Press Statement on the plight of women victims of sex videos and Nude pictures in Uganda

We the members of the women`s movement and civil society organizations working with women are concerned about the worrying and emerging cases of internet violence against women. We are aware that sex videos and nude pictures have dominated social media and have made headlines on national news papers and tabloids which not only in itself constitutes violence against women, however the consumption of such material facilitates further acts of violence against women. It is unfortunate that these acts of exposure have often targeted women excluding the men about who little is heard.

This trend is at least in part attributable to the development of a new problem of internet related violence against women, this relates to leaked videos of intimate sexual activity, stalking, and violence against women on the internet. These have continued to endanger the lives of the victims who do not only experience harsh judgment from the general public but also suffer loss of dignity and are often a target for sexual harassment from members of the public. In the most recent case that involves a prominent news anchor, the victim lost her job and this exposure is likely to cause irreconcilable differences between her and her family.

These acts of violence violate a number of women’s rights, including a woman’s right to privacy and protection of personal and sensitive information and the right to bodily integrity. The body transcends the physical. Consequently, the distribution of intimate and abusive representations of bodies violates women’s right to bodily integrity and autonomy. Furthermore, technology related violence affects women’s freedom to express themselves, move freely online and enjoy online communities, violating their autonomy, freedom of expression and access to information.

This is also a direct violation of women’s constitutional right to respect for human dignity and protection from inhumane treatment. We therefore find an urgent need to ensure that emerging forms of online violence against women are decisively confronted. There is also need to address the continued exposure of material relating to women’s sexuality which often times has adverse effects on women and girls’ rights to participate in cultural life within the evolving information society.

The laxity of the police in apprehending the perpetrators of such crime allows  perpetrators  to commit online  violence anonymously  and  at  a distance  from  the women  they are  targeting, making it harder  to identify perpetrators and charge and prosecute  them yet web sharing platforms also allow surveillance of women’s activities and replication and distribution of intimate photos with little cost to and  effort by the abuser. This being  a practice of sex discrimination, a violation of women's civil rights helps  to hold accountable,  those who are injured, those who profit from and benefit from such acts. It also means that women's injury - our damage, our pain, and our enforced inferiority - should outweigh their pleasure and their profits, or sex equality is meaningless.

We therefore demand that;

·       The State must take all steps to prevent and eliminate such violence. In relation to the internet this means ensuring that laws, policies and practices do not permit or create new forms of violence against women such as cyber stalking, digital surveillance, data monitoring and other transgressions of women’s rights.

·       The state must apprehend the perpetrators of such crime and protect women from continued abuse.

·       Employers should not thrive on such information and dwell on it to terminate their employees; they must instead corporate with lawful authorities to fight violence against women.

·       Women’s human rights must be respected and protected and not restricted, directly or indirectly, in the name of ‘security’ or other law enforcement measures except as determined in accordance with agreed human rights standards, including women’s human rights standards.

·       The state should put up measures to promote respect for human rights online and offline. Promote ICT use and a strategy of information, education and communication in online spaces to combat violence against women and girls and to enhance women's and girls’ rights. Engage in the political discussion about the promotion of internet development and internet governance with a vision of gender inclusion, gender justice and respect for human rights.

·       Ugandans should desist from revictimizing victims of such crime and instead work to protect the rights of women and children.

·       It  is  crucial  to  take  a holistic approach  to  the  issue  of  violence against  women,  which recognizes the interconnection between multiple forms of discrimination and the generation of  different forms of violence.  Attention must be paid to   these emerging forms of technology mediated violence that compromise women’s security and safety. Restrictions (whether due to state,  family  or cultural  reasons)  to  women’s  use of the  internet and  communication technologies adversely affect women and girls  rights to participate  fully in cultural life and  to  enjoy  the  full exercise  of  their  citizenship  of  the evolving information society.