GWI-NETHERLANDS

Setbacks and challenges arising from/ during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Overall the pandemic has shed light on pre-existing gaps already identified by GREVIO in the area of specialist services, magnifying them and/or giving rise to new shortcomings. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

The Discrimination and Violence against Women Platform (EDVAW Platform) is highly alarmed at the increase in technology 13  facilitated violence, and what this means for pre-existing power hierarchies.

The Platform released its first thematic paper on the digital dimension of violence against women in 2022, with many of the mechanisms also publishing individual studies and policies on the topic.

The Platform is highly concerned with the emerging new digital dimension of violence against women and girls. A standard definition of technology-facilitated violence against women and girls is lacking, which contributes to a global dearth of comparable statistics. However, the data that has been gathered at the national and local levels supports high prevalence rates. The rapid expansion of digital spaces has not only mirrored but, in many cases, amplified the structural inequalities and patriarchal norms that perpetuate gender-based violence.

Online harassment, cyberstalking, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and other forms of digital abuse have become pervasive, disproportionately targeting women and girls on intersecting grounds. This digital violence reinforces existing power imbalances and undermines women and girls participation in society.

Digital platforms also fuel misogynistic and sexist attacks making it more difficult for victims to access justice and reparations and exacerbating their social and economic vulnerabilities. The Platform urges a comprehensive and coordinated response to this threat, emphasizing the need for stronger mandatory regulatory frameworks, increased digital literacy, and the development of effective mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable in the virtual realm. Thus, without concerted action, the unchecked rise of technology-facilitated violence threatens to undermine the progress made in advancing gender equality and could entrench the very  hierarchies that the Beijing Platform seeks to dismantle