Online talk held for Cordaid 18th November 2021, on the concept of digital development, and what online gender-based violence (GBV or eVAW) means for the activities of international development NGOs.

1. Thematic
Presentation
Online Gender-
Based Violence
18 November 2021
Anand Sheombar (anand.sheombar@hu.nl)
Research Group Process Innovation &
Information Systems
Image
source:
genderit

2. Session topics
• Digital Development
• Online Gender-Based
Violence (GBV)
• Examples of countering online
GBV
• Cordaid & online GBV
Feel free to ask questions any
time  (MS Teams – raise hand
function, or in the chat)
18-11-2021
Image
Source:
Omidyar
Network
India

3. Introducing
myself:
Anand
Sheombar
• Postdoc researcher & lecturer HU university of Applied
Sciences Utrecht, NL.
• IT business consultant.
• PhD research on social media use by development NGOs.
• Research activities: digital/ICT for development, eHealth,
social media, online hate speech, digital transformation etc.
• Susainable & bean2bar chocoholic.
• Twitter @anandstweets
• Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/SoMe4D/
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https://eooh.eu/ https://www.africandigitalrightsnetwork.org/

4. Digital Development
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Changing Paradigms of ICTs and Development, source Heeks (2016)
“Digital development is far from nearly past; it has only just begun.” From ICT as tool for
delivery of development
(ICT4D) we gradually
move on to the digital
development paradigm
which conceptualizes ICT
not merely as a tool, but
as the platform that
increasingly mediates
development.
Why is a digital
development paradigm
emerging?
Changing development
priorities, digital
technologies, and
demographics.

5. Conceptual Frame for Digital Development
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1) Technology and Society: there is an inter-relation
between technology and society with each
connected to, and influencing the other. ICTs shape
society; society shapes ICTs.
2) Technology: because of this inter-relation, ICTs
cannot be thought of as just hardware and software.
ICTs are always socio-technical systems: a
network of software, hardware, people, processes,
institutions, etc involved in design, use and
governance.
3) Society: can be thought of as operating in three,
interlocked systems – economic, political,
social. Each of these shapes and is shaped by ICTs.
4) People: because ICT systems contain people, we
also recognise the inter-relation between agency
and structure. Human actions shape the
organisations and institutions of society; the
organisations and institutions of society shape
human action. Source: Heeks. (2016)

6. Global Social Media Use
https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-october-global-statshot
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7. Most-Used Social Media
https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-october-global-statshot
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8. Reasons for Using Social Media (global survey)
https://hootsuite.widen.net/s/zcdrtxwczn/digital2021_globalreport_en 8

9. Social Media User vs Population by Gender
https://hootsuite.widen.net/s/zcdrtxwczn/digital2021_globalreport_en 9

10. Social Media (functionalities) in
International Development Context
Social
Media
Connecting
Collaborating
Creating &
Sharing
Finding, (Re)Using
& Organising
(Mayfield, 2008; Zuniga and White 2013)
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11. Blog over
‘Organisational
Use of Social
Media’
Social Media (functionalities) & Strategic development goals

12. Online violence against women during COVID19
Infographic source: UN Women. (2021).
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Increased online
violence facilitated by
ICT during COVID-19
may impact:
• Women’s access to
online services
• Education and
employment
opportunities
• Women’s
participation as
active digital
citizens
Source: UN Women (2021)

13. Online Gender-Based Violence
Source: Hinson et al. (2018)
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Technology-Facilitated or Online Gender-Based
Violence “is action by one or more people that
harms others based on their sexual or gender
identity or by enforcing harmful gender norms.
This action is carried out using the internet and/or
mobile technology and includes stalking, bullying,
sexual harassment, defamation, hate speech and
exploitation.” (Hinson et al., 2018)
“…online violence targeted specifically because
of their gender, most frequently those who identify
as female, but also the asexual, bisexual, gay,
intersex, trans, intersex, queer, and lesbian
( LGBTIQA+)” (Wikipedia)
Misogynoir: anti-Black and misogynistic
representation of Black women, also in media &
digital space. (Dr. Moya Bailey)

14. Forms of online Gender-Based Violence
Common forms of ‘Technology-Facilitated
Gender-Based Violence’ (TFGBV) :
• Harassment
• Networked harassment
• Image-based sexual abuse (various forms)
• Public disclosure of private information
• Defamation
• Stalking
• Impersonation
• Threats
• Hate speech
Source: Dunn (2020)
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Image source: Centre for International Governance Innovation
Image source: UNESCO
Also think of combination of (online)
misogyny and discrimination/racism of
minority groups, and exposure when in high
public profile roles (e.g. politicians, media
figures, journalists, activists, scientists etc.)

15. Recommendations?
This UN Women EVAW COVID-19 brief provides recommendations for policy makers, women’s rights
organisations, civil society and technology firms on how to deal with online gender-based violence.
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Source: UN Women (2021)

16. Conceptual framework of technology-
facilitated Gender-Based Violence
“Using a framework like this from the
International Center for Research on Women
(ICRW), researchers and stakeholders can
collect data that show the prevalence and
impact of technology facilitated GBV globally.
Data collection and measurement can be
standardized, and we can start designing and
testing solutions that work, including
interventions to prevent and report such
violence, as well as effectively supporting
survivors.
Government and NGOs can use the data to
develop or update programs and policies
that better prevent and mitigate the
effects of technology-facilitated GBV in
their communities”
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“Conceptual framework of technology
facilitated GBV that illustrates the range of
experiences —from the motivation of the
perpetrator to the impact on and help-seeking
behaviors of victims/survivors.”
Source: Hinson et al. (2018)

17. Tech to reduce online Gender-Based Violence?
1. Tech for prevention: raise awareness and mitigate a user’s
risk of violence
2. Tech as a peer: providing real advice and resources from
experts and activists.
3. Tech as a virtual safe space: facilitate access to information
and services in a safe, culturally appropriate and accessible to
users.
4. Tech as a safeguard: to trigger an automated safeguarding
flow of GBV and psychosocial support information.
5. Tech as a guide: The GBV e-pocket guide app provides
humanitarian practitioners with information on how best to
support survivors when there is no GBV expert or service
available
6. Tech as a response: offers great opportunities for
improved GBV service provision, reach and response quality
Risk of techno-solutionism when not addressing root causes?
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https://blogs.unicef.org/east-asia-pacific/six-ways-tech-can-help-end-gender-based-violence/
Safetipin

18. A step-by-step Pocket Guide for humanitarian
practitioners
“The GBV Pocket Guide available in 20+ languages
The "Pocket Guide" resource package is designed to
provide all humanitarian practitioners with concrete
information on: How to support a survivor of gender-
based violence who disclosed to you in a context where
there is no gender-based violence actor (including a
referral pathway or GBV focal point) available in your
area.”
The pocket guide is “a field-friendly resource for
frontline practitioners in all humanitarian sectors.
Includes a decision tree, Do's/Don'ts, sample
scripts of what to say to a survivor ”
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https://gbvguidelines.org/en/pocketguide/

19. Violence against Women and Girls
(VAWG) Helpdesk
“Tackling online GBV around the world needs a range of
strategies; from the grassroots solidarity campaigns organised
by Take Back the Tech, national level legislation and school-
based interventions.
In India a study by the Internet Democracy project showed that
laws on cyber abuse of women have some value and women
used threats of police complaints and sections of the IT Act as
tools to fight harassers. But most women never resorted to
legal measures, and felt that engagements with law were
rarely favourable experiences for women.
But tackling the impunity of social media giants in the face
of the systematic harassment experienced by women online is
an important step.”
https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/tackling-online-gender-based-
violence/ 19

20. What Is Online Gender-Based Violence? – short video
“As our online and offline lives become
more integrated, gender-based
violence and its impacts now overlap
in both physical and digital spaces.
Perpetrators of intimate partner violence,
stalking and sexual harassment are now
using digital tools, such as social media
and GPS tracking, to cause harm
alongside in-person violence.
Digital tools have also opened the
door to new forms of abuse, such as
the non-consensual creation of sexual
images through artificial intelligence,
including deepfake videos.
The result of these new digitally enabled
abusive behaviours is what’s known as
online gender-based violence.”
(Suzie Dunn, Centre for International
Governance Innovation)
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Source: https://www.cigionline.org/multimedia/what-is-online-gender-based-violence/

21. Facebook (Meta;-) group
with curated news on Social
Media & Digital Technology
For Development - SoMe4D
in ICT4D
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SoMe4D/
21

22. What can Cordaid do with online Gender-Based Violence?
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23. References
• Datareportal, We Are Social, & Hootsuite (2021). Digital 2021 October Global
Statshot Report Retrieved from https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-
october-global-statshot
• Dunn, S. (2020). Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: An Overview.
Retrieved from https://issuu.com/cigi/docs/saferinternet_paper_no_1
• Heeks, R. (2016). Examining 'Digital Development': The Shape of Things to Come?
Development Informatics Working Paper 64.
• Hinson, L., Mueller, J., O’Brien-Milne, L., & Wandera, N. (2018). Technology-
Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: What Is It, And How Do We Measure It?
Retrieved from https://www.svri.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2018-07-
24/ICRW_TFGBVMarketing_Brief_v8-Web.pdf
• UN Women (2021). Online and ICT-facilitated violence against women and girls
during COVID-19 Retrieved from https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-
library/publications/2020/04/brief-online-and-ict-facilitated-violence-against-
women-and-girls-during-covid-19
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