Bridging the gender digital divide to realise women’s human rights

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Bridging the gender digital divide to realise women’s human rights. Side event at the Human Rights Council’s 35th Session on Thursday, 15 June, 15:00-16:30 Room XXIV, Palais des Nations

HRC 2017_Bridging digital divide

The internet can be harnessed as a powerful enabler of human rights, but only for those who have access to it. Today, in every region in the world, internet penetration rates remain higher for men than women. But access is more than just penetration rates or infrastructure, it is also about how existing offline power dynamics and cultural norms around gender equality play out in digital spaces.

At the 35th Session of the Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will present its report on ways to bridge the gender digital divide from a human rights perspective. Join us for a discussion of the OHCHR report and the following questions:

  • What is the nature of the gender digital divide? How do we define it and measure it?

  • How can the human rights community support women advocates who are targeted for their roles as activists and for their intersectional identity or affiliation with a vulnerable group, be it religious, ethnic, LGBTI, or otherwise?

  • What new challenges and opportunities do emerging and data-driven technologies present for women’s rights and gender equality in the digital age?

  • What responsibility does the private sector have to address the gender digital divide?

  • How can states and other stakeholders combat gender-based violence online in a way that respects women’s freedom of expression and agency while enhancing their participation?

Welcome: H.E. Amb Veronika Bard, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the UN in Geneva

Panellists:

  • Welcome: H.E. Amb Veronika Bard, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the UN in Geneva

  • Peggy Hicks, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

  • Dubrovka Simonovic, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women

  • Raquel Gatto, Regional Policy Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Internet Society

  • Alison Gillwald, Executive Director, Research ICT Africa

  • Moderator: Anriette Esterhuysen, Director of Global Policy and Strategy, APC.



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