We share with you the second issue of our biannual newsletter that shares the work we have been doing at HER Internet.
We extend our candid gratitude to everyone who has been present with us throughout the year 2021.
HER Internet Newsletter Issue 2
Our executive director moderated a virtual fireplace on the experiences of young women and gender-expansive persons on advocacy for inclusive legal and policy frameworks/systems in addressing violence, the alternatives, and sharing the moments of joy and resistance. The goal was to contribute to the conversation and devise strategies for alternative forms of justice in a collective effort to end violence against women now. This space was organized by Akina Mama wa Afrika and was attended by over 50 people.
Our third video reveals how Shane “Outs” her friend Maddie because of a small disagreement they had. In our research report, respondents shared about failing offline relationships being one of the causes of online violence from people they know; friends, family, ex-lovers, neighbours or work colleagues. The risk of one’s private information being exposed this way is a constant threat. We share some important tips to help you cope with being Outed on social media, something commonly faced by members of the LGBTI community. CyberBullyingEndsNow #nottodaybully #heronlinesafety
The second animated video was on “Threats of Violence” portrayed by Pam, who is a single mom. In our research report, for Female Sex Workers, the threats range from rape, denial of parenting rights to death threats too. These threats are usually from private messages but could also appear in posts on public platforms, either through texts and/or calls. Perpetrators usually threaten to expose FSW for the work they do; or LBQ womxn – for their sexual orientation and gender expression.
CyberBullyingEndsNow #nottodaybully #heronlinesafety
Her Internet launched three animated videos on “Decoding Online Violence” The first video is on Identity Based Violence something that is common in the LBQ community especially when it comes to the masculine representing womxn. This character is portrayed by Zawadi who feels comfortable with her Identity body, and outfit. We also see how the violence manifests from online to her offline life. Tips and Advices show how one can protect themselves from people who share hateful comments especially if they don’t know the person. CyberBullyingEndsNow #nottodaybully #heronlinesafety.
HER Internet hosted the launch of the animation videos on Decoding Online Violence which showed some of the many forms of violence LBQ womxn and FSW face on online spaces. These videos depict objective representations of what online violence is, how it manifests and some of the factors at play as in experiences of Violence against Womxn unique to lesbians, bisexual and queer womxn; and female sex workers. HER Internet hopes to contribute to attitude change in society regarding (online) violence against these specific communities of womxn with the help of the messages carried by these resources and materials. Each participant was provided with the IC material produced (handbook, brochure, stickers and a flash disk with the animated videos and soft copies of all resources produced throughout the entire project.) and encouraged to share them widely. The lively conversations at the end of the launch with various participants showed a need.
HER Internet was part of a consultative meeting held by Pollicy on behalf of Facebook to understand how Facebook’s policies can better serve their user community and how to manage violating content on the platform. Specific discussions around the violence faced by public figures on their platform were held with the intention of enabling Facebook’s Bullying and Harassment policy, better serve their user community. Facebook regularly reaches out to external stakeholders to seek their expertise, provide visibility into their policies as well as discuss questions and concerns about their products
HER Internet was part of a panel discussion on the various challenges faced by Youth Human Rights Defenders in the current shrinking civic environment in Uganda. This event was organized by Freedom House Uganda and was attended by several organizations working on human rights,the ambassador of the USA to Uganda and other key stakeholders in the human rights space. We highlighted the challenges faced by queer womxn and sex workers in utilizing and accessing digital platforms with the ever increasing rates of online violence.
The month of October is all about with cyber security and safety therefore we present to you our brochure publication on Cyberbullying defined.
HER Internet ran an anti-cyberbullying campaign for several weeks from June to August 2021. The ‘CyberbullyingEndsNow! #NotTodayBully’ campaign involved awareness raising activities online such as information dissemination using creative infographics and posters via all our social media platforms. It was within the above context that HER Internet held a dialogue on 12th/oct/2021 titled Cyber bullying defined. It’s objective was to build and deepen awareness on bullying in the digital era especially with communities of LBQ womxn. The space also fostered conversations on the CyberbullyingEndsNow #nottodaybully online campaign that we ran from June to August.