Dan Church Aid: Multistakeholder national dialogue on tech facilitated gender based violence

In Kenya, female politicians and human rights defenders are suffering from tech facilitated gender based violence. By targeting female politicians in social media, especially in proximity of elections, the online sphere is used to deter women from running for a seat in parliament and putting forth an impactful campaign. Moreover, as new gender issues are being brought to light by female human rights defenders, these women are oftentimes exposed to personal attacks online, aimed at undermining their influence and efficiency in protecting human rights. 

In pursuit of supporting the two groups, DanChurchAid convened a dialogue with an array of relevant stakeholders, including civil society organizations active in the space of digital and human rights, local tech companies, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), academia as well as female politicians and human rights defenders.  

With the goal of coming up with an action plan for what each of the stakeholders would do to combat online harassment going forward, the dialogue served as a foundation for enhanced engagement and cross-sectoral cooperation. The various perspectives highlighted by the involved parties enabled participants to gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the issue. A range of potential next steps were identified, including mapping of activities and the responsible stakeholders. Some of the identified areas in need of further efforts were 1) to conduct research on the perpetrators 2) to explore the role of public health and trauma support e.g psychosocial support 3) to research the impact of existing gaps in gender responsive labor laws and 4) to tap into the accountability for tech companies from a human rights point of view. Cross-collaboration between different stakeholders was encouraged throughout the exercise, and many of the suggested efforts mirrored that aspiration – paving the way for more effective measures to stifle this trend and improve the conditions for equal participation in the Kenyan political landscape.