The Nigerian government, digital platform owners and other stakeholders have been urged to take more responsibility to end tech-facilitated gender-based violence perpetrated against women and girls within digital spaces.
This point was emphasised during the second session of the ongoing Digital Rights & Inclusion Forum (#DRIF22) – an annual event organised by Paradigm Initiative themed: “Towards a digitally inclusive and rights-respecting Africa”, held in Lagos, Nigeria, on April 27, 2022.
Hosted by TechHer, this session focused on “Sexual & Gender-Based Violence Perpetrated via Digital Spaces” and featured three panellists: Aisha Salaudeen – a multimedia journalist; Nana Nwachukwu – a lawyer, researcher & women’s rights advocate; and Gbenga Sesan – Paradigm Initiative’s executive director. The panel was moderated by Amina Salaudeen – TechHer’s program officer.
Panellists affirmed that currently obtainable consequences for perpetrators of online violence were too lax and a significant driver of increasing instances of technology-facilitated GBV. They also highlighted the haziness in reporting structures and gaps in legal frameworks set up to deter perpetrators of GBV online.
“Actions should have consequences. It is crucial to stop rationalising the habits of people who have character flaws directly linked to online violence,” Nwachukwu said, explaining why punishments, as provided by the Nigerian Constitution, for those perpetrating tech-facilitated GBV must be firmer.
Sesan echoed the sentiment insisting that “if the laws protecting digital rights are strong enough, people will respect them whether they believe in legalese or not. That’s the power of consequence.”
He added that women are disproportionately targets of online attacks and frowned at men who seem more invested in defending perpetrators of online violence rather than seeking out justice. “We must speak up to protect all women, not just those related to us,” he said.
Aisha Salaudeen, still on consequences, explained that unless retribution was swift, pronounced and publicised, perpetrators of violent actions online would continue to be emboldened while silencing women’s voices on digital platforms.
“Let justice be served against perpetrators appropriately across the nation and within digital spaces. Social media has encouraged so many trolls and people behind their keyboards. One often has to admit such people are far gone, even though it doesn’t feel good,” she lamented.
“It’s crucial to put out information around women’s rights and protections. It’s also just as important to ensure that some of these online trolls understand that there are massive consequences for their misconduct against women online,” she added.
Shifting focus towards policies and digital platforms bearing more responsibility, Nwachukwu noted that the reporting lines for online harassment are frustratingly ambiguous.
“Some platforms have reporting mechanisms, but there’s not enough awareness or even proper classification of certain forms of online violence. Even with sex workers, there are more and more instances of simulated violent acts perpetrated against women in porn and within games that the public plays, which has driven a vile culture of abuse online,” she said.
“There are no protocols in place to stem online violence. Law enforcement officers have actively participated in proliferating revenge porn instead of protecting the rights of survivors & victors whose rights have been infringed upon,” she added.
Sesan affirmed this viewpoint insisting that “Platforms need to do better. It’s simple. We also need to be able to push back and hold them accountable whenever we report deviant behaviour online.
“So, there are three levels, platforms, government and community, which need to be alert and have conversations around protecting digital rights. We need to see a proper process (like the DSA in Europe) implemented and go through parliament to secure protection of digital rights for citizens.”
On the pending Digital Rights and Protection Bill at the National Assembly, Sesan, who spoke of Paradigm Initiative’s role at the forefront of the advocacy for the bill’s passage, said the document has been revised and aligned with current realities alongside other stakeholders.
“We’ve updated the Digital Rights and Protection Bill to ensure that all stakeholders, including the government, are at the table with their inputs. Covid-19 has forced almost all stakeholders to understand digital issues and dynamics more.
“These adjustments have helped develop the Digital Rights and Protection Bill,” he revealed.
All three panellists called for more synergy between society at large, law enforcement, and digital platform owners to see cases of violence against women (offline and online) to a proper conclusion.
They also called for employers to conduct background checks of potential employees to verify their habits outside the workplace (including their social media history) to ensure they are not perpetrators of online GBV in any form.
The panellists agreed that a unified database indicating perpetrators of online GBV would help to protect women and girls from abusers.
“We must remember to put in the work required to help those who have been socialised in a specific way to arrive at a place where they change their minds and help battle tech-facilitated GBV,” Amina Salaudeen, who moderated the panel, said in closing.
She also stressed that “we must also be responsible for the lives online and offline ranging from content to our reactions, circles, and laws.”
DRIF22 continues across the African continent with more sessions looking to discuss other relevant matters focused on digital rights for users.