freedom of expression

New changes to Poland's abortion law could effectively ban abortion. Online protests have been building momentum to counter the force of the government, even as the pandemic rages on in Europe.

The lockdown raises questions around digital security and safety. From online conferences being hacked to individual women targeted for extortion, there is a lot happening. In this personal essay, one woman navigates sextortion through expression, art and fantasy.

Across different countries there has been a recorded surge of domestic violence against women especially, but has there been an increase in violence and harassment online? Morgan Barbour shares how she has dealt with increased violence and harassment online since the lockdown began, and how it is now part of her art.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Shakespeare wrote most of his plays during the bubonic plague, and now women and queer artists use the internet and social media to open up spaces for marginalised communities and bodies.

The pandemic has amplified our need for a safe and secure internet, but can we have one now without surveillance and censorship. Read here to know what happened at the original epicentre of the COVID-19 virus and what measures of internet censorship were deemed necessary by the Chinese government to bring the pandemic under control.

Ikhtyar (Arabic for choice) is an invitation to an open space for people interested in discussing gender issues, and in documenting/developing a gender knowledge base in Arabic. GenderIT showcases their recent research on online harassment and violence, the specific forms it takes in the region and language and their reflections on the research process.

What can feminists expect from the revolution of our times? In this article about the recent uprising in Hong Kong against the control of the Beijing government, we take a look at the complexities that feminists and LGBTQI+ activists have to live with, in spite of working for freedom and democracy alongside and in movements.

In 2019 the High Court of Malaya (Malaysia) upheld a fatwa ruling that bans the organisation Sisters in Islam for going against Islamic teachings. In particular, this ruling limits their use of social media. Read more to hear about the complexities of activism and speech in Malaysia for feminist groups and individuals.

Censorship has been replaced online by a system of content moderation controlled by companies, and these rely on both automation as well as human moderators employed to sift through content. The choice is not between the alleged neutrality of the impersonal machine and the errors and finiteness of human moderation, as both work in tandem.

The Asia Pacific Internet Governance Forum just completed in July 2019 and it took place in Russia. There were very few sessions that dealt with either gender or human rights and none that addressed sexuality. At one session there were discussions on the ICT related-laws and particularly on the broad and unclear provisions that deal with online censorship.