Using cell phones to address violence against women and girls

Women’sNet in partnership with Cell-Life will be hosting a workshop on 13 and 14 October to explore the potential use of cell phones to address violence against women and girls. This workshop is one of the activities of the APC WNSP project on strengthening women’s use of ICTs to combat VAW. VAW activists, communication rights workers, policy makers and regulators are some of the participants who will attend. The agenda aims to be participatory in order to explore how people see the connections between VAW and ICTs in their work and lives as well as how ICTs can be strategically used to assist in VAW work. The various activities which form part of this project (which is funded by the MDG3 fund) will be presented. The workshop will discuss the country paper written to upfront and present some of the issues and policies which affect women’s use of ICTs to prevent VAW.

Cell phones being so ubiquitous in South Africa are logical tools to use in strategies of prevention of VAW. But the flip side of the same coin is the use of cell phones to harass, stalk and monitor survivors of violence. How can government policies best address the issues? How can activists influence policy in order to make the technology work for them? What creative and inclusive strategies can we use to promote safe use of cell phones and other communication technologies?

Watch this space for news and photos from the South African MDG3 national strategy workshop!