Take Back The Tech is a collaborative global campaign that connects the issue of

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

and

information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...

(ICT). It aims to raise awareness on the way violence against women is occurring on ICT platforms such as the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

and

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

s, and to call for people to use ICT in

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

to end violence against women. It was initiated by the

Association for Progressive Communications The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace ...

, Women's Networking Support Programme, in 2006. Since then, the campaign has been taken up and organised by individuals,

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...

s and

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

in at least 24 countries. The name ''Take Back The Tech''! was inspired by the Take Back the Night (or

Reclaim the Night Reclaim the Night is a movement started in Leeds in 1977 as part of the Women's Liberation Movement. Marches demanding that women be able to move throughout public spaces at night took place across England until the 1990s. Later, the organisation ...

) movement, an international feminist march and rally to take direct action against rape and other forms of violence against women.

Issue

The campaign highlights the way that

is taking new forms through the use of ICT. This includes: * Online

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...

. For example, when a harasser sends repeated, unwanted, threatening and/or sexualised messages through the use of

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

. This can also include posting personal information about the victim and/or digitally altered images of the victim on public forums and websites, often accompanied by messages that solicit sexual or violent responses. *

Cyberstalking Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, group, or organization. It may include false accusations, defamation, slander and libel. It may also include monitoring, identity theft, threa ...

. For example, the use of social networking platforms such as

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to track a person's activity and movements, the use of

spyware Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is software with malicious behaviour that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user—for example, by violating their privac ...

to monitor a person's

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

and

use, and the use of global satellite positioning devices to track a person's physical movement and location, usually by a

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

abuser. * Online

violation of privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 19 ...

and

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

. For example, actual or threatened posting of private photographs and video clips that are usually sexualised in nature on Internet sites with the aim to humiliate another person, or to make the person comply with the demands of the poster. Research indicates that the majority of technology-enabled forms of violence victims are women. The campaign also recognises that the

gender digital divide Gender digital divide is defined as gender biases coded into technology products, technology sector and digital skills education. Background Education systems are increasingly trying to ensure equitable, inclusive and high-quality digital skills ...

contributes to unequal power relations that create enabling contexts for violence against women to occur. To address this disparity, campaigners are encouraged to: * Recall and give recognition to the historical contribution that women have made into the development of ICT, such as the contribution of

Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852) was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the A ...

and

Grace Hopper Grace Brewster Hopper (; December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral. One of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I, Harvard Mar ...

. * Build the capacity of women and girls in the use of new ICT. * Foster an attitude of experimentation and play with new ICT to overcome

technophobia Technophobia (from Greek τέχνη ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φόβος ''phobos'', "fear"), also known as technofear, is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers. Although there are numerou ...

. * Engage in activism and advocacy to improve Internet policy development that takes the gendered dimension of ICT into account.

Campaigns and recognition

The biggest campaign, T''ake Back The Tech!'' participates in is the annual

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence The Global 16 Days Campaign is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Righ ...

(November 25 – December 10). Throughout the year, ''Take Back the Tech!'' runs smaller campaigns, publishes articles and zines and organizes events. In 2013, Bytes for All, Pakistan, the human rights organization that runs the local ''Take Back The Tech!'' campaign in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, was awarded the Avon Communication Award under the 'Innovative Campaign Award' category for leading an exemplary national campaign in Pakistan. The award was presented by

Salma Hayek Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...

at the

United Nations Headquarters The United Nations is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, and the complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1951. It is in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neig ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Take Back The Tech! campaign websiteLebanon's girls set to take back the tech this summer, The Daily Star, 16 May 2011Virtual world, real dangers, The Express Tribune, 3 April 2011Take back the tech to eliminate violence against women, Global Voices Online, 29 Nov 2010
Information and communications technology Violence against women