Women content creators hardest hit by tech-aided GBV: study » Capital News
NAIROBI Kenya, Jun 29 — Women content creators are the most impacted by Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) in Kenya, a new report has shown.
Online strangers account for 72 per cent of the cases of online violence against women according to a report released jointly by digital Research and Marketing firm Nendo and Dada Disinfo (Dada Disinformation).
Women also face online threats from known individuals such as ex-intimate partners, friends, and colleagues.
“The Prevalence and Forms of TFGBV on women is a high incidence of online harassment 58 per cent, cyberstalking 44 per cent, hate speech 42 per cent, and impersonation 28 per cent,” the report published on Friday stated.
“Other prevalent forms include cyberbullying, doxxing, and non-consensual sharing of intimate images (sometimes referred to as revenge porn),” the study reported.
Women content creators identified Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube as platforms with higher levels of TFGBV.
Respondents listed Instagram and TikTok as relatively safer for them.
Mark Kaigwa, Founder and CEO at Nendo noted TFGBV is a pressing concern.
“Online gender-based violence is a pressing issue that demands immediate attention,” he said.
“Our report highlights the urgent need for platforms, policymakers, and society at large to take action to ensure the safety of women online.”
He said that data remains the foundation to provide solutions to reduce TGBV in Africa.
Limitations
However, the increased commercialization of Application Programming Interface (API) limits African-based interventions and content moderation, which creates a significant challenge in tackling gendered disinformation and hate speech in Kenya.
The report urged stakeholders to enhance Legal Framework including updating existing Kenyan laws to cover new forms of digital abuse and ensuring that policymakers, lawyers, and law enforcement agencies are adequately trained to handle TFGBV cases.
It also recommended educational campaigns to raise awareness about TFGBV and educate the public on how to report and combat such violence.
“Dada Disinfo conducted a pilot behaviour-change online campaign in June 2024 that reached over 1 million social media users in Kenya. These campaigns should target both potential victims and perpetrators, providing clear information on recognizing and responding to TFGBV,” read the report.
Further, the report recommended enforcement of stricter policies and tools by social media platforms to detect and prevent TFGBV.
This involves implementing robust reporting mechanisms, enhancing user privacy settings, and actively monitoring and removing abusive content.
The study highlighted the need to develop comprehensive and cost-effective support systems for TFGBV victims, including psychological counselling and legal assistance.
The study sought data from 100 social media users from 16 different Kenyan cities and town.
Apart from online surveys, the study also conducted in-depth Interviews with 14 experienced content creators highlighting personal experiences with TFGBV.
Dada DisInfo also engaged 143 women content creators, generating a dataset of 100,000 social media mentions to collect the data.
The initiative seek to tackle technology-facilitated gender-based violence and foster safer digital environments for women content creators.
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