In October this year, Kenya chaired a session at the United Nations Security Council aimed at addressing online hate speech and incitement to violence, especially on social media.
This is as a result of the growing recognition that digital technologies have on our life and the need to create safe space for future peace and stability.
As we paint the town orange by celebrating the #16DaysofActivism against gender-based violence this year, we must recognise the impact of online violence in driving women away from both public spaces and leadership positions.
The overall effect is to widen the digital gender divide and further limit the meaningful participation of women in decision making.
In 2016, ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa and the Association of Media Women in Kenya conducted a study on the digital security of women journalists in the country. The study showed that at least 75 per cent of the journalists interviewed had experienced online harassment in the course of their work.
Moreover, the report highlighted that women who had been subjected to online harassment withdrew from the use of the internet and to some extent stopped working for a while.
A recent report by the Web foundation shows that at least 52 per cent of young women surveyed had experienced online violence in different forms and 87 per cent of them thought the problem was getting worse thus having a direct limiting effect on civic space.
As we draw into the election period, we must recognise the impact of online violence in driving women in politics away from leadership positions.
An open and pluralistic civic space guarantees freedom of expression and opinion as well as freedom of assembly and association. It gives marginalised groups a platform to promote healthy discussion and participation in decision making.
However, the current patriarchal society predisposes women to harsher judgment than men, if they do not conform to societal standards.
For instance, a 2018 study called ‘Tweets That Chill: Analyzing online violence against women in Politics’ found that online violence against women actively engaged in politics in Kenya decreased their participation and presence online.
Likewise in 2020,the Kenya ICT Action Network analsyed the trends of online violence against women in Kenya and identified horrible instances of offensive name-calling, insults, and trolling.
One specific form of violence we must all be weary of is the spread of gendered disinformation. Gendered disinformation is the spreading of co-ordinated false gender or sex-based narratives against women. It aims to reduce their participation in political spheres.
This could be through manipulated images, videos, or web content. It is made worse by deep fake technology that uses Artificial Intelligence to make fake content that appears very real. Its convincing nature makes it difficult to differentiate real from truth and correct that in the court of public opinion once released.
For example in 2019, Wajir Woman Representative Fatma Gedi spoke out against a sex tape that was alleged to be hers but it was a deep fake. In the height of political campaigns next year, we anticipate an increase in spread of gendered disinformation.
The government is taking several steps to deal with these problems, which include setting up the National Computer Incident Response Team to detect, receive and investigate cyber related incidents.
In 2018, Kenya enacted the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act 2018, which prescribes the offense of cyber harassment, unauthorised interference, false publication, publication of false news and child pornography. In addition, in November 2021, the government appointed the National Computer Cyber Crime Coordination Committee responsible for implementation of the Act.
Unfortunately, certain provisions of the Cybercrime Act should be amended since they are broadly and vaguely worded. As a result, it has been used to arrest and intimidate internet users.
In 2020, ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa identified at least 10 cases where internet users were arrested and charged with these provisions. Secondly, there is a general lack of awareness among Kenyans of these government measures.
Therefore, Kenya should intensify awareness on online violence specifically building active online bystander communities, increasing awareness on misinformation and disinformation and digital security training.
Active bystanders are internet users who contribute to online safety by either reporting an offensive post to the platform, liking or making supportive comments or unfollowing an offensive person.
Additionally, Kenya should amend the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act through a multi-stakeholder process that ensures a balance between free expression and cybercrime in line with international human rights standards.
The government should work with civil society to amplify campaigns against online violence, misinformation and disinformation as well as create awareness on legal procedures like how to report complaints to authorities.
The authors work with ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa. Catherine is the Program Officer Digital and Jeremy is the Program Assistant - Civic Space
