How do ICTs mediate gender-based violence in Jamaica?

ABSTRACT

Gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be a serious problem in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region. Jamaicans have increasingly adopted information and communication technologies (ICTs) over the last two decades. In the era of ICTs, new forms of online GBV are evolving, and ICTs also offer a means of facilitating and escalating offline forms of GBV. Unfortunately, there is very little research in the region to date examining the relationship between GBV and ICTs, apart from anecdotal reports into forms of GBV where ICTs are a factor, including stalking, harassment, invasion of privacy, and ‘revenge porn’. This article draws on one of the very few research studies undertaken in Jamaica so far into online abuse and harassment of women, and the role that ICTs play in offline GBV against women in Jamaica. The research suggests that more needs to be done by different actors – including government and civil society – to recognise and respond to GBV and ICTs. Responses should include both specific policy reforms and targeted educational/awareness programmes.

La violence sexiste continue de constituer un grave problème en Jamaïque et dans la région des Caraïbes en général. Les Jamaïcains ont adopté de plus en plus de technologies de l’information et des communications (TIC) au cours des vingt dernières années. À l’ère des TIC, de nouvelles formes de violence sexiste en ligne évoluent, et les TIC constituent par ailleurs un moyen de faciliter et d’intensifier des formes hors ligne de violence sexiste. Malheureusement, il y a très peu de recherches dans la région à ce jour qui examinent le rapport entre la violence sexiste et les TIC, à part des témoignages anecdotiques sur des formes de violence sexiste où les TIC sont un facteur, y compris les cas de traque, le harcèlement, l’atteinte à la vie privée et la diffusion de photographies intimes dans un but malintentionné (revenge porn en anglais). Cet article se base sur une des très rares études entreprises en Jamaïque à ce jour en matière d’abus et de harcèlement en ligne des femmes, et sur le rôle que jouent les TIC dans la violence sexiste hors ligne dont sont victimes les Jamaïcaines. Ces recherches suggèrent que différents acteurs - y compris le gouvernement et la société civile - doivent en faire plus pour reconnaître et répondre à la violence sexiste et aux TIC. Parmi les actions entreprises devraient figurer la réforme de certaines politiques publiques et des programmes éducatifs/de sensibilisation ciblés.

La violencia basada en el género continúa siendo un problema serio en Jamaica y el área del Caribe en general. Durante las pasadas dos décadas, los jamaiquinos han utilizado cada vez más tecnologías de información y comunicación (tic), constatándose que en la era de las tic están evolucionando nuevas formas de vbg en línea, y que éstas también facilitan y generalizan formas de ejercer la vbg fuera de línea. Lamentablemente, hasta la fecha en la región existen pocos estudios que analicen la relación entre vbg y tic, excepción hecha de anécdotas sobre formas de vbg en que las tic constituyen un factor que la propicia, incluidos el acoso, el hostigamiento sexual, la invasión de la privacidad y el porno vengativo. El presente artículo da cuenta de una de las pocas investigaciones realizadas en Jamaica hasta el momento sobre el abuso y el acoso contra las mujeres en línea, así como sobre el papel desempeñado por las tic en la vbg contra las mujeres de Jamaica fuera de línea. Dicha investigación sugiere que los distintos actores —el gobierno y la sociedad civil incluidos— deben realizar mayores esfuerzos en aras de reconocer y responder a la vbg y su relación con las tic. Las respuestas deben incluir reformas específicas en las políticas y programas enfocados en la educación y la concienciación.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender-based violence
• online harassment
• technology and abuse
• cyber-bullying
• Caribbean
• Jamaica

Acknowledgements

I thank Caroline Sweetman and the anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestions which helped to improve this paper. I also wish to acknowledge several of my colleagues at the University of the West Indies, Mona who worked on this research project. They include Dr Lloyd Waller, Shinique Walters, and Stephen Johnson, as well as the team that carried out the national survey and focus group sessions. Most importantly, I wish to thank the women who contributed their time and made an effort to participate in our interview exercise. The final report from the project can be accessed at www.mona.uwi.edu/government/sites/default/files/government/uploads/ICT%26ViolenceAgainstWomen%20Report%20FINAL%20with%20logos_0.pdf (last checked 1 May 2018).

Notes on contributor

Dhanaraj Thakur is the Senior Research Manager at the Alliance for Affordable Internet, an initiative of the Web Foundation. His research looks at gender and ICTs, policies to improve internet access, and ICTs and political participation. Postal address: World Wide Web Foundation, 1110 Vermont Ave NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005, USA. Email: [email protected]

Notes

1 For more information, see www.tamborinearmy.org/about/ (last checked 1 May 2018).

2 Note these figures include some double-counting because many people have more than one mobile phone subscription (or phone number). Thus, 115 per cent should be interpreted to mean that most people (but not all) have a mobile phone subscription, with many having more than one subscription.

3 The ITU is an agency of the United Nations which co-ordinates telecommunication operations and services throughout the world.

4 See, for example, www.jamaicaobserver.com/NEWS/Jamaica-homicides-jump-20-per-cent--highest-level-in-5-years_48331 (last checked 1 May 2018).

5 Data available at www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/jamaica.php (last checked 1 May 2018).

6 For more on this, see https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/03/23/is-jamaica-preventing-cybercrime-or-cyber-activism-the-tambourine-army-goes-to-court/ (last checked 1 May 2018).