Project launched to combat gender-based digital violence 

AMMAN — Involving a network of local activists and media representatives, Salam@ in cooperation with the Information and Research Centre-King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF), on Monday launched a project focused on gender-based digital violence.

The project, which was initiated on Monday during a kickoff bootcamp, discussed the project’s stages, in addition to covering topics such as digital citizenship, Internet freedom, digital rights and the types of cyber violence.

The project aims to build a network of highly trained women who will be able to emphasise Internet freedom and gender-based violence practices in digital communities through disseminating knowledge gained from the project.

“The IRCKHF’s role revolves around coordinating, capturing and documenting the process,” project manager Duaa Ayasrah told The Jordan Times on Monday.

Ayasrah noted that each phase of the project will be accurately documented in a way that can help convey the Jordanian experience to other countries.

Working closely with local activists and local experts and partners, the Salam@ programme for digital safety for Women and Youth in the MENA region is a multi-year initiative implemented by the Canadian think tank SecDev, in Jordan, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait and Bahrain.

The programme seeks to increase public awareness of digital risks through changing perceptions and behaviours towards digital safety, and establishing lasting capacity of women, youth and civil society organisations. Additionally, Salam@ adopts a public health approach to addressing online violence, including gender-based violence in the digital space.

Regarding digital violence realities in the Kingdom, Salam@ national coordinator Lina Momani told The Jordan Times: “The online violence incidents, experienced mostly by women and girls, are account hacking, hateful and malicious comments, bullying, sexual harassment, insults, trolling and attacks.”

“Digital safety is not only a technical or legal issue. It has become a matter of national public health as it affects all homes and families,” according to the SecDev Foundation website.