feminist talk
Women’s rights and threats to online freedom: reflections from the Freedom Online Conference 17 to 18 June 2013
From 17 to 18 June 2013 I took part in the conference on online freedom known as Freedom Online. This conference, carrying the same name of the coalition behind it, highlighted the continent in which it was hosted. In the midst of the international storm about surveillance and censorship, our specific focus was online freedom in Africa and the Arab world as Tunisia, like all of the Maghreb, has…
Publication
Baseline study: Technology related violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina
This initiative aims to identify and map the existing situation on the ground, in terms of challenges that impede the understanding of violence against women and girls in digital spaces, and violence committed through use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A poll and an interview were intended for and conducted in organizations/institutions that work…
Feminist talk
Transparency and accountability: Finding points of agreement following the #fbrape campaign
Last month a coalition of women's organisations led a campaign to hold Facebook accountable for its content policy. In particular, how it deals with hateful speech and representations of gender-based violence shared by its users. In response, freedom of expression advocates have expressed concern and criticism over the precedent set by demands for Facebook to remove hateful content from its site…
Feminist talk
The false paradox: freedom of expression and sexist hate speech
The campaign “Take action to end gender-based violence on Facebook” has re-opened up debate among internet rights advocates about the right to freedom of expression and responsibilities of internet intermediaries in regarding the content that circulates through their services. Margarita Salas, who is currently doing research consultancy of internet intermediaries corporate policies for APC's…
Feminist talk
How funny is this, Facebook?
“Take action to end gender-based violence on Facebook” is this campaign’s call that asks companies whose publicity appears on explicitly violent Facebook pages and profiles to help pressure the social networking platform to re-examine its response to violence against women and girls.
Feminist talk
Rediff and Rape Threats: What Rediff Could Have Done to Support Kavita Krishnan
On 24 April, Kavita Krishnan, a leading figure in the anti-rape protests that have been rocking India since December 2012, was the target of online abuse on a public online chat on Rediff - an Indian leading media company and internet services provider. Ironically, the chat was addressing the topic of rising incidence of rape, and Kavita was invited specifically by Rediff to respond questions…
Publication
APC WRP presentation to the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women in Law and Public Life
Established by the Human Rights Council at its 15th session in September 2010, the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women in Law and Public Life focus is to identify, promote and exchange views, in consultation with States and other actors, on good practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate against women. In early January this year, Jan Moolman, on behalf of APC Women’s…