communication rights

Drawing on findings from APC's MDG3: Take Back the Tech! project with women's rights organisations in twelve countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, this paper explores the links between the internet, cell phones and violence against women and illustrates that technology related violence impacts women as seriously as other forms of violence.

In this submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, Association for Progressive Communication (APC) acknowledges the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association to be together with the right to freedom of expression at the core of a democratic and open society and makes recommendations for how these rights can be promoted and…

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.

Dafne Plou reports on the workshop of about 20 women's rights advocates from different countries and backgrounds who met late September 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya, just before the 6th Internet Governance Forum to share their experiences in policy advocacy and to discuss internet governance and its linkage to women’s rights agendas. The workshop was organised by the APC Women's Networking Support…

The Gender Dynamic Coalition statement issued during the 6th UN Internet Governance Forum in September 2011, in Kenya, criticises the continued gender imbalance in both participation (as speakers and participants of workshops and sessions) and substance of the discussions at IGF. It also supports the call to make human rights the IGF 2012 theme and requests that equal attention be paid to women'…

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…