Violence Against Women

The Bill was drafted by Justice Alliance of South Africa (JASA), an anti-gay, anti-choice organisation. The countries mentioned by JASA as having enacted similar legislation to the proposal Bill – Yemen and the United Arab Emirates – both censor LGBT as well as political content that they deem undesirable.

Taking into consideration the social context within which laws operate in South Africa, where violence against lesbian women and transgender people is common, “a law focusing on sexual content is likely to see content that focuses on lesbian sexuality or even women’s sexuality as deviant and undesirable” says Shackleton.

“The Law Reform Commission in South Africa, tasked with investigating internet pornography should consider freeing up funds from the Universal Access Fund to promote positive content by women and for women,” says Shackleton. “That way we tip the balance of content in favour of more positive representations of women and more diversity.”

“The Law Reform Commission’s investigation at the very least must be framed by considering that children and women are not the same entity. Children are a separate category of people that require very different legislative approaches than those addressing women,” Shackleton concludes.

Especialistas en tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC) alertaron del uso de éstas para violentar a las mujeres; mientras las redes sociales son utilizadas por hombres para acosar y violentar a mujeres y niñas; en otras se compra y vende abiertamente sexo con niñas menores de 12 años, sin que exista una legislación que sancione estos delitos.

From June 7 – 11, South Asian APC member Bytes for All will unite fellow APC members and women activists alike for a joint event, funded by the APC’s Member Exchange Fund. Representatives from several APC organisations will meet in Islamabad to attend a workshop on digital storytelling and learn how to Take Back the Tech! to end violence against women. This Feminist Tech Exchange will unite 12 – 15 activist women so they can be trained to further train others in the Asian region.

Aramanzan Madanda, at a recent seminar on the interconnections of violence against women and ICTs in Uganda, noted that divulging “personal details on social networking sites such as Facebook .. compromises privacy and possibly security.” Research connected to the MDG3 Project: Take Back the Tech! to end violence against women found “that spouses often used mobile phones to monitor their spouses all the time. They expect the spouses…to answer calls instantly.

Dieciseis organizaciones de mujeres que trabajan para erradicar la violencia de género en Argentina y Brasil recibirán subsidios para capacitar a mujeres y niñas en el uso estratégico de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC). Estos fondos semilla se entregan como parte del proyecto Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio 3 “¡Dominemos la tecnología!

Girls and women from Brazzaville, Pointe Noire and Kinkala participated in a Feminist Tech Exchange training on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to combat violence against women and girls 31 March – 3 April. Sylvie Niombo of AZUR Development, country coordinator of the MDG3 project Take back the Tech! to end violence against women commented in the Congolese Women on the Web blog: “During the three days, participants exchanged views on relevant issues such as judicial procedures to follow for women and girls victims of violence, the presence of Congolese women in the blogosphere and also the use of citizen media for women citizens’ rights activists.

One World Platform for South East Europe (OWPSEE) joins women’s organisations in Bosnia and Herzegonia in protest over media’s irresponsibility in the handling of a case involving a 15-year-old girl who was forced into prostitution. Religious, school and other prominent community leaders are possibly implicated in accusations of human trafficking. Valentina Pellizzer, OWPSEE’s Executive Director and APC WNSP member, expressed outrage at media coverage that exposed the under-age victim’s name, photo, school, address, and family members in blatant violation of ethical and legal norms for protection of victims’ safety and privacy. Local women’s rights organisations are calling for immediate and effective action from authorities to address increasing cases of human trafficking. The organisations are joined by professional journalist associations in demanding sanction of the sensationalist reporting in this case, as well as public apology to the victim and her family.

Fundación Fantsuam ha llevado la tecnología muy lejos en sus esfuerzos por aliviar la pobreza en un área donde normalmente se utilizan baterías de automóvil para cualquier cosa que requiera electricidad. La fundación creó una academia de capacitación en alta tecnología, una extensa red local inalámbrica y ha conectado a internet a miles de personas. Desde 2004 Fantsuam utiliza la Metodología de Evaluación de Género para Iniciativas en Internet (GEM) de APC para evaluar en qué medida su trabajo está cambiando la vida de las mujeres en sus comunidades.