Parliamentarians for Global Action convened a dialogue among current and former parliamentarians and experts to share experiences, strategies, and recommendations to protect women political leaders in the digital space. The dialogue sought to raise awareness and build political will to implement concrete actions that prevent digital violence at the national level.
Recommended actions Parliamentarians can take to address digital gender-based violence:
From Zara Rahman, SUPERRR:
- Understand what constitutes ‘harmful images’ in your context by listening to survivors
- Review existing laws and work on enforcement
- Create survivor-centered reporting pathways
- Support trauma-informed approaches to digital violence
- Hold tech platforms accountable for their role: introduce penalties for companies that fail to remove unlawful content.
From Jenny Brunner, HateAid
Encourage the chairperson of your political party to:
- Designate an internal party contact point for those affected by digital violence with resources to support reporting and securing evidence.
- Proactively protect candidates.
From Parliamentarians for Global Action:
- Sign on to PGA Global Parliamentary Declaration for Adoption of a UN Framework Convention on AI Safeguards
- Join a WhatsApp group of like-minded current and former legislators to share experiences and good practices to address digital gender-based violence. Kindly send a message to indicating consent to join the WhatsApp group.
Agenda
| 8:00 am |
Welcome, context and housekeeping Ms. Mónica Adame, Secretary-General, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) |
| 8:10 am |
Opening remarks by moderator Hon. Amanza Walton Desir, MP (Guyana), PGA Executive Committee Member |
| 8:20 – 8:35 |
What is digital gender-based violence and what can we do about it? Ms. Zara Rahman Zara Rahman is a British-Bangladeshi author, researcher and non-profit executive whose interests lie at the intersection of power, technology and justice. She is currently co-Managing Director at SUPERRR Lab, a feminist non-profit working to expand the role digital technologies play in our societies to be in service of justice and hope. |
| 8:35 – 8:50 |
Under Attack & Abandoned: How digital violence affects political engagement and how we can fix it Ms. Jenny Brunner Jenny Brunner is a political campaigner for the German human rights organization HateAid. She led HateAid’s study on violence against women in politics and works to ensure that the organization’s demands for a safer internet are heard by politicians and the public. |
| 8:50- 9:05 |
Turning personal experience of digital gender-based violence into action Dip. Claudia Dobles Camargo (Costa Rica) Dip. Dobles Camargo is a Costa Rican architect, urban planner and current member of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. She previously served as the First Lady of Costa Rica from 2018 to 2022. |
| 9:05 – 9:50 |
Open Discussion Among Participants/Questions and Answers
|
| 9:50 – 10:00 |
Closing Reflections and key takeaways Hon. Walton Desir and Ms. Adame |
