How many hours a day do you spend using some kind of ICT tool?
Have you ever wondered how it connects with violence against women?
Can things like mobile phones, webcams, blogs and videogames transform power relations between women and men?

For 16 days, this campaign has one call: take control of information communications technology, and use it in activism to eliminate violence against women.

The Issue

The root cause of violence against women (VAW) lies in unequal power relations between men and women in almost all facets of life. The field of information communications technology (ICTs) faces the same gender disparity. As a result, digital spaces like the internet, broadcast and telecommunications have become defined and developed according to dominant perspectives of masculinities.

This means that VAW that happened in physical spaces like the home and streets, are now also taking new forms and occurring in digital spaces. For example, domestic violence abusers have used tools like spyware and GPS to track and control their partner's mobility.

APC WNSP believes that both ICTs and VAW affect our capacity to completely enjoy our human rights and fundamental freedoms. Our right to move freely without harassment or threats to safety also applies to digital spaces.

This 16-day campaign aims to engage greater participation by all civil society, especially grrls and women ICT-users, to think about this issue in diverse contexts and realities. By calling for all users to reclaim control over technology, we are asking for the right to define, access, use and shape ICTs for its potential to transform power relations, towards a vision and reality of equality.

You can find more information about the issues here.