More on online access and harassment studied in Mozambique – AIM report

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More on online access and harassment studied in Mozambique – AIM report

2:55 CAT | 30 Jan 2017

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Both women and men have been victims of harassment through social media in Maputo city, according to the results of a study announced at a press conference in the Mozambican capital on Thursday.

The study was undertaken by the Institute of Scientific, Innovation and Information and Communication Technology Research (SIITRI). The results were presented by the coordinator of the project “Rights of Women Online”, Alsacia Nhacumbe, as a prelude to the first Conference on Digital Equality and Women’s Rights, to be held on Friday.

The study, held in 2015-2016, took as its target group a group of women and men living in 29 of Maputo’s outlying neighbourhoods. The main purpose of the study was to assess the level of women’s access to information and communication technologies.

During the survey 786 women and 258 men were questioned. 31 women (3.9 per cent) and 29 men (11.2 per cent) reported suffering some kind of violence or sexual harassment through Facebook and Whatsapp, said Nhacumbe.

When it comes to mobile phone text messages, however, women are the main targets of sexual harassment.

The study suggests that the government should adopt appropriate policies and strategies on on-line violence and harassment and on ensuring the protection of women and girls in social media and other forms of communication.

“Programmes should be established for the digital empowerment of women”, said the study. “There should be public educational initiatives to train women and girls in using information technologies, so as to support their access to vital information and services linked to education, livelihoods, rights and well-being”.

It also called for free access to information technologies, including the Internet, for women in health centres, libraries and job centres for women, assisting women to use these technologies in safe public spaces.

Source: AIM