* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The third Stockholm Internet Forum (SIF) was held at the end of May this year. SIF is a space that aims to deepen discussions on how internet freedom can promote economic and social development worldwide. This year’s theme was related to privacy, transparency, surveillance and control, stimulating debate on topics such as applying the rule of law online. For sexual rights advocates, the potential impacts of internet regulation are complex, with concerns that conservative internet legislation would directly impact on internet users’ ability to access vital information on sexuality, sexual health and sexual rights.
Unpacking some of these issues, the Association for Progressive Communications’ (APC) Women’s Rights Programme’s (WRP) research project titled EROTICS: An exploratory research project into sexuality and the internet,looks at the “impact of regulatory frameworks and control mechanisms on the actual lived practices, experiences and concerns of internet users in the exercise of their sexual rights”. The first phase was a study carried out in Brazil, India, Lebanon, South Africa and USA between June 2008-2011, examining how the internet hosts critical information about sex education, health, fighting sex discrimination and defining one’s own sexuality, debunking the commonly-held view that sexuality online is just about pornography. This research, which included young women, transgender communities and lesbian queer activists, found that “the internet has become an important emerging public sphere... where rights are contested and defended” particularly for those groups who face multiple forms of discrimination and have limited or no access to public spaces. Their research also found, however, that “missing in the debate is a clear comprehension and articulation of the critical role that an open and free internet plays in the exercise of sexual rights and sexual citizenship, particularly for marginalised sections of society... The internetʼs potential... is being threatened and constrained through increasing regulation by state and non-state actors. Notably, calls for regulation are often accompanied by arguments for the need to limit and control sexual speech, information and practices. In many countries, sexuality-related content online is filtered, blocked or censored for being “obscene” or “pornographic”.
The second phase of the EROTICS project entailed a 2013 global survey to assess the impact of regulatory frameworks and control mechanisms on internet users in the exercise of their sexual rights. About half (51%) of the sexual rights activists, advocates, scholars, and policymakers who completed the survey indicated they had at some point received violent messages, threats or [offensive] comments while working online. About one third of the sample mentioned intimidation (34%); blocking and filtering (33%); or censorship (29%). A survey respondent, for example, asserted, “Social networks like Facebook censor our content on a regular basis for "nudity" and "sexually explicit content". It's hard to work for sex rights if you need to consider nudity as something [as] offensive as hate speech or violence.”
Nadine Moawad*, APC’s Coordinator of the global EROTICS project, was interviewed by the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), and said the intersection of internet rights and sexual rightsis “becoming increasingly crucial for feminist activists who utilize the internet extensively to support their work”. Their research has helped elucidate how sexual rights advocates use the internet and face threats to their activism and personal safety online, and recently the APC have investigated further in thinking about what a feminist internet would look like.
A feminist internet?
APC WRP held a global meeting on gender, sexuality and the internet, in April 2014, which explored the concept of what a feminist internet would look like. According to Moawad, participants at the meeting reflected on questions of defining “harmful content”, feminist pornography, “hate speech”, child protection and queering the internet, among others. Input came from academics, feminist and queer activists, and internet rights and policy specialists from diverse organizations and networks in countries like India, Uganda, Canada, China, Pakistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United States, South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Jordan, Mexico, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, Brazil, Lebanon, Indonesia, New Zealand, Kenya and Argentina. Eliminating misogyny and sexism online was a common theme in the short video APC produced at the meeting - an internet that enables freedom of expression yet is safe and respectful for everyone – but these issues aren’t without their contradictions. According to Moawad:
“There’s a traditional tension between freedom of expression activists who believe that the answer to hate speech is more speech and women’s rights activists who believe that content that depicts violence against women must be blocked. We recognize, as feminists, that responses to gender-based violence must be as complex as the tools of patriarchy and that it shouldn’t be an either/or debate. And so we’ve been looking at case studies of women users’ strategies that challenge online misogyny and sexism. Some have opted for organized digital campaigns, while others are working on private sector liability (such as Facebook and Twitter) to improve mechanisms of reporting threats and violations.”
The APC WRP are developing an evolving set of feminist principles of the internet– with a goal to have a working document that activists can use to lobby for policy improvements globally and nationally, as well as raise consciousness and user-based support for spaces that are safe, just, and empowering. Going forward will involve building capacity to engage with human rights mechanisms and UN instruments to advance sexual rights and women’s human rights in relation to the internet.
In June this year, the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) adopted, by consensus, the resolution on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the internet, affirming that the same rights people enjoy offline apply online. While the adoption of the resolution was welcomed and commended, APC underscores that “Communities that experience violence and discrimination online are routinely marginalized in the development of prevention and response mechanisms to protect their rights. APC hopes that States will follow inclusive processes in the development of internet-related public policies in order to protect, promote and defend human rights online.” Understanding experiences of how the internet is being used (and abused) is critical for evolving conversations worldwide about internet regulatory frameworks. APC WRP’s research highlights the need for close attention to be paid to diverse user realities, particularly for sexual rights advocates.
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*Nadine Moawad is a feminist organizer based in Beirut, Lebanon. Between 2009 and 2011, she conducted research for EROTICS on internet regulation in Lebanon and now coordinates the global EROTICS project with APC, which explores the intersections of sexual rights and the internet. She tweets at @nmoawad.
