Zonta Advocacy
An Overview on cyber violence against women and girls
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Cyber violence against women and girls: For many years now, women’s and girls’ experiences of gender-based violence have been amplified or facilitated by technology, in particular the technology used in online and digital environments, which has enabled the perpetration of violence against women and girls on a scale previously unknown and underestimated. The pandemic crisis has even further accelerated the prevalence of gender-based violence and domestic violence. Artificial Intelligence has led to new forms of violence such as deepfake, currently in the news all over the world. Still, current law has not kept pace with technological development and the various forms of cyber violence against women and girls.
The CSW67 this year gave manifold proof of the urgency to tackle the topic of women and their status in the digital age.
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To take action against cyber or digital violence against women and girls it is crucial to learn more about the evidence and patterns of this kind of violence, deriving after all from the same root causes like power and control in a patriarchal society in the intend to silence women and to limit their freedoms. In this sense online and technology-facilitated violence against women is a continuum of offline manifestations of gender-based violence and domestic violence.
What is the role of the Council of Europe in this context? The CoE has two international treaties tackling cyber violence against women and girls by complementing each other.
The Istanbul Convention can be a particularly relevant instrument for addressing online violence against women, being the most far-reaching legally binding human rights treaty covering all forms of violence against women and domestic violence.
The Budapest Convention (the CoE Convention on Cybercrime) is the most relevant internationally legally binding treaty on cybercrime and electronic evidence and provides wide-ranging means for investigation and the potential to prosecute online and technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.
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”NGOs and the monitoring of the Istanbul Convention” was the title of a webinar organized by the committee “NGOs as advocates for Gender Equality and Women’s Rights” on January 31, 2023. You can listen to the recording of the webinar. (click the picture)
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Advocacy is: Taking action and speaking up for women’s rights!
Advocacy in our District
In the past yearsadvocacy grew to an important part of the Club’s projects and activities and has gained significance in our club work. Throughout the whole year clubs take advocacy action - not only to say NO to Violence against Women but also to say YES to Gender Equality:
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To promote the human rights of women
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To promote the Sustainable Goal No 5 of the UN Agenda 2030 “Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering all women and girls”
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To fight violence against women and girls
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To fight discrimination
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To fight for gender equality and equal rights
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Advocacy Activities throughout the year:
Clubs in D28 conduct meaningful advocacy activities (to name only a few):
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On commemoration days like International Women’s Day to promote Zonta’s mission and vision and to organize events to fight sexism, VAW, gender stereotypes
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On YWPA-/JMK-Award ceremonies to promote Zonta’s educational programs supporting women’s academic and professional career
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Supporting young talented girls and women in second education and in starting their business
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Focussing on migration issues, like special protection for refugee women and girls as well as language classes. Advocacy activities supporting the beneficiaries as well as raising awareness of their special needs to the community
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Supporting women’s shelter through meaningful measures
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Supporting young girls and young women to participate in self-defence classes
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Organizing public debates in schools to raise awareness of equal rights and to raise the young generation in a culture of gender equality.
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During the 16 Days of Activism, 25 November-10 December, almost 100% of our clubs in our Areas take part in the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women-Campaign, some of them by joining forces with like-minded organizations. The common goal is to raise awareness of the severe human rights violations, women and girls are facing nationally and globally and to influence the making and implementation of laws, as well as changing gender-based attitudes and behaviors to end violence against women.
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