Given that the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #DigitAll: Innovation and technology for gender equality, it only seems fitting that I’m spending my time attending sessions online at the 67th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
As I write this, I’m listening to a parallel event conversation circle on freedom of opinion and expression. Many of the discussions are centred on whether online social platforms allow women to freely express ourselves, or whether these platforms are providing safe online spaces for women. The overwhelming response is that no, they don’t.
I’ve heard from countless women today mentioning that the second they started making political points online, whether they were feminist, anti-racist, pro gay rights, etc., they started to receive online harassment and abuse. They also mentioned the inherently gendered nature of that abuse.
It’s very clear that technology is designed by men, for men, and that women are actively prevented from accessing online spaces and sharing our opinions freely. Given that an overwhelming amount of discussions, especially political ones, take place in online forums, this means women are actively being kept from political discussions and processes.
This International Women’s Day, it’s important that we think about how to change online platforms and online behaviour to create spaces that women can participate in safely. On an individual level, this looks like calling out online abuse and trolling when we see it. We especially need men to do this. On a broader, institutional level, we need our governments to regulate online spaces in a way that allows for women to be able to participate in them safely without hindering freedom of expression.
Access to these online spaces is particularly important so that we can be informed about how women’s rights are being impacted on a global scale. Much of the reporting of the protests in Iran surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini, for example, are taking place online. The Centre for International Governance Innovation has discussed how the women in Iran are taking to social media in fighting for their human rights.
If you’re a man reading this, consider how your online behaviour could change to create a safer space for online women, including calling out threats of violence and the online trolling of women. If you’re a woman reading this, do not allow them to silence you. Your voice matters, and the more voices we have fighting the good, feminist fight, the better.
Happy International Women’s Day.