The ASEAN Regional Consultation to Develop a Campaign against Online Gender-Based Violence organized under the leadership of ACWC Lao PDR and Thailand, in collaboration from ACWC, ACW, and support from UNFPA, was convened on Thursday to Friday, October 17 - 18, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. The reception on the first day of the consultation was hosted by the collaborative support from UNFPA, Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) of the Kingdom of Thailand.
The consultation brought together more than 60 representatives from the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW), the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC), the ASEAN Digital Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADGSOM), and the ASEAN Disability Forum (ADF), with Timor-Leste, other ASEAN partners and the ASEAN Secretariat.
The purpose of the consultation was to discuss the issue of online gender-based violence and, in particular, online violence against women and girls and to design a regional campaign to address the issue, based on promising international practices as well as through regional and national experiences.
The consultation addressed ASEAN’s commitments under the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (ASEAN RPA on EVAW). The consultation concluded with a proposed campaign concept and strategy which will be endorsed by the ACWC and ACW and launched in the next months.
Research indicates that at least 38 per cent of women globally have personally experienced online violence and that this rate is rising. While all women using technology are potential targets, certain groups, including adolescent girls, face heightened risks.
Online violence against women and girls manifests in various forms, ranging from sextortion and image-based abuse to cyberstalking and hate speech. It is committed as part of a pattern of violence perpetrated both online and offline.
As such, online gender-based violence carries significant health, safety and economic consequences for women and girls, for their families and communities, and for society as a whole.
