Technology-facilitated gender-based violence continues to be a concerning issue across Canada.
Cyberbullying and online harassment on social media platforms, the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, doxing, swatting, and the use of spyware to track or control someone, are just a few manifestations of how technology is used to intimidate, control and harm women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Indigenous, Black, and racialized women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people are the disproportionate targets of these alarming forms of online threats, violence, and abuse.
What is AI Canada Doing About it?
Amnesty International (AI Canada English Speaking Section and the International Secretariat) is working on a research project to document the diverse ways in which Indigenous, Black, and racialized women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ activists, journalists and defenders are experiencing technology facilitated gender-based violence in Canada.
Have you experience online violence as an Indigenous, Black, or racialized activist, advocate, defender, or journalist? Share your experience by completing Amnesty International Canada’s research survey or by participating in a confidential research interview with our research team! Contact Amnesty’s Gender Rights Campaigner Elishma Khokhar for more information: sendusyourfeedback@amnesty.ca
More information about participating in a confidential interview:
Scan the QR code below to participate in Amnesty’s research survey!
Webinar: Lets Talk About Safer Online Spaces: Addressing Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence
During Women’s History Month and Transgender Week of Visibility, Amnesty International Canada hosted an engaging discussion about technology-facilitated gender-based violence to honour the stories, struggles and voices of women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ activists and advocates who are tirelessly working to create safer and more equitable digital spaces.
The webinar explored the nuanced forms of online violence and misogyny experienced by women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities, strategies for fostering safer online spaces and pathways toward collective action, solidarity, and resilience.
Learn More: 16 Days Guest Blog Series
Amnesty International curated a series of guest blogs from the perspectives of Indigenous, Black, and racialized women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ defenders, activists, and leaders across the Americas. During the 16 Days of Activism (November 25-December 10), we shared these written pieces to highlight intersectional perspectives on a number of topics including the experiences of racialized 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities in Canada.
Read activist Liz Fong-Jones blog and more here!
- The Hidden Figures of #DropKiwiFarms by Liz Fong- Jones. Liz shares her personal and professional insights and struggles with transphobia, anti-2SLGBTQQIA+ hate and extremism in online spaces.
- In Guatemala, women are under attack, an interview with Maya Kaqchikel lawyer and human rights defender Wendy Geraldina López Rosales about gendered and racialized attacks on Indigenous women land defenders and justice workers in Guatemala.
- Breaking the Silence: Transnational Advocacy and Gendered Violence in Afghanistan by Shabnam Salehi who writes about the lived experiences of Afghan women defenders in exile in Canada and the importance of transnational advocacy in the struggle against gender apartheid in Afghanistan.
- Stories of Water by Black Colombian community leader and water defender Yuvelis Morales, of the Colombia Free from Fracking Alliance. This personal reflection examines how Climate Justice, Gender Justice and Racial Justice are intertwined.
- On the frontlines: Defending the territory of Indigenous lands and Indigenous women’s bodies in northern Mexico by Mariana Villarreal, Coordinator of the Network in Defense of Indigenous Territories of the Sierra Tarahumara (REDETI). Mariana’s guest essay focuses on the experiences of Indigenous women defending lands, forests, water and Indigenous rights in Chuihuahua.
- Canada must end violence against Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ land and water defenders by Tiny House Warrior Kanahus Manuel (Secwépemc Nation). Kanahus reflects on the impact of resource extraction, colonial expropriation, and gendered and racialized violence on Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ defenders.
Take Action
Watch this space for upcoming actions and social media messaging addressing online harms and safety throughout the year!
