Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) is recognized as one of the most widespread forms of interpersonal violence that impacts women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals around the globe. This type of violence includes behaviour that is considered online gender-based violence (OGBV), such as cyberstalking, online harassment and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images of victims, as well as technology-facilitated behaviour, such as threatening text messages or voyeurism.
TFGBV is on the rise internationally, but there is limited data on the true extent of it, with mostly anecdotal accounts from the Global South.
Supporting a Safer Internet is a multi-year research project created to address this gap. Led by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) with support from the International Development Research Centre and Ipsos, this project will include conducting the first statistically relevant survey of women’s and LGBTQ+ individuals’ online experiences focused on OGBV in the Global South.
Data gathered from this survey and the research papers produced by CIGI through this project aim to help civil society organizations, the private sector and governments better design responses to TFGBV through online platform regulation, education programs, legal recourse and more.
The Supporting a Safer Internet project has been made possible with a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
