"This Technical Document is the result of a collaboration between EU DisinfoLab and #ShePersisted. It offers a short and practical toolbox of what should be considered when speaking of gender-based disinformation." (Page 3)
"Several projects, publications and initiatives within German development cooperation already focus on bridging the digital gender divide, for instance by promoting gender-equitable internet access, digital literacy and employment opportunities in the tech sector. This paper aims to build on existin
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g work in the field of gender-based online violence (GBOV) and its influence on political and societal participation. A special focus is put on how GBOV can affect the political and societal participation of women and girls in all their diversity as well as other genders, and how this might be remedied. The objective is to provide German development cooperation with some background information on GBOV to raise awareness of the issue, including a taxonomy of the different forms of GBOV, as well as a first overview of implementation approaches to prevent and address the consequences of GBOV." (Introduction)
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"In dieser Open-Access-Publikation stellen Katharina Kärgel und Frederic Vobbe anhand sieben typischer Fallbeispiele Handlungsempfehlungen für einen adäquaten Umgang mit mediatisierter sexualisierter Gewalt dar. Die Empfehlungen sind das Ergebnis des vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschu
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ng geförderten Projekts „HUMAN“. Sie wurden empirisch unter Beteiligung von Betroffenen sowie Expert*innen der Bereiche Recht, Psychologie, Pädagogik und Soziale Arbeit entwickelt. Sie umfassen jeweils Fallreflexionen sowie konkrete Handlungsansätze. Digitale Medien sind Instrument und Kontext sexualisierter Gewalt gegen Kinder und Jugendliche. Sie müssen bei Übergriffen durch zuvor fremde wie nahestehende Personen stets mitbedacht werden. Ihr Einsatz verstetigt die Belastungen Betroffener und führt zu einer hohen Komplexität von Interventionen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"All respondents had experienced online violence. Misogynistic hate speech, sexists’ comments, body shaming as well as slut shaming was common among the women journalists and WHRDs interviewed. These threats were also extended to their families, friends, relatives and networks. Another frequently
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mentioned attack was the attempted hacking into women’s email. Most of the women interviewed reduced their online activity and presence in response to online violence whereas others deactivated some of their online accounts. The story theme most often identified in association with increased attacks was gender, followed by politics and elections, human rights and social policy. Anonymous or unknown attackers are the most frequently noted source of attacks according to the women respondents. Facebook was mentioned as the least safe among social media platforms/apps used by women participants, with most of the respondents saying it was “very unsafe” compared to Twitter. Most of the women journalists did not report incidents of online violence to their employers or security personnel."
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"This publication is a collection of a variety of outlooks, recommendations, and input from the participants of the 2020 workshop [for fellows of the CrossCulture Programme (CCP) of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen] and others. On the subject of digital access, CCP alumnus Camilo Olea speaks ab
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out the digital divide in Mexico and how his organisation is providing access to indigenous rural communities. The German NGO Superrr demands an open digital infrastructure and more open-source software for a more inclusive digital sphere. Ali (name changed), a Bangladeshi journalist and CCP alumnus, gives an overview of the current state of free speech in Bangladesh. CCP alumna Hend Kheiralla from Sudan shares her view on the role of social media during the Sudanese Revolution and the impact of the internet shutdown. Having experienced severe discrimination online herself, a CCP alumna from Jordan talks about her experiences and the impact of attacks as well as strategies for dealing with them. Love Storm, a German NGO that focuses on countering hatred online, suggests specific measures we can start using directly to create a safe and inclusive online space for everyone." (Editorial, page 3)
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"Die Publikation führt in die Thematiken einer feministischen Netzpolitik ein und zeigt deren Potentiale auf. Zudem unternimmt sie den Versuch, einen neuen Gesellschaftsvertrag des Digitalen zu entwerfen. Anhand von zwei zentralen Themen- und Diskussionsfeldern, „Digitale Gewalt“ und „Überwa
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chung versus Privatheit“ wird ein Ausblick auf eine geschlechtergerechte digitale Gesellschaft gegeben. Netzpolitik für und in der digitalen Gesellschaft ist einem steten Wandel unterworfen. Als klassisches Politikfeld noch im Entstehen, fehlen bislang tiefergehende feministische Analysen für diesen Prozess. Die Publikation zeichnet bisherige feministische Perspektiven, etwa Cyberfeminismus oder Netzfeminismus, nach." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Online attacks on women journalists appear to be increasing significantly, as this study demonstrates, particularly in the context of the ‘shadow pandemic’ of violence against women during COVID-19. The pandemic has changed journalists’ working conditions, making them yet more dependent on di
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gital communications services and social media channels. The emergence of the ‘disinfodemic’ has also increased the toxicity of the online communities within which journalists work, making journalists “sitting ducks” according to the UK National Union of Journalists’ Michelle Stanistreet, interviewed for this study. Our research also highlights the threefold function of disinformation in gendered online violence against women journalists: 1. Disinformation tactics are routinely deployed in targeted multiplatform online attacks against women journalists; 2. Reporting on disinformation and intertwined issues, such as digital conspiracy networks and far-right extremism, is a trigger for heightened attacks; 3. Disinformation purveyors operationalise misogynistic abuse, harassment and threats against women journalists to undercut public trust in critical journalism and facts in general." (Introduction, page 7)
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"This is an extracted chapter of a wider UNESCO-commissioned global study on online violence against women journalists produced by the Inter-national Center for Journalists (ICFJ). The full-length study will published in 2022. The chapter identifies the role of big tech companies and especially soci
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al media platforms, as vectors and facilitators of gender-based online violence targeting women journalists. And it assesses the responses of these companies to the problem, making 23 recommendations for more effective countermeasures." (Page 2)
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"This groundbreaking collaborative case study is the most comprehensive assessment of online violence against a prominent woman journalist to date. We conducted a forensic analysis of the torrent of social media attacks on internationally celebrated digital media pioneer Maria Ressa over a five-year
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period (2016-2021). Here, we detail the intensity and ferocity of this abuse, and demonstrate how it is designed not only to vilify a journalism icon, but to discredit journalism itself, and shatter public trust in facts. These attacks also created an enabling environment for Ressa’s persecution and prosecution in the Philippines. Now, her life is at risk and she faces the prospect of decades in jail, proving that there is nothing virtual about online violence." (Page 1)
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"This report strives to build awareness of the direct and indirect impacts of gendered and sexualized disinformation on women in public life, as well as its corresponding impacts on national security and democratic participation. In an analysis of online conversations about 13 female politicians acr
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oss six social media platforms [Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand, Secretary of State for the Home Department Priti Patel, UK, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Canada, and 10 US politicians], totaling over 336,000 pieces of abusive content shared by over 190,000 users over a two-month period, the report defines, quantifies, and evaluates the use of online gendered and sexualized disinformation campaigns against women in politics and beyond. It also uses three in-depth interviews and two focus groups to emphasize the impacts gendered abuse and disinformation have on women’s daily lives." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"The Girls Online (GO!) Cybersafety project (GO! Cyber) aims to equip young women and girls with the skills and resources to participate meaningfully and safely in cyberspace. The project is implemented by CARE Vanuatu and Sista with the support of Australia’s Cyber and Critical Tech Cooperation P
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rogram and ABC International Development. The GO! Cyber project started with a series of co-design workshops, supported by Portable Design Studio, with young women aged between 18-30 years old to understand how young women and girls navigate cyberspace. While there have been interventions to enhance cyber safety in Vanuatu in recent years, there is little research to understand the experiences and behaviours of young women and girls in cyberspace. The guiding principle of the GO! Cyber project is recognising young women as experts of their own experience, so they led the identification and exploration of cyber safety rights, experiences, and issues. The young women then proposed contextually relevant, needs-based and practical solutions for their online safety, which included a series of informative videos and this booklet." (Why this booklet, page 6)
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"Journalism can be a dangerous profession, but it is often doubly dangerous for women because of the risk of sexist and sexual violence to which they are exposed. Of the 112 countries where journalists were polled for this report, 40 were identified as dangerous or very dangerous for women journalis
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ts. The dangers are not just to be found doing traditional reporting in the field. Women journalists also encounter danger in the new virtual reporting domains, on the Internet and social media, and even in places where they should be protected, including their own newsrooms. Three years after RSF produced a report on the difficulties for journalists – male and female – covering women’s rights, its new investigation is based on an analysis of responses to a questionnaire that was sent to all of its correspondents throughout the world, and to journalists specialising in gender issues. The results confirm the trends already detected by RSF’s staff, including the fact that the Internet has now become the most dangerous place for women journalists (reported by 73% of the respondents). Rana Ayyub, a well-known Indian columnist and investigative reporter is an authority on this problem as she receives constant rape threats and death threats on social media. Following the Internet, it is the workplace that the most respondents (58%) identified as the location “where sexist violence has been perpetrated.” This perception has been reinforced by the #MeToo movement’s spread throughout the world and the fact that women journalists are now daring to denounce sexual attacks or sexual harassment in such countries as the United States, Japan and India." (https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-publishes-report-sexisms-toll-journalism)
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"Based on the needs assessment, a high proportion of women in Cameroon face online violence and are increasingly concerned about their safety in digital spaces. However, many of these respondents are unaware of any legal protections offered to them. Additionally, they believe that they lack the appr
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opriate knowledge to protect themselves in these digital spaces. Results from the needs assessment show that there is a significant need for training programs aimed at building digital security awareness and digital hygiene skills." (Conclusion)
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"This chapter aims to examine additional factors associated with populism, disinformation and online harassment of journalists in an environment of impunity, though the relationship between digital communication and populism has been analysed since the late 1990s. It considers strategies that have b
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een utilised or suggested to combat online harassment of journalists on the path forward. Online harassment of women journalists has been documented more frequently than of male journalists, who often are attacked because of their coverage. Online harassment has risen in recent years via comment sections under online news articles barraging journalists’ emails and social media accounts with defamatory, threatening, demeaning, or even pornographic material. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe recommends that countries consider prosecuting the online harassment of journalists through existing harassment laws. One cross-country study found that online harassment disrupts routine practices and the extent that women journalists can interact with audiences." (Abstract)
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