Revenge porn is rising and it should be addressed
Revenge porn material moves so fast, thanks to social media and the Internet, making its rounds on people’s phones, laptops and so on, increasing the level of exposure of the victim. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
In the last couple of months, there have been a series of leaked photos and videos aimed at getting back at a partner after a relationship gone sour. This phenomenon has even got a name to it — revenge porn – and it affects mostly women, which is why there is a call for cyber policies to protect women online.
As the world commemorated International Women’s Day on March 8, Ugandan women rights and information and communication technology (ICT) activists called for cyber policies to be put in place in African countries to protect women against violations of their digital rights.
This comes as the number of nude video recordings and photos taken in private are being increasingly leaked online and spreading like wildfire across the world, once a relationship or situations turn sour.
Defined as ‘revenge pornography’ the practice disproportionately affects women. In addition, women online are facing more acts of cyber stalking, sexual harassment, surveillance, unauthorised use and manipulation of personal information, including images and videos than men.
The calls were made during a meeting organised by the Unwanted Witness, the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), and the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) to mark Uganda women’s day celebrations. The meeting which also involved a twitterthon was held on Friday March 6 at The Hub in Kampala.
In Uganda, the most recent prominent case of revenge pornography involved local musician, Desire Luzinda and her jilted Nigerian boyfriend.
Why women?
They are more illiterate, poorer and the digital divide is gendered against them. According to the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health survey, 82 per cent men are literate compared to 64 per cent women. Only 23 per cent women have any secondary education.
Similarly, a 2008 survey by WOUGNET revealed that in Uganda, nine per cent of men knew what the Internet was compared to only 4 percent of women who were just aware of it.
Although one can argue that alleged “technophobia” leaves women with only the limited options of voice and text on their mobile phones, so they cannot upload harmful data, wider factors affects them. Often in society, women are ridiculed and judged harshly for what they do.
Indeed, most African countries also lack legal frameworks to address reported cases of women’s rights violations on social media and in print and broadcast platforms.
Peter Magelah Gwayaka, a human rights lawyer says revenge porn is on the rise in East Africa and in Uganda particularly, due to the lack of laws to check the vice. The ignorant victims, who are usually women, suffer quietly as the laws and society tend to focus on the cultural and moral aspects of any given incident.
“We have over concentrated on morals. We tend to forget that it is wrong, no one’s private data and information should be put out in public,” says Magelah.
No direct law against perpetrators
In most of Africa, law enforcers do not even know, which action to take in the absence of specific laws. In the Ugandan case cited above, whereas there is a little known Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) instituted recently and tasked with tracking of cybercrimes, law enforcement officers reacted with charging the victim under the 2014 Anti-Pornography Act.
Kenya is said to be drafting a similar law. But Gwayaka says this is not sufficient because it does not charge the perpetrators and the people who pause and ridicule the victim are equally liable for punishment.
He adds that in the developed world, technological and legal capacity exists to control the distribution of pornography. The market is thus limited and children have restricted access.
Include women in policy making
Meanwhile, it was also noted that very few women in Africa participate in ICT policy making processes, which further inhibits balanced and gender inclusive policies.
Goretti Amuriat, WOUGNET’s gender and ICT programme manager argued that although women represent 35 percent of parliamentary seats in Uganda, they were still under represented in various other positions of authority and this inequality translates into decision making about policy.
According to Amuriat, women’s economic empowerment is a key driver to sustainable development, which is often achieved through gender-specific policy perspectives.
For ICTs in particular, cyber security and Internet freedom cannot be achieved without including women in policy discussions as they bring new voices and experiences to the discussions.
How women can be empowered
Jeff Wokulira Ssebaggala, the Unwanted Witness chief executive officer noted that women should also be empowered in cyber safety practices aimed at ensuring their privacy and security.
Simple actions like activating security codes in their phones would be helpful.
Amuriat cautioned that women need more education about the amount of information they freely publish online. “Women share everything. They are not secure and are not aware,” she says. “Put only what is enough!” she urged.
However, that is not to say that going online does not present opportunities to women. It does. With their unique set of interests and needs, they express themselves, communicate with others, find useful information and grow their skills and economic independence.
Ashnah Kalemera, CIPESA’s program officer said although there is increased access to ICTs and the Internet, there is little to no statistics on ICTs and Gender in Uganda.
Even data from the national regulator on ICT access and usage is often not disaggregated by gender, which inhibits understanding gender disparities of access and control over ICT and designing appropriate ICT initiatives that fully advance gender equality and empowerment said Kalemera.
What is happening elsewhere
Revenge porn is sexually explicit media that is publicly shared online without the consent of the pictured individual. It may be uploaded by ex-partners with an intention to shame or embarrass the pictured individual, or by hackers.
Jurisdictions which have passed laws against revenge porn include Israel, Germany, and 16 states within the United States. Last month posting revenge porn images became a criminal offence in England and Wales, according to the BBC.
On Wednesday, social media site Twitter also announced a change of rules, banning revenge porn. The company said users found to have broken the new rule “will have their accounts locked”.
