Girls want cyberjustice

An open letter from European advocates and experts urging the next European Parliament to address Online and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

Bochum, 27 May 2024
Center for the Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)

Dear candidates of the next European Parliament,

We, undersigned 11 individuals and organisations, are writing this letter in order to require more actions from the EU Institutions to address the pervasive issue of online and technology-facilitated gender-based violence across the European Union. Our group unites advocates, experts, survivors, lawyers, NGOs, and researchers from Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK who engage and collaborate at a national and transnational level to counter the consequences of the growth of online misogyny and hate.

With this open letter, we urge candidates for the European Parliament to embrace a feminist and intersectional approach to the future digital strategy of the European Union, acknowledging the interconnectedness of gender-based violence, technology, and broader social inequalities. This means advocating for gender equality and challenging systemic inequalities faced by women and marginalized groups, and involves recognizing and addressing the ways in which digital spaces can perpetuate gender biases and discrimination.

Online and Technology-Facilitated Violence (OTFV) is alarmingly common and involves a range of interrelated forms of sexualised and gendered harms. According to a 2023 UNESCO study¹, 58% of young women and girls worldwide have experienced some form of harassment, discrimination or hateful behaviour facilitated by technological devices. These percentages are expected to increase, especially as generative AI technologies, such as deep fake sexual abuse, become more popular and are used explicitly to cause harm. Research also shows that OTFV primarily targets women due to their gender, and disproportionately affects them, especially when they belong to minorities and historically oppressed social groups. Women’s lived experiences of online violence vary according to their interrelated personal characteristics, but exist on a continuum with other forms of violence motivated by gender. As such, OTFV is a human rights violation which has life-shattering consequences on the victims, ranging over physical, psychological, social, and economic harm. These negative consequences likewise have spill-over effects on society at large. As millions of women affected by abuse modify their online habits and tend to self-censor, leave public-facing jobs, and struggle to access support, we all pay a heavy price through related health costs, loss of economic activity, and the loss of representation and democracy in cyberspace.

It is equally urgent to recognize that OTFV is not only a social issue, but it is also deeply entrenched within the capitalist economy of digital platforms and search engines. These actors prioritise profit over safety, perpetuating and benefitting from harmful behaviours and enabling perpetrators to operate within a sense of impunity. As such, we call upon you and your allies to adopt stronger positions against the power of digital platforms and hold the Big Tech accountable for the harm they are causing to our society by facilitating and profiting from OTFV.

As experts and survivors working at the intersection of digital rights and gender equality, we demand a greater inclusion of civil society, including our group, in future discussions surrounding the platform economy and the fight against OTFV. Our lived experiences and expertise provide invaluable insights into the multifaceted nature of OTFV, informing more comprehensive and effective policy responses. Including our voices means countering the existing power imbalances and coming together to create safer online spaces for all.

As the European Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, as laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), we consider this issue as a crucial democratic matter that must be at the heart of the next European Union elections. At the same time, since online violence knows no borders, we believe it is necessary to combine efforts at an EU level to provide a collective voice against the power of big tech and let EU leadership influence changes worldwide.

Although we recognize that during the previous legislative period the European Parliament has promoted legal reforms targeting OTFV, we believe that these efforts, while commendable as an initial step, are insufficient. They are limited in scope and fail to fully reflect the diverse experiences of survivors. Considering that an effective response necessitates collaboration among various stakeholders, we have identified four key recommendations tailored to specific target groups. These recommendations aim to foster meaningful change, and the EU could play a pivotal role in facilitating their implementation:

As the current mandate of the European Parliament draws to a close, it has recently passed a new Directive on Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, which includes a comprehensive strategy to combat OTFV. We recommend that the Member States tasked with implementing these provisions over the next three years prioritize enhancing the level of protection guaranteed by the Directive. This should be achieved by incorporating insights from victims’ experiences and seeking advice from individuals with relevant expertise and lived experience, with the backing of the European Union. At the same time, we also recommend working further on Article 5 of the Directive to expand its scope. This includes expanding the definition of ‘intimate images’ to ensure covering all non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes and AI-generated nudes. The provision should also be amended to cover all threats to distribute intimate images without consent, regardless of the motives or aims of the perpetrator.
While the European Commission has historically initiated funding calls addressing gender-based violence and digital technologies and has encouraged applications from NGOs and CSOs, the administrative burdens associated with these processes have not been tailored to accommodate the limitations of these smaller and medium-sized local entities. This has resulted in their exclusion from benefiting from such opportunities, undervaluation of their contributions, and being overwhelmed by the amount of free labor needed to help survivors. For this reason, we urgently advocate for a revision of the funding policy to address these disparities and provide further support to NGOs and CSOs actively working in the prevention of OFTV and protection of victims. We remark that empowering and engaging with grassroots organizations and community leaders who understand the lived experiences of those affected by digital inequalities is essential to shape more effective policies.
The Digital Service Act and the AI Act could become a key component in addressing OTFV. However, this will depend on the enforcement of these regulatory provisions by Member States and on the European Commission for the very large online platforms. We urge the enforcement agencies of member states and the European Commission to adopt a broader, gender-sensitive approach when examining all digital platforms and apps. Some messaging platforms, such as Telegram, which facilitate and amplify OTFV, have not yet been designated as VLOPS but should be held accountable for the systemic risks they amplify in relation to OTFV. Additionally, search engines like Google may support the business model of malicious companies by indexing websites that distribute deepfake abuse or non-consensual intimate imagery in their image search results. Therefore, we call for urgent measures to provide an immediate response to the harms caused by the dissemination of OTFV in encrypted messaging apps and search engines, which pose a major threat to the lives of survivors, who often find themselves repeatedly revictimized by these business models.
While OTFV often makes headlines, pan-European research on its nature, prevalence, impact, and necessary responses remains lacking. Therefore, we recommend that the European Union allocate additional funding to facilitate this research, not only within European institutions but also at local and transnational levels. Robust research requires adequate resources and multidisciplinary collaboration. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize investments in time, funding, and interdisciplinary cooperation to establish mechanisms for monitoring the impact of OTFV on different demographic groups, using data to evaluate the effectiveness of these policies, and making necessary adjustments.

We eagerly expect to observe tangible commitments to tackling OTFV in your electoral platform and engaging in substantive discussions to propel this vital agenda forward. Once the European Parliament is settled, we wish to establish a long-term expert collaboration and consultation to guide you through the next steps, as sociologists, gender studies experts, lawyers, survivors-led NGOs, and technologists. By prioritizing the safety and well-being of all individuals, regardless of gender identity or expression, we can work towards a digital landscape that is more inclusive and equitable.

In conclusion, we remain available to further discuss these issues and look forward to consolidating a continuous and sincere collaboration to provide women and sexual and gender minorities with better autonomy, integrity, safety, and freedom in digital environments.

Sincerely,

Dr. Silvia Semenzin (University Complutense of Madrid)

Professor Clare McGlynn (Durham University)

Dr. Carlotta Rigotti (Leiden University)

Dr. Elisa García-Mingo (University Complutense of Madrid)

Dr. Lilia Giugni (University College London, Reclaim Tech co-organiser)

Dr. Lucia Bainotti (University of Amsterdam)

Irma Mastenbroek (LODelle)

Inês Marinho (#NaoPartilhes President and Founder)

NGO #NaoPartilhes