Take Back The Tech! starts today on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

In 1993, violence against women was formally recognised by countries all over the world as a violation of human rights, through the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations General Assembly.

Development in new forms of information and communications technologies such as mobile phones and the internet have brought with it new dimensions to existing forms of violence against women, such as online harassment and cyberstalking. At the same time, it also carries with it tremendous potential for change and transformation. For example, by enabling survivors to connect with help, forming networks and movements to advocate for women's rights, documenting and making visible the different forms of violence and more.

This year, Take Back The Tech! calls for actions that defends our right to freedom and expression and information. To end violence against women, we need to be able to speak up, document violation, make them known, share our ideas and thoughts and pass on what we know.

Kickstart your campaign by starting a conversation on how we can take control of technology to end violence against women. Start by sharing the Take Back The Tech! video!

Let's try and hit 10,000 views of the Take Back The Tech! video & comments by Dec 10 - International Human Rights Day!

1. View

2. Reflect, respond & converse!

  • What ideas come to mind on how you can take control of technology?
  • If the situation happened to you or someone you know, what is the one thing you can do to help stop the violence? It doesn't have to be a grand solution, but every action that is taken is one step towards ending violence against women.
  • Add your thoughts as a comment to the video on YouTube. Respond to comments by others and keep the conversation going.

3. Share

  • Harness the networked environment of ICT to spread the message. Make a commitment to inform at least 10 people about the connection between violence against women and ICT today.
  • Share the video with 10 different people and ask them to do the same. Email it, post it, embed it, do whatever you feel most comfortable with or have access to. Keep it going.
  • Use your idea or possible action as the subject title of your message or post. E.g. "I'll call back a stalker who is harassing my friend".
  • Here are some ideas on how to share the video:
    • EMAIL: Send the link to your contacts. Include at least 1 mailing list and copy ideas@takebackthetech.net. Ask them to do the same.
    • MOBILE PHONE: Download the video and send it to 10 friends. Ask them to do the same.
    • FACEBOOK: Post it on your Facebook status and tag 10 friends. Include @takebackthetech campaign
    • TWITTER: Tweet the link and ask for 10 retweets. Include the hashtag #takebackthetech
    • YOUTUBE: Re-upload the video on your YouTube account. Click "like". Invite your contacts to embed it.
    • BLOG: Embed it on your blog and invite your blogroll to do the same. Start a conversation between you!

Take Back The Tech! Exercise your right to expression to end violence against women. View, share, respond - and keep the conversation going!