Virtual Engagement Session | Addressing Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in a Digital Age
Background
As digital platforms continue to rapidly expand, limited safeguards and oversights have led to the growing prevalence of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFBGV). In Nigeria, increased digital connectivity has enabled perpetrators to commit a range of TFGBV-related offenses, including harassment, stalking, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and doxxing. These abuses can inflict serious psychological and physical harm on survivors, who are predominantly women and girls.
Despite legislative strides aimed at combatting TFGBV, weak enforcement and capacity issues within the justice sector prevents women and children across many Nigerian states from receiving adequate protection. Prosecutors, pro bono lawyers, court registrars, and judicial officers often lack the technical knowledge required to effectively investigate TFGBV offenses, collect relevant evidence, and handle cases with a gender-informed lens. These gaps can lead to revictimization of survivors, a lack of privacy protection, mishandled digital evidence, and low conviction rates.
Earlier this year, we helped produce a practical training manual for justice system actors on cases involving TFGBV for youth-led Nigerian organization Children and Young People Living for Peace (CYPLP). Using the manual, CYPLP held training sessions for pro bono lawyers, prosecutors, registrars, and magistrates in two Nigerian states to help these groups incorporate emerging digital offenses into their understanding of traditional legal frameworks on GBV and strengthen protections for survivors. The Vance Center and Nigerian law firm Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie participated in the trainings as well.
In this session, we spoke with CYPLP and Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie about challenges and legal strategies needed for justice system actors to effectively address TFGBV and support survivors in Nigeria and beyond.
Our Speakers
- Dennis Ekwere, Executive Director, Children and Young People Living for Peace (CYPLP)
- Titilola Olatunde-Fasogbon, Senior Associate, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie
- Yasmine Palmer, Staff Attorney, Africa Initiatives, Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice
- Moderator: Marcia Tavares Maack, Global Director of Pro Bono, Mayer Brown LLP, and Co-Chair of the Vance Center Committee
Key Takeaways
Many justice system actors do not fully understand what constitutes TFGBV. Through their direct work with women and children in Nigeria, CYPLP observed that many survivors who turned to law enforcement experienced victim blaming. Dennis discussed how police in Nigeria are often unaware that digital offenses occur, and many don’t know that TFGBV is a crime. An early survey of lawyers, magistrates, and registrars revealed many were not familiar with laws covering TFGBV. This incomplete understanding is another obstacle to securing effective prosecution and access to justice for survivors.
Understanding of the law is as important as the law itself. CYPLP prioritized involving different “legs” of the justice system in the training sessions to close gaps in legal understanding among magistrates, prosecutors and pro bono lawyers, and registrars. Dennis noted that all of the groups walked away from the training with new knowledge around what constitutes digital violations, such as online harassment, sextortion, and cyberbullying, and how they are applicable under Nigerian law. He added that the laws covered in the manual are not new, but they can only be effective if justice system actors know how to use them. By making the resource widely available and accessible, CYPLP hopes to ensure more justice system practitioners know that TFGBV is a human rights violation.
“No matter how powerful the law is, if you don’t go and activate it, it won’t work for you.” -Dennis Ekwere
The more practitioners engaged across the justice system, the better. Even when lawyers have a strong understanding of the legal frameworks surrounding TFGBV cases, Titilola emphasized that securing justice for survivors depends on a “synergy of different actors coming together to make it work.” From gathering evidence to preparing the victims and making sure evidence will stand in court, the trainings made it clear that the different parts of this chain must come together to support survivors.
“Everybody has to work hand in hand to ensure that we can achieve the justice goal for the victim at every point in time” -Titilola Olatunde-Fasogbon
Survivors should not have to wait for legal reform to seek justice. The speakers pointed to limited knowledge about TFGBV among the public, survivors, and even perpetrators, making it difficult for survivors to report violations. They noted that better education about the different forms and impact of TFGBV is critical to expand access to justice in these cases. The manual contributes to this goal by encouraging justice system actors to recognize the trauma associated with TFGBV and to use a gender-informed lens when handling survivors’ cases. Yasmine discussed a two-pronged approach to improving TFGBV laws: leveraging existing legal frameworks to address TFGBV cases, even in contexts where laws may not explicitly recognize every form of digital harm, while continuing to advocate for new frameworks that adequately cover the scope of TFGBV crimes.
Partnerships play a key role in strengthening legal responses. Yasmine described how the Vance Center’s co-counsel model allowed each collaborator to play a unique role in this project. CYPLP brought firsthand knowledge of how TFGBV affects individuals in Nigeria through their work with communities, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie contributed knowledge on the national legal frameworks, and the Vance Center provided international expertise around TFGBV. Together, these perspectives created a resource that provides a more complete picture of how TFGBV occurs in Nigeria, strategies for the justice system to apply existing laws, and ways survivors can pursue legal redress. Titi highlighted the Vance Center’s ongoing work to develop a Declaration to measure and drive pro bono work in Africa, which will push this kind of work forward by engaging more lawyers across Nigeria and the region.
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About Our Work
Through our Human Rights & Access to Justice Program, the Africa Initiatives team supports civil society organizations across the region, covering issues related to women’s rights and gender justice, access to information, and more.
Supporting the Vance Center enables us to continue meeting the evolving legal needs of CSOs working hard to protect vulnerable communities from growing digital threats.