CSW 67- Right to an Inclusive,
Safe and Secure Digital
Existence for Women and Girls
Let us know about your experience at CSW67
Let us know about your experience at CSW67
Supported by The Warrior Queen Project, Founder - Ms Swati Bhise
March 13th 2023 CCUN, New York
The rapid growth of technology, including the internet, artificial intelligence, 5G, robotics, and big data, has created new opportunities for development in countries worldwide. However, this growth remains geographically concentrated, primarily in the Global North, and there is a social and economic impact on the developing South. This difference in access to technology is referred to as the digital divide and is often due to socioeconomic, geographic, or demographic factors.
We are also aware of the online human rights violations against marginalized communities like women and girls, including hate speech, hacking, trolling, identity theft, online stalking, grooming, rape, and death threats, are emerging as a global problem of pandemic proportions. The gender digital divide is a major barrier to digital inclusion and perpetuates existing gender inequalities. Emerging data shows that women and girls are subjected to various forms of gender-based (online) violence, and women are 27 times more likely than men to be harassed online.
Many women have reported physical and verbal attacks, such as being driven to suicide by online trolling, experiencing physical and sexual harassment, and being on the receiving end of hate speech and vindictive remarks. Such abuse has taken a toll on the emotional and psychological wellbeing of women and girls, compounding the effects by the public nature and permanence of the content online. Civil society organizations, governments, technology companies, and international organizations have taken steps to combat these violations, such as raising awareness, providing support to victims, developing policies and tools to prevent and address these violations, and creating tools to report revenge porn and non-consensual nudity.
In the past decade, some governments in the global south have developed laws and policies to address online human rights violations against women. For instance, the Philippines passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act in 2012, which criminalizes online sexual harassment and child pornography. The government of Pakistan has also introduced the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act to address online harassment. In India, the IT Act 2000 criminalizes the publishing of private images of a person without their consent, which is also known as revenge porn. It also criminalizes publishing or transmitting sexually explicit content in electronic form. However, much work remains to be done to protect women and girls from online harassment and violence, including developing training programs and effective policies to prevent and address these violations.
The Centre for Social Research by curating a global panel discussion at UN CSW, wants to assess the progress already made in terms of ensuring inclusivity and safety of marginalized communities, especially women and girls. And gather inputs on the way forward.
Some of the issues to be highlighted during the discussion are – human rights and child rights abuse, human dignity, hate and abuse online, and fake news and misinformation. The valuable inputs collected at this discussion will become part of an international suggestion/recommendation paper that CSR is working to build, to create a more equitable and inclusive digital world for all, particularly women and girls. And clearly establish that respect for and safety of girls and women should be integral to the digital ecosystem.
Few Glimpses of CSW 67
Many women have reported physical and verbal attacks, such as being driven to suicide by online trolling, experiencing physical and sexual harassment, and being on the receiving end of hate speech and vindictive remarks. Such abuse has taken a toll on the emotional and psychological wellbeing of women and girls, compounding the effects by the public nature and permanence of the content online. Civil society organizations, governments, technology companies, and international organizations have taken steps to combat these violations, such as raising awareness, providing support to victims, developing policies and tools to prevent and address these violations, and creating tools to report revenge porn and non-consensual nudity.
In the past decade, some governments in the global south have developed laws and policies to address online human rights violations against women. For instance, the Philippines passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act in 2012, which criminalizes online sexual harassment and child pornography. The government of Pakistan has also introduced the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act to address online harassment. In India, the IT Act 2000 criminalizes the publishing of private images of a person without their consent, which is also known as revenge porn. It also criminalizes publishing or transmitting sexually explicit content in electronic form. However, much work remains to be done to protect women and girls from online harassment and violence, including developing training programs and effective policies to prevent and address these violations.
The Centre for Social Research by curating a global panel discussion at UN CSW, wants to assess the progress already made in terms of ensuring inclusivity and safety of marginalized communities, especially women and girls. And gather inputs on the way forward.
Some of the issues to be highlighted during the discussion are – human rights and child rights abuse, human dignity, hate and abuse online, and fake news and misinformation. The valuable inputs collected at this discussion will become part of an international suggestion/recommendation paper that CSR is working to build, to create a more equitable and inclusive digital world for all, particularly women and girls. And clearly establish that respect for and safety of girls and women should be integral to the digital ecosystem.
Speakers at
CSR CSW 67-
Right to an Inclusive, Safe and Secure Digital
Existence for Women and Girls
Anne Collier,
Speaker
Executive Director,
The Net Safety Collaborative and NetFamilyNews.org,
Salt Lake City
A writer and youth advocate, Anne Collier is founder and executive director of US-based national nonprofit The Net Safety Collaborative.
She has been writing about youth and digital media at NetFamilyNews.org since 1999, has served as an adviser to social media platforms since 2009, co-chaired a national task force on child online safety during the Obama administration, and piloted a social media helpline for US schools in 2015-‘18. She currently serves on the board of the US’s National Association for Media Literacy Education and international advisories such as the Young & Resilient Research Center at Western Sydney University. Anne has contributed to numerous books, academic journals and publications, most recently the International Journal of Bullying Prevention and the Center for European Policy Analysis.
Cindy Southworth,
Speaker
Women's Safety Policy Manager
Facebook
Ms. Cindy Southworth, Head of Women’s Safety at Facebook, focuses on empowering women to connect online and combating
issues such as non-consensual sharing of intimate images that disproportionately impact women. Prior to joining Facebook, she was the Executive Vice President at the U.S. National Network to End Domestic Violence (nnedv.org) and founder of the Safety Net Technology Project (techsafety.org). She is a founding board member of the Global Network of Women’s Shelters (gnws.org). Ms. Southworth has a master’s degree in Social Work and has worked to end violence against women for over 25 years at international, national, state, and local advocacy organizations.
Swati Bhise,
Speaker
Producer and Director, Cayenne Pepper Production, New York City, New York
Swati Bhise has enjoyed a career spanning over four decades as a visionary arts promoter. A classically trained Bharatanatyam dancer—
as well as a choreographer, educator, writer, producer, and director—she has performed extensively at prestigious venues like the UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY and represented the Indian Government since her debut performance at the Center for Indian Classical Dances in New Delhi. She is the director, writer, and producer of a period drama film, The Warrior Queen of Jhansi, based on the life of the iconic Indian Queen Rani Lakshmibai and the first Hollywood action film with a female Indian lead. Released in November 2019, the award-winning film has been screened in theatres across America, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East. She founded the Warrior Queen Project, a non-profit advocacy organization and movement, aimed at closing the gender gap and promoting the economic empowerment of women through a civic, activist and legislative agenda crafted and driven by women. Bhise served as Executive Producer and Indian cultural consultant on The Man Who Knew Infinity, an Ed Pressman Film & Cayenne Pepper Productions (the film production company for Bhise) starring Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and went on to screen at The White House to critical acclaim and to open festivals in Zurich, India, Dubai, and Singapore, among others. In 2012, Bhise founded The Sadir Theater Festival in Goa of which she serves as Artistic Director. She brought the UNESCO heritage art form of Chinese KunQu opera, to India for the first time with performances at The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai, and Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. Bhise served as an ambassador of Indian culture in New York for 40 years, founding Sanskriti Centre, a non-profit organization that promoted Indian artists and introduced Indian classical arts to a generation of American youth. Her studies of music, dance and theatre, along with history, led her to combine different artistic mediums and traditions, such as North and South Indian music and western classical jazz. Her original Carnatic-jazz fusion compositions have been featured at the Newport Jazz Festival and at Jazz at Lincoln Center. She has been an artist in residence at The Brearley School, Lincoln Centre Institute, and Symphony Space. Bhise has recently been the recipient of the 2023 Asian Arts Game Changer & Visionary Award by the Asia Society, sharing co-awardees from the past like His Highness Aga Khan, Yo-Yo Ma, Jack Ma of Alibaba and Malala Yousafzai. Her Warrior Queen toolkit is in the second semester at the University of Las Vegas as part of the curriculum which she has designed and put together teaching the students. In 2022 she also received the “Leadership Award” by Arts4All Foundation sharing the same award with Congress woman Caroline Maloney. She was felicitated by her Guru Padma Vibhushan and Ex Deputy Prime Minister Mr. L. K. Advani in 2017 and 2022.
Dr. Ranjana Kumari,
Speaker
Director,
Centre For Social Research,
Delhi
Dr. Ranjana Kumari is a prominent activist and a leader in the women’s movement in India. Her primary focus areas are declining sex ratio
Dr. Mansi Mishra,
Coordinator
Head of Research Division,
Centre For Social Research,
Delhi
Tami Bhaumik,
Speaker
Vice President,
Civility and Partnerships
Roblox,
San Francisco, California
Tami Bhaumik is the Vice President of Civility and Partnerships at Roblox where she spearheads the platform’s digital civility initiative.
She also works to foster a global community of internet safety leaders to ensure good digital citizenship on Roblox. To establish a healthy and safe community, Tami is focused on providing kids, teens, parents, and caregivers with the skills needed to create positive online experiences, in partnership with the world’s leading safety and industry organizations. At Roblox, she empowers platform users to self-govern and create a confident, resilient online community with the knowledge and tools to create positive experiences for themselves and others in the metaverse. With over 25 years of consumer and tech experience, Tami has successfully fostered supportive communities in a multitude of industries by leading the growth of multiple Silicon Valley startups. Additionally, Tami is an acting Board Member for the Digital Wellness Lab affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and Board Chair for the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI). She is committed to online safety solutions and supports work promoting a culture of responsibility online and encouraging a sense of digital citizenship for all. Tami graduated with a BA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Jyoti Vadhera,
Organiser
Head of Media and Communications
Centre for Social Research