AfricTivistes launches #TaxawTemm! Aar Suñu Bopp against gender-based online violence
AfricTivistes is launching #TaxawTemm! Aar Suñu Bopp this Thursday, 10 August – a major information and advocacy campaign aimed at raising awareness amongst the Senegalese public about online violence against women and girls and promoting respectful behaviour in online interactions.
Nowadays, with increasing connectivity, gender-based online violence has become more widespread. From online harassment to sexist or misogynistic comments, the forms of violence are as varied as they are harmful to women and girls on the internet. Indeed, this online violence can affect victims’ mental and physical health, causing, amongst other things, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders, and even driving some to take their own lives.
To tackle this scourge, AfricTivistes, in collaboration with Internews, is organising a two-part launch workshop comprising a practical session with journalists and bloggers during the day, followed by the official campaign launch ceremony attended by officials, key stakeholders and partners, with the aim of raising awareness amongst the target audience and thereby fostering a collective sense of awareness.
The two-month awareness-raising campaign will disseminate information on the dangers of gender-based online violence and promote rights, tools and ways to protect oneself. It will do so by presenting examples of victims’ testimonies, statistics and real-life examples. The workshop will also promote positive role models and highlight acts of solidarity and mutual support amongst women and girls, as well as with men. Furthermore, the campaign aims to strengthen the authorities’ commitment to advocating for the fight against online violence against girls and women, and to encourage policy-makers to take concrete measures to combat online harassment.
Online abuse is becoming increasingly common and can have serious consequences for victims. This abuse can take many forms, such as online harassment, sexist or misogynistic comments, and many others. It can also have an impact on victims’ mental and physical health, notably by causing anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and even eating disorders in some people. For others, it can lead to suicidal thoughts in more serious cases, such as revenge porn. In addition, women who experience harassment often find their concentration and self-confidence diminished, which hinders their professional performance and discourages them from expressing their ideas. As a result, they may feel excluded and withdraw into isolation.
The #TaxamTemm! campaign is part of the AfricTivistes Women’s Cybersecurity project, an initiative aimed at women journalists and human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Senegal.
For further information, please send an email to info@africtivistes.org
About AfricTivistes Women in Cybersecurity
AfricTivistes Women’s Cybersecurity is being implemented in collaboration with Internews and comprises two cybersecurity training courses for 18 participants from Senegal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the implementation of cybersecurity projects by the beneficiaries, and a major advocacy and awareness-raising campaign on digital safety and against online harassment of girls and women in Senegal. The programme equips professional female journalists, media practitioners and human rights defenders with the skills needed to address issues of digital security and digital hygiene, combating online harassment, internet access and organisational security audits.
About AfricTivistes
AfricTivistes is a pan-African organisation that strengthens democracy, good governance and human rights through digital and information and communication technologies, in particular through the following areas: (i) good governance; (ii) transparency and accountability; (iii) participatory democracy; (iv) cybersecurity; (v) social development; (vi) the fight against corruption; and (vii) a culture of peace.
AfricTivistes plaide pour une démocratie participative basée sur une citoyenneté augmentée”, en renforçant les capacités et la culture de leadership, en impulsant des dynamiques pour encourager et propulser l’engagement citoyen chez les jeunes tout en accompagnons la création et le déploiement de projets innovants à fort impact social.
