Meta-owned social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp have emerged as the top thriving playgrounds for inflictors of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), with the two digital sites recording 69.4 percent and 55.6 percent prevalence rates, respectively.
A fresh report published last week by the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), which is a multi-stakeholder think tank for policy and regulation, defines TFGBV as all acts of gender-based violence that are committed, abetted or aggravated, in part or fully by the use of technologies.
KICTANet’s research, which drew respondents from urban and rural areas, indicates that 54 percent of Kenyans who took part in the survey had experienced some form of TFGBV, with women bearing a greater brunt of online violence as compared to their male counterparts.
“Women are disproportionately affected by online violence as compared to their male counterparts. Women public figures such as women human rights defenders, women politicians, journalists and social media influencers are even more likely to be affected by TFGBV,” notes the report.
According to the survey, the most prevalent forms of TFGBV in Kenya include trolling, cyberbullying, cyber harassment, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, doxing, body shaming and gendered disinformation and misinformation, among others.
During the run-up to the 2022 general election, for example, KICTANet observes that 55 percent of female candidates faced some form of online violence, including sexual violence, trolling, hate speech or disinformation, as compared to 35.4 percent of male candidates.
“Facebook and WhatsApp recorded the highest percentages of the prevalence of TFGBV with rates of 69.4 percent and 55.6 percent, respectively,” reads the report, adding that seven of the 29 respondents interviewed in the survey said they did not use social media during the election to avoid such abuse.
“Earlier studies have found that after experiencing online violence, politically active women were less willing to continue engaging on social media, with 20 percent of Kenyan respondents pausing their social media activity in response.”
Another commonly deployed tool that prominent figures use to shield themselves against online attacks is limiting or completely disabling comments on their posts, with a Business Daily spot check on Friday showing Chief Justice Martha Koome and Murang’a County Woman Representative Betty Maina as case examples.
A situation assessment study conducted by the Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development (CCGD) and the University of Nairobi Women’s Economic Empowerment Hub in April this year showed that nine in every 10 young adults enrolled in Kenya’s tertiary institutions suffering TFGBV, with 39 percent having experienced it personally.
The study, which was also supported by the United Nations Population Fund, revealed that female students are disproportionately impacted, with 64.4 percent of them having experienced at least one type of online violence, compared to 35.5 percent of male students.
The study further disclosed that economic vulnerability, limited digital safety measures and sharing of personal information online, among other factors, were listed as aspects that increase an individual’s vulnerability to online violence.
“Female students are the primary targets of online attacks such as online defamation and non-consensual pornography, with a lasting psychological, social and economic impact on those affected,” said CCGD executive director Masheti Masinjila at the time. The study also showed that triggers for TFGBV range from personal conflicts and revenge to the perceived anonymity of online interactions.
The KICTANet report singles out key barriers that impede the fight against TFGBV, including the use of local languages to perpetuate the vice and gaps in the capacities of officers such as legislators, law enforcers, judicial officers, prosecutors, and lawyers to understand the forms of TFGBV and the mechanisms through which it is carried out.
“Existing legal statutes in Kenya do not adequately address TFGBV.
“Though provisions of the Penal Code relating to incitement to violence, intimidation, harm, etc. could be used to tackle TFGBV, the Penal Code does not explicitly state this, nor is it clear the extent to which these offences apply to the digital sphere,” writes KICTANet.
The think tank further highlights the need for social media platforms to be more responsive and accountable while addressing complaints of TFGBV.
This includes investing in content moderators who are aware of the local contexts and have knowledge of local languages, arguing that this would improve the effectiveness and timeliness of responses to TFGBV reports.
