Online violence against women and girls in all their diversities, also referred to as technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), has been on the agenda of feminist tech experts and researchers for many years. Understanding the importance, pervasiveness, and profound impact of online gender-based violence is key to provide effective prevention and response measures. A Shared Research Agenda on TFGBV serves as a guide for stakeholders in the field to advocate for more and better resources to address knowledge gaps and build better programmes to respond to and prevent TFGBV.
Research Priority Setting for TFGBV
Key knowledge gaps can hamper delivery of effective response and prevention programmes. There is little comparable, reliable data on the prevalence, forms, impact and drivers of TFGBV across different global regions and social intersections. There is limited data on the links between online and offline violence, although we know from many women’s experiences that such links exist.
We don’t know enough about who the perpetrators of TFGBV are, or about how much is perpetrated by intimate partners and known entities as opposed to organised and networked forms of attack. We don’t know what works to deter or change abusive behaviour online, and there is little knowledge of the role and impact of legislation (and its implementation), regulation, or big tech in addressing this issue. The unfortunate realities of TFGBV are moving fast. Thus, we must deal with how to address victimisation and perpetration, and respond in real-time whilst we innovate to prevent it.
Co-creating a set of research priorities for the field can help address the afore-mentioned knowledge gaps, bring more diverse voices into the discussions, and move the field forward in a more coordinated manner. This is why the SVRI, Association for Progressive Communications, UN Women, and the Global Partnership to end Online Abuse and Harassment have joined hands and co-facilitated a process to identify a set of research priority recommendations for addressing the global problem of TFGBV through a transparent, methodologically sound, comprehensive, and inclusive process.
Methodology and domains
The TFGBV Shared Research Agenda was created through a 6-step iterative process, with opportunities for feedback and debate from more than 500 experts in the field across three established groups used to govern and guide the co-creation of the Global TFGBV Shared Research Agenda.
The process draws from the learnings of previous research setting priority processes on gender-based and sexual violence and has used the same methodology called the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI). The first step involved a scoping review of the literature to identify key gaps in the field that framed the priority-setting process and led to the identification of five key research domains for the development of proposed research questions:
- Domain 1: Nature, Prevalence, and Impact
- Domain 2: Responses
- Domain 3: TFGBV Prevention
- Domain 4: Populations
- Domain 5: Measures and Methodologies
481 possible priority research questions were generated via an online survey. After extensive consultation, consolidation and review the stewardship group reduced these to 75 questions, 15 questions for each of the five domains, which were selected and widely shared through an online global ranking survey. The survey was available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, Bahasa and Hindi, with 350 respondents participating.
Key Findings
Our findings underscore the need for foundational research to understand the nature, risk, protective factors, and impacts of TFGBV to provide a strong base of evidence for prevention and response.
Our participants emphasized that response strategies for TFGBV should prioritize the perspectives and experiences of survivors, aligning the services and support provided with their actual needs and preferred channels for help-seeking. Respondents consistently advocated for robust policy and legislative frameworks that penalize perpetrators and hold digital platforms accountable for facilitating such environments. Additionally, while respecting privacy and freedom of expression, the design of technological platforms must prioritize safety features to mitigate TFGBV risks.
The process has emphasized the importance of an intersectional approach to understanding TFGBV, acknowledging that neither the risk nor the impact of TFGBV are equitably distributed.
Implementation of the TFGBV Shared Research Agenda
Our collaborative and inclusive methodology in setting research priorities aims to ignite a concerted effort among global researchers, policymakers, funders, and activists to address TFGBV more effectively. This can foster safer digital spaces and contribute to the broader goal of gender equality and the elimination of gender-based violence both in the online-offline continuum.
We call upon all stakeholders dedicated to fostering violence-free online environments to advocate for the implementation of this agenda.
Launch Webinar
The TFGBV Shared Research Agenda Report was launched on 19th September 2024 at 3pm SAST. During the webinar, we delved into the findings of the report and seek the panel’s insights into how this agenda is situated within the broader context of TFGBV and how diverse stakeholders can best use and benefit from this work. We aim to ignite a concerted effort among different actors to disseminate and utilise the research priorities outlined in the agenda to address TFGBV effectively. We are aware the situation in the fast-moving world of technology shifts constantly. The agenda will need to be nimble and flexible to adapt to this and this makes collaboration and synergy between diverse stakeholders critical.
Research Priority Setting Webinar
To create the TFGBV Shared Research Agenda, SVRI and key partners (UN Women, Association for Progressive Communications and the Global Partnership) worked together on a research priority setting process to draw on the wisdom of the crowd and set research priorities for the next 5-10 years for fair, effective and relevant research on TFGBV. Watch this webinar to learn more about the process and how you can be involved.
This event was hosted as a parallel event in the framework of the NGO CSW67 Forum.
