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Why Women Need Protection Online Now More than Ever: Recognizing World Day for Safety and Health at Work [1]

['Grace Parcover']

Date: 2024-04 

Since its inception by the International Labour Organization in 2003, annual observance of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work reminds us that fostering safe and healthy workplaces globally is an imperative. This year, the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) wants to highlight the importance of workplaces – both physical and online – being free from gender-based violence, a priority outlined in the National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, the U.S. Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security, and the U.S. Strategy on Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Violence Globally. In an increasingly digitized economy, it is essential to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) to facilitate an enabling environment for all women and girls to achieve economic security.

TFGBV, as defined by UN Women, is a “subset of gender-based violence that describes any act that is committed, assisted, aggravated, or amplified by the use of information and communication technologies or other digital tools, that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political, or economic harm, or other infringements of rights and freedoms.” This encompasses a wide array of acts, including stalking, harassment, threats of physical and sexual violence, impersonation, hacking, image-based abuse, disinformation, and defamation, among others. While all individuals experience online harassment and abuse, women and girls bear the brunt of TFGBV. For example, a report from Plan International found that more than half of girls surveyed, from around the world, have been harassed and abused online.

TFGBV not only directly threatens the safety of individuals targeted, but also both reflects and perpetuates gender inequality. While data is just beginning to be captured, we are already seeing a serious impact on women and girls’ ability to participate publicly. Research underscores the prevalence of TFGBV, with estimates indicating that between 16-58 percent of women have encountered such violence. This, in addition to witnessing other girls and women experiencing TFGBV, impacts both current online engagement and future participation in digital spaces. The prevalence of TFGBV exacerbates the gender digital divide – an already serious concern as a significant portion of the digitally unconnected population comprises women and girls. This underscores, further, the pressing need to address this multifaceted and evolving challenge.

TFGBV in the workplace has become increasingly common, especially with the rapid digitalization brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. As women and girls transitioned their lives online for work, education, and social activities, they became more vulnerable to various forms of online harassment and abuse. Women working in public-facing roles, such as activists, journalists, and politicians face a disproportionate amount of online harassment and abuse. A study conducted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union indicates that 41.8 percent of women politicians have been subjected to the dissemination of images or comments via social media containing sexual, defamatory, or humiliating implications about themselves. Research from UNESCO reveals that a staggering 73 percent of women journalists have experienced online harassment and abuse throughout their careers. Individuals who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination are at even higher risk of experiencing TFGBV. For example, according to a study analyzing tweets sent to women journalists and politicians in the United States and the United Kingdom, women of color are 34 percent more likely (84 percent for Black women) to experience abusive tweets than white women.

Ultimately, online harassment and abuse has profound effects on women’s professional and personal lives, often leading them to opt out of certain social networks, write anonymously, or even withdraw from their professions. These findings underscore the urgent need to address TFGBV as part of broader efforts to promote safety and health in the workplace. American and international trade unions also observe April 28 as Worker Memorial Day, remembering workers killed or injured on the job. More than fifty years ago, on April 28, America’s Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect to protect workers’ right to a safe and healthy workplace.

The Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) released the U.S. Government’s National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct that provides crucial support for democratic principles, including respect for human and labor rights. A key component of the plan, supported by Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund (GEEA Fund) activities, is to improve work conditions for women. Recently, the Department launched “Safe Online: Empowering Women in the Digital Economy,” a DRL program under the GEEA Fund being implemented in Armenia and Georgia, which addresses TFGBV risks that women in business face and other obstacles to women’s inclusion in the digital economy. Local civil society partners in each country encourage governments and private companies to implement TFGBV and sexual harassment prevention and response policies, helping to ensure workplaces are safer for all.

In the words of Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Geeta Rao Gupta, “Gender-based violence knows no borders. It occurs during peacetime and war, in the home, and on the streets, and—increasingly — online.” The United States is committed to addressing TFGBV and its impact in an effort to close the gender digital divide and support women and girls’ full and meaningful participation in civic, political, and economic life, including through its leadership in the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. Ensuring a workplace where women feel safe and are protected from gender-based violence, online and offline, is essential to advancing human rights, strengthening communities, and driving economic prosperity. As Ambassador Rao Gupta eloquently reminds us, TFGBV is a serious threat to democracy, which we must remain committed to addressing.

About the Author: Grace Parcover is a S/GWI Intern attending Georgetown University.

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[1] Url: https://www.state.gov/why-women-need-protection-online-now-more-than-ever-recognizing-world-day-for-safety-and-health-at-work/?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=news_bar&utm_campaign=dipnote&utm_id=123

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