RESEARCH FINDINGS ON TECHNOLOGY FACILITATED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS (TFVAWG) IN KENYA AND NIGERIA

Participants during the “Research Findings on Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls (TFVAWG) in Kenya and Nigeria” roundtable gather for a group photo at Emara Ole Sereni, Nairobi.

By: Glad Tv Kenya reporter 

Lawyers, researchers and women’s rights activists from Kenya and Nigeria met at Emara Ole Sereni to present new research and press for urgent legal, platform and service reforms to tackle technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. The event brought together civil society groups, researchers and lawmakers to map tactics used to silence and harm women online and to agree practical next steps for cross border collaboration.

“The same tools that should open opportunity are being used to silence, shame and endanger women,” one organiser said, warning that online harassment, image based abuse and doxxing are increasingly being turned into tools for blackmail and offline intimidation.

Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi of WARDC described the human cost behind the statistics, urging urgent community education and survivor-centred responses.

“One in three women will face some form of violence in her lifetime. We have lost young women to suicide after intimate images were used to blackmail them. We must educate communities on digital safety and end this culture of silence.”

Delegates presented research showing that technology enabled harms deepen existing inequalities: survivors reported psychological trauma, reputational damage and economic loss when online attacks spilled into workplaces and families. Speakers emphasised that responses must be multi-layered combining legal reform, platform accountability and integrated services including digital forensics, psychosocial support and free legal aid.

“We need laws that are survivor centred and enforcement that moves faster than the harms,” a Kenyan legal practitioner said, calling for harmonised cybercrime, privacy and GBV laws across jurisdictions so survivors can pursue justice without repeated retraumatisation.

Representatives from partner networks signalled willingness to hold platforms to account by demanding clearer, faster takedown processes and better transparency around moderation and algorithmic amplification that can magnify abusive content. Several participants proposed a regional observatory to monitor trends, document perpetrator tactics and measure platform compliance over time.

Speakers also highlighted the gendered politics that worsen digital harms for women in public life. One commentator referenced the disproportionate targeting of female politicians and activists online, noting that political attacks are often intersectional combining disinformation, doctored images and coordinated harassment aimed at silencing women’s voices.

Organisers announced they will draft a set of joint policy recommendations and follow up with national consultations in both countries to convert the findings into concrete legislative and platform policy demands. They urged donors, governments and tech companies to invest in survivor centred hotlines, digital forensic capacity and training for frontline service providers.