Blog post by Silvia Cutrera, Coordinator of the Women’s Group of the Italian Federation Overcoming Handicap (FISH).
On 20 October 2021, GREVIO, the Group of Experts on Combating Violence against Women, an independent body of the Council of Europe which monitors the application of the Istanbul Convention in all countries that have ratified it, adopted the General Recommendation n. 1 on the digital dimension of gender-based violence.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, is one of the most serious forms of gender-based human rights violations and is a worldwide phenomenon. For many years, incidents of gender-based violence against women have been amplified or facilitated by technology, especially technology used in online and digital environments. GREVIO considers the perpetration of violence against women online or with the help of technology alarming, seen as an aggravating continuity of the different forms of violence affecting women. Digital forms of gender-based violence against women are particularly evident for women exposed to cross-forms of discrimination due to factors such as disability, migrant status, sexual orientation, religion, social condition. Gender-based violence against women in the digital sphere has a serious impact on women’s lives, including their psychological and physical health, safety and reputation. The abuse to which women are subjected in online environments causes many women to withdraw from participating and expressing their opinions on platforms resulting in a severe loss of their point of view.
In 2022, according to the latest report by Vox, the Italian Observatory on Rights, which monitors hate expressed on social media via Twitter, women were the most affected followed by people with disabilities.
Recently women with disabilities have been insulted and offended by a certain Sdrumox, youtuber, who, in a 90-minute broadcast and 50,000 views, using sexist and macho language described his sexual fantasies with girls with disabilities, especially with Down syndrome, denigrating them and reducing them to passive sexual objects. These actions constitute forms of online sexual harassment, acts of sexual bullying that fuel the spread of profanity about the alleged sexual behavior of women. Sexist hate speech helps create a social climate in which women with disabilities are humiliated, their self-esteem is reduced and their activities are restricted, including at work, in private life, in the public sphere or online. Sexist hate speech often constitutes a first step in the process towards physical violence, it can also escalate or incite overtly offensive and threatening acts, including abuse or sexual assault or rape, thus falling within the scope Article 40 of the Istanbul Convention relating to sexual harassment. (art. 40 The Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that any form of unwanted behavior, verbal, non-verbal or physical, of a sexual nature, with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when such behavior creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, is subject to criminal or other legal sanctions.)
Finally, all forms of violence against women perpetrated in the digital sphere have a psychological impact and could also be classified as psychological violence perpetrated online and with the use of technology, to which women with intersectional identities are more exposed.
In the conclusions of the General Recommendation n. 1, GREVIO draws attention to the need to recognize violence against women in its digital dimension as a continuum of violence against women offline and calls on States parties to recognize the gender-based nature of violence and abuse perpetrated online and through technology, recommending that States parties take appropriate measures in the areas of prevention, protection, prosecution and coordinated policies.
This was the theme discussed during the digital talk “Mimosas are not enough. The digital dimension of gender-based violence” which FISH women’s group promoted for the 8 March, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
The initiative opened at 17.30 with greetings from the president of FISH, Vincenzo Falabella. At 17.45 the round table moderated by Silvia Cutrera, coordinator of the FISH women’s group. Speakers include Silvia Lisena, UILDM Women’s Group, Silvia Brena, Vox Rights, Federico Faloppa, coordinator of the National Network for the fight against hate speech and phenomena, Laura Abet, Ledha Women’s Group, Stefania Leone and Haydée Longo of the FISH Women’s Group.