Session
Human Rights & Freedoms
Non-discrimination in the Digital Space
Organizer 1: Umut Pajaro Velasquez, Internet Society
Organizer 2: Vasundhra Kaul, The Bachchao Project
Organizer 3: Theorose Elikplim Dzineku, 🔒
Speaker 1: Chilufya Theresa Mulenga, Technical Community, African Group
Speaker 2: Daniela Cuspoca Orduz, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 3: Umut Pajaro Velasquez, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Ayden Férdeline
Agita Pasaribu
Luisa Franco Machado
Vera Zakem
Hollie Hamblett
Round Table - 60 Min
1. How can policies be developed to address the challenges faced by youth, women, and gender-diverse people in the digital space? 2. How and why do we need a decision-making processes related to Internet governance more inclusive of diverse voices, including youth, women, and gender-diverse people? 3. What are the practical steps that multistakeholders can take to address the challenges faced by youth, women, and gender-diverse persons on the Internet, promote an inclusive and safe digital space for all, and ensure that all individuals, regardless of gender or age, have equal access to the opportunities offered by the digital world?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Overall, the session aims to raise awareness and spark dialogue on the intersection of gender and youth in the digital world. It seeks to promote a more inclusive and safe online environment that empowers everyone to participate fully in the digital age.
Description:
The Internet is an integral part of our lives and shapes how we interact, work, and learn. However, the digital space is not always welcoming, inclusive, or safe for everyone, especially for youth, women, and gender-diverse people. This session aims to address the intersection of gender and youth in the digital world and explore ways to ensure an inclusive and safe online environment for all. With this session, we would like to highlight the challenges faced by youth, women, and gender-diverse people in the digital space. The panelists will discuss issues such as online harassment, cyberbullying, gender-based violence, and the digital divide. They will also share their personal experiences and insights on how to navigate the digital world as a young person, a woman, or a gender-diverse person. We also like to focus on strategies to create a more inclusive and safe online environment. This includes exploring the role of policies, education, and digital literacy in promoting gender and youth rights online and the importance of engaging diverse voices in decision-making processes related to Internet governance. The session hopes to provide some recommendations or calls to action to promote an inclusive and safe digital space for all. This includes identifying practical steps that multistakeholders can take to address the challenges faced by youth, women, and gender-diverse people on the Internet.
A discussion and a document with a set of calls to action that includes the importance not only of having women, youth, and gender-diverse people as part of the policymaking and decision-making processes when it comes to the Internet but also a unique perspective on how it should be addressed youth and gender digital rights and online issues. Our main idea is set recommendation on how to make more inclusive significantly the diverse spaces of Internet Governance.
Hybrid Format: The session will include 1 moderator and 2 speakers onsite, with 1 online moderator and 2 online speakers. The Onsite Moderator will start the session by introducing the onsite speakers and give the floor to the online moderator to introduce the online speaker. Each speaker will be allocated 5 minutes to present, followed by 15 minutes of questions from both onsite and online participants. Then the speakers will engage in 15 minutes of moderated discussion, then 10 minutes for questions followed by wrap-up by onsite and online moderators.
Report
In addressing that, the speakers indicate that females face a lot of cyberbullying online. For example, one speaker shared that Indonesia has seen a surge in online harassment and bullying of females and gender-diverse people, especially with the fact that some of those abuses are coming from people in different jurisdictions. In giving content, one of the speakers shared a story about the incident in Indonesia. Since the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Indonesia has witnessed a staggering 300 percent surge in online abuse cases, leaving victims without access to essential legal and mental health support. The speakers also indicate the need for a global policy that will fight against such abuse and the role of platform regulators to also play their role. The key takeaways from the policy questions are.
1. There should be enactment of global policy that fights against online abuse. Thus, facilitating international cooperation and forging global cooperation amongst law enforcement to address cross-border jurisdiction issues.
2. It's pivotal to strengthen global partnerships to tackle online harassment. Policies must not only respond but must actively protect our digital citizens.
3. Ethical AI practices and rules need to ensure that technology becomes a helper, not an enemy in our fight against online harassment.
4. The government needs to advocate and enforce policies that foster a secure legal environment across legal enforcement. Social media and tech companies must incorporate safety by design principles, focusing not only on enabling report mechanisms but also on effectively addressing post-report issues, and preventing further perpetration.
In terms of how youth and gender-diverse groups are present currently on the Internet, the speakers mentioned that there is a prominent growth increase in the youth and gender-diversity groups in increasing and actively participating in Internet-related initiatives across various fields, and it's initially because of. There has been an increase in STEM education and other online training courses. Social media activism has promoted a lot of online groups that encourage a lot of online communities to provide a safe space for individuals and diverse group members from different backgrounds and different tech-related industries to connect and share experiences and just support each other. The speakers mentioned that the digital space can really be a minefield, especially for youth, women, and gender-diverse people. So, while it offers, a platform for advocacy and change, the backlash, especially from misogynistic and alt-right groups, is real, it's intense, and they are super organized Some key takeaways are.
1. To give youths a platform where they can be able to share various ideas and engage with diverse people from different backgrounds from different countries.
2. To discuss challenges and some innovative solutions that can help increase advocacy and amplify voices in interrelated issues.
3. Platforms must invest in and reinforce rigorous content moderation to protect marginalized voices and dismantle hate-driven narratives.
The panel ended by encouraging a multi-stakeholder approach to solving the issue of online abuse.