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A New Threat to Women in Politics: Online Gender-Based Violence
Overview
In the last decade, women’s participation in public life has increased despite continued challenges to achieve gender parity. New technologies have transformed the way societies engage, creating opportunities to reach a greater number of people and increasing access to information. Unfortunately, the digital realm has become an increasingly violent space, especially for women, faced with the decision of having to choose between their professional aspirations and their personal security, especially in countries suffering from democratic backsliding, authoritarian regimes, and increased levels of insecurity.
In Arab States, nearly half of women internet users report feeling unsafe from online interactions. While in active conflict, technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TF-GBV) is a rampant issue in Ukraine and Russia, where women activists are subject to online bullying and harassment. And in Latin America, one of the most violent regions in the world for women, female political candidates continue to be socially stigmatized.
In honor of International Women’s Month, please join the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, Latin America Program, and Middle East Program on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, from 10:00am to 11:00am ET, for a conversation with female public figures from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, to discuss how public female figures can be better protected against online attacks; the challenges they face as they become influential figures; and the role of the state in providing legal frameworks that support and protect them.
Moderator
Paulina Chávez
Panelists
Zaina Erhaim
Kattya González
Anna Rivina
Hosted By
Kennan Institute
The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange. Read more
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Maternal Health Initiative
The Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative (MHI) is dedicated to improving the lives of women, adolescents, and children around the world. MHI convenes experts from around the world to discuss solutions to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths and to navigate gender-based global health issues and their links to foreign policy. MHI explores a wide range of policy-related topics, including gender equity, global health, health care workforce and systems, caregiving, gender-based violence, workforce participation, girls’ education, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. MHI is globally focused with additional attention to women and girls living in humanitarian settings. Read more
Middle East Program
The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program serves as a crucial resource for the policymaking community and beyond, providing analyses and research that helps inform US foreign policymaking, stimulates public debate, and expands knowledge about issues in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Read more
Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.
