‘We want that for ourselves’: how girls and young women are using ICTs to counter violence and demand their rights

ABSTRACT

Established in 2006, Take Back the Tech! is a global campaign that encourages women and girls to use technology to counter gender-based violence. Through interviews with women in the Philippines, South Africa, Kenya, and India, this article explores how, ten years later, girls and young women are ‘taking back’ technology to demand their rights and challenge violence. Despite gender norms based on patriarchal traditions, and the constant threat of violence, girls and young women are creating digital content, leading community conversations, and taking direct action against violence. Moreover, they are using technology to collaborate with, learn from, support, and unite girls in other communities.

Take Back the Tech! est une campagne mondiale établie en 2006 qui encourage les femmes et les filles à utiliser les technologies pour contrer la violence sexiste. À travers des entretiens avec des femmes aux Philippines, en Afrique du Sud, au Kenya et en Inde, cet article examine comment, dix ans plus tard, les filles et les jeunes femmes se réapproprient les technologies pour exiger le respect de leurs droits et mettre en cause la violence. Malgré des normes de genre basées sur des traditions patriarcales et la menace constante de violence qui pèse sur elles, les filles et les jeunes femmes créent des contenus numériques, prennent la tête de conversations communautaires et entreprennent des actions directes pour lutter contre la violence. Qui plus est, elles utilisent les technologies pour collaborer avec les filles d’autres communautés, apprendre d’elles, les soutenir et les unir.

Establecida en 2006, y realizada a nivel mundial, la campaña Take Back the Tech! [Recuperemos la tecnología] incentiva a mujeres y niñas a usar la tecnología para oponerse a la violencia basada en el género. A partir de entrevistas realizadas a mujeres de Filipinas, Sudáfrica, Kenia e India, el presente artículo examina cómo, transcurridos 10 años desde la implementación de la campaña, las niñas y las adolescentes están “recuperando” la tecnología para exigir sus derechos y cuestionar la violencia. A pesar de la existencia de normas de género sustentadas en tradiciones patriarcales y de la constante amenaza de violencia, éstas crean contenidos digitales, impulsan diálogos a nivel comunitario y emprenden acciones directas contra la violencia. Asimismo, utilizan estas tecnologías para colaborar con mujeres jóvenes de otras comunidades y aprender de ellas, al mismo tiempo que las apoyan y promueven su unidad.

KEYWORDS:

• Online activism
• campaigning
• feminism
• information and communication technologies
• movement building
• gender-based violence

Notes on contributor

Sara Baker is a writer, activist, and nonprofit consultant. She works for the Association for Progressive Communications as the global co-ordinator of Take Back the Tech! Postal address: PO Box 29755, Melville 2109, South Africa. Email: [email protected]

Notes

1 See http://ph.tbtt.apc.org/mapit/ (last checked 15 April 2018). In 2011, Take Back the Tech! used the Ushahidi crowdsourcing tool to create a global map of incidents of technology-related violence against women and worked with local partners, including Foundation for Media Alternatives, to develop country-specific maps.

2 See www.takebackthetech.net/take-action/2011/02/25 (last checked 15 April 2018).

3 See https://feminisminindia.com/2016/11/16/digitalhifazat-campaign-cyber-violence-women-india/ (last checked 15 April 2018).