from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – THERE is concern over weak legal protections, underreporting and the limited capacity for law enforcement to investigate tech-related crimes worsening digital violence against girls and women in Africa.
Equality Now is urging the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and local governments to act to address this scourge.
“Digital spaces are also becoming more dangerous for women and girls,” lamented Tara Carey, Global Head of Media.
She was addressing the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Nairobi Kenya this week.
Carey noted that online abuse, including sexual harassment and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, was rising in tandem with increased internet penetration.
“Technology is increasingly being weaponised to attack women and girls, including women politicians, journalists and human rights defenders,” the official said.
Carey therefore called on African governments to enforce and tighten existing laws on online sexual exploitation and invest in digital safety initiatives, in line with the recently adopted United Nations Global Digital Compact.
Equality Now wants the commission to remind states of their obligations under the Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights. Of the 55 member States, 45 have ratified or signed the protocol.
Deborah Nyokabi, a legal equality and gender policy expert at Equality Now, explained that women and girls across Africa were enduring rape, child marriage, femicide, trafficking, and digital abuse.
She said legal systems too often failed to protect or deliver justice.
“African governments must prioritise legal reform, provide reparations to survivors, and close the protection gaps that leave so many women and girls vulnerable and without access to assistance when their rights have been violated, especially in conflict zones where the breakdown of services intensifies harm,” Nyokabi said.
– CAJ News