Social Media and violence against women

In July 2013, the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) Coalition and The Guardian held a roundtable discussion looking at the relationship between social media and violence against women and girls (VAWG). They specifically explored the way that VAWG is perpetrated via social media, for example the sharing of sexist and misogynistic images on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Journalists, lawyers, women’s groups, campaigners, civil servants, and academics sought to identify real solutions to age-old problems and to make recommendations to government, enforcement agencies, regulators and social media providers.  

The event was held in response to numerous high-profile recent cases in which social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have played a role in either the direct or indirect abuse of women and girls, including where sexist and misogynistic images are created and shared between other users.

In a society still blighted by violence against women and the attitudes that underpin it, what are the proportionate measures that should be taken to protect women and girls? And by whom? The report by EVAW seeks to offer workable ways to balance freedom of expression with freedom from abuse, to reclaim the Internet for the women and girls, and to ensure that potential benefits of new technology are not held back by these very old problems.

To download the report, click here

To visit the End Violence Against Women website, click here